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Ebony Aksent Stone Veneer Two Sided Outdoor Fireplace
Early 90s architecture by and large didn’t make that much of a lasting impression or impact on the architecture of today. A remnant of that period that we have a special affinity for is the two sided or see through fireplace. At Norstone, we do some of our best work on natural stone fireplaces, so when you’ve got two sides a fireplace, it’s basically double the fun! All jokes aside, the two sided fireplace has evolved from what started out as an interesting way to share a fireplace, normally between two living areas, into something that designers are using in far more interesting places and applications. Today’s blog features a two sided fireplace that is super unique because it’s exterior and bridges the gap between two very unique spaces. Let’s have a closer look at this really cool space done up in our Aksent modern stone veneer panels.
The first thing to understand about this outdoor stone fireplace is the two spaces that it’s looking out onto. In the above view of the fireplace you see this beautiful pillar of stacked stone with the stainless steel gas fireplace situated in an open air residential patio.
Come around 180 degrees on that fireplace and you’ll see that the other side (seen in the photo below) is the focal point of a unique private outdoor room, that is very much open to the elements, with just a pergola roof, but affording a lot of privacy by design.
The fireplace itself is a very large unit with a significant stainless steel border situated around the perimeter of the unit. The stainless steel is a great color to pair with the dark tones of our Ebony Aksent 3D panels. The large linear format of the insert, as well as the clean lines of the stainless steel and glass paneling create a very modern vibe which is obviously right in line with the geometric design and clean finish of the Aksent 3D stone veneer panels.
The surrounding products in the space offer up a nice contrast in colors and texture to the extremely modern vibe of the fireplace and stone veneer. The private outdoor room is framed out of high quality lumber that has been either painted or stained to create a very consistent look and homogenize most of the character that might come through from the wood grain. The patio floor actually appears to be a stamped concrete look (note the expansion joints) that introduces a rougher texture and two tone look to the space. While the square and rectangle pattern does speak to the geometric design of the Aksent stone veneer panels, the modern look of this space could definitely be kicked up a notch or two with a flooring tile or paver with a single color and linear format.
One of the most interesting things in the two sided aspect of this fireplace is that the patio side places the fireplace at a little higher than waist level, whereas the outdoor private room has it at basically knee level. This is perfect for each of the spaces to encourage people to linger in conversation on the seating of the exterior room and serve as a perfect backdrop for a bar height party in the outdoor space.
One of our favorite two sided fireplaces was done on a modern styled home in Austin, TX where the fireplace went from the dining room on one side to the outdoor patio on the other. Both that two sided fireplace and the one in today’s blog are really cool examples of how you can create a bridge between two spaces with a fireplace. Whether you’ve got a one sided or two sided fireplace, we encourage you to think outside the box and create more than just a regular boring fireplace on your next project. And know that Norstone is here to help clad that fireplace, however many sides it has, with the best natural stone veneers for fireplaces on the market!
