Right off my dining room and living room, there's a sliding glass door leading to a patio. The patio is 7'6" x 12', with a concrete floor circumscribed by a waist-high wooded wall. The patio looks out onto a green area ending at a white picket fence, and beyond that is the Sammamish River Trail -- a wide green area, the paved trail itself, and the river. It's not all that sunny a place. In fact, the entire area is shaded by pine and deciduous trees (maples?) which, when the sky is clear, result in a dappled light effect on the grass. But this is Washington, and, yes, it rains quite a bit.
I have been thinking about what I'm going to do with my patio. It didn't take me long to decide on a Japanese theme -- flagstones, smooth black pebbles, teak seating, bonsai trees, wind chimes, lanterns -- and a fireplace. Yes, a fireplace. And I found the perfect one. Yes, it's rather expensive ($300+) but I'm not in a rush. It's a UniFlame WAF830SP Steel Firehouse Outdoor Fireplace. It burns wood and looks somewhat like a pagoda. It will take me some time to buy all the elements for the patio, but with the fireplace, I'll be able to use it all year around.
