john t. unger studio

HGTV's Decked Out Features the King Isosceles Sculptural Firebowl

The King Isosceles Sculptural Firebowl is featured this week on Season 3, Episode 2 of Decked Out with Paul Lafrance from HGTV You can see a photo slideshow of the project here. The full episode is available to stream online here, but only if you're in Canada. The episode will be available in the US next season.

I haven't been able to see the episode myself yet, but I love what I can see from the photos. Here's the description of the project from Decked Out's site:

Paul and Ronit love their yard, but feel it is missing a deck. Their space has particular challenges including incorporating a beautifully landscaped pond and leaving enough green space for their playful pugs. They also want a deck that can be used for three seasons. Paul accepts the mission and builds three separate deck spaces including a breakfast bar with 700-pound glass top, a gorgeous metal fire feature, and a lounge area with hot tub that gives a perfect view of the pond.

I really enjoyed working with Rachel Burden, the Production Manager at Cutting Edge Designs to help make this project happen. She was kind enough to say some nice words on Twitter also:

@johntunger You beautiful fire bowl is on #deckedout tonight in Canada, can't wait for everyone to see it! You're a true artist.

— Rachael Burden (@RachaelBurden27) May 7, 2013

Fire Features and Fountains Add Amazing Light Effects to Montreal Pool

These photos of the King Isosceles Sculptural Firebowls were shot by Drew Hadley for a feature in Montreal Home Living last year. Several of the shots were used in the magazine, but I was so blown away by those that I contacted Drew to license the photos from the entire shoot. I'm so glad I did!

My firebowls are often used in pool settings and it's fairly frequent that a pool design will call for at least two firebowls to flank the pool, but this is one of the most interesting fountain concepts I've seen. Water flows between two glass plates to create a waterfall effect that seeming comes from thin air. The glass sheets are backlit so at night, the pool catches orange reflections from the fire and a cool blue reflecting from the fountain. Although I've seen harsh critiques of the prevalence of orange/blue color schemes to boost contrast in recent movies, I feel the complementing contrast of colors does wonders for reflected lighting!

This project was designed and built by Montreal designer Endrée Villeneuve of Vision enVert. Now that I've seen the entire collection of photos, this has become truly one of my favorite installations of my fire sculpture yet!

Fountain with Font O' Fire Firebowl at Glenn Hotel in Atlanta

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The Font O' Fire Sculptural Firebowl is aptly named as it has become the centerpiece of several fountains in top notch hospitality environments. Brian Sweeney created a Japanese inspired fountain for the Glenn Hotel in Downtown Atlanta using my 24" Font O' Fire firepit. The serrated top of the firebowl was added later.

The Glenn is an upscale boutique hotel that prides itself on treating guests like actual guests. This paragraph from their website makes the experience of staying at the Glenn sound pretty wonderful:

Upon entering the hotel, you are greeted with a welcome experience instead of a check-in process, a refreshing libation to delight you and a warm, scented towel to refresh you after your journey. Now imagine that you are offered the services of a Personal Host throughout your stay at our Downtown Atlanta hotel. Your needs are known, they are proactively tended to, and you are treated as if you are staying in the home of your very best friend.

The fountain design presents a nice balance of falling water with still water that reflects the tile and flame. The combination of fire and water elements is handled very nicely.

Photo courtesy Brian Sweeney of Sweeney Gardens

Photo courtesy Brian Sweeney of Sweeney Gardens

Great Bowl O' Fire Firebowls at Waikiki Parc Hotel

Waikiki Parc Hotel has three Great Bowl O' Fire Firebowls decorating their pool deck facing the ocean. The firebowls are installed in a concrete bed filled with blue glass, which give the illusion they are floating in a pool. Many of my gas fired firebowls use glass inside to cover the burner, but I think the use of glass for landscaping is a really cool idea. It provides a beautiful field of color below the firebowls.

I need to get some larger, print quality images of this installation— If anyone plans to visit the Parc Hotel, please let me know if you can shoot a few photos while you're there!

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Font O' Fire Sculptural Firebowl in Santa Monica garden by Joseph Marek

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The Font O' Fire Sculptural Firebowl features as a social centerpiece in this Santa Monica garden patio designed by landscape architect Joseph Marek.

The warm rust patina of the firebowl nicely complements the color of the walls and the outdoor cushions of the day bed. I've worked with Joseph on several of his projects and I always love seeing how he integrates my work into his stellar designs. He has a great eye and provides lovely photos of his landscapes.

If you like this landscape design, check out the Pacific Palisades garden design Joseph created using a  Big Bowl O' Zen Sculptural Firebowl overlooking the ocean.

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Big Bowl O' Zen Sculptural Firebowl in Manchester Center, Vermont

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Gary in Manchester Center, VT, sent this great picture of his Big Bowl O' Zen Sculptural Firebowl and screen on a gorgeous bluestone patio. His email included the note:

The backyard Deathstar is almost complete...

I'd love to see another photo from further back, showing more of the patio and surroundings, but the firebowl looks very handsome on the stonework.

Waves O' Fire Firebowl at Onyx Nightclub in Columbus, OH

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The Waves O' Fire Sculptural Firebowl at Onyx was only one of the club's many outdoor amenities. I never had a chance to visit Onyx before its recent closure, but from all accounts I can find it was quite the operation!

An review of Onyx on Columbus Alive portrays Onyx as a venue with a wide variety of options:

Call it a club, a bar or a restaurant, but none of these descriptions nails the scope of Onyx, part of a 25,000-square-foot Upper Arlington entertainment complex.

An upscale club and lounge open on weekend nights, Onyx shares a spacious patio and heated outdoor bar with Arlington Cafe. Shahriar Kazemi opened Arlington Cafe as a simple neighborhood bar in 1992 and it's since grown to become a hub for sister businesses Cazzie's, Arlington Banquets and, as of last summer, Onyx.

Even on a chilly night, Onyx sometimes opens its sliding doors to a patio dotted with a fountain and outdoor fireplace. Heading outside towards Arlington Cafe reveals pool tables, video games, cushy booths and an arsenal of HD televisions.

The Waves O' Fire Sculptural Firebowl was used in winter months to warm the patio space, while the fountain cooled the air in summer.

One review on Yelp describes the variety of entertainments in some detail:

Many areas inside, four areas have their own bar. One of them is an open courtyard with a fountain, another had a live band and TVs all around, this area also has pool tables and a quiet patio area.  A third had a great dance floor DJs, the forth seemed more for socializing with the couch and table area, the DJs here were not as loud so this would be great for conversations.

I'm glad I was able to get some photos of the Waves O' Fire in use while the nightclub was still in operation.

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Big Bowl O' Zen Firebowl in Pacific Palisades garden design

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The Big Bowl O' Zen Sculptural Firebowl overlooks the ocean in this Pacific Palisades garden design by Joseph Marek. The simplicity of the Big Bowl O' Zen is a perfect match for this minimalist, modern design. The small square grass yard surround by stone terrace my favorite part of this design— a contrast of soft grass with cool, hard stone, a small oasis of of easily managed order surrounded by native and natural plantings. Although the space is relatively small, it's perfectly designed for outdoor living and entertaining.

If you like this landscape design, check out Joseph's Santa Monica garden patio featuring a Font O' Fire Sculptural Firebowl as a social centerpiece.

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Great Bowl O' Fire at Chef Bobo's Fire Grill Restaurant in St. Lucia

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The first thing you see as you approach Chef Bobo Bergstrom's Fire Grill Restaurant in St. Lucia, West Indies is the Great Bowl O' Fire Sculptural Firebowl he commissioned to extend the fire theme of his restaurant.

It looks fabulous and I put it on a pedestal as a dramatic eye catching road sign alternative. I have a restaurant with torches alongside the water and wanted to continue my trade mark. — Chef Bobo Bergstrom

Fire Grill SteakHouse and Lounge bar's culinary concept is a modern twist on “Food over Fire” with an emphasis on local ingredients combined with classic European techniques. The restaurant focuses on char-grilled beef, meats and seafood as well as slow cooked Texas style bbq prepared in a cast-iron smoker. The Grill also offers extra aged beef prepared to Chef Bobo's secret specifications.

Fire Grill is located in the middle of Rodney Bay Village, opposite Royal St.Lucian Hotel on the Reduit Beach Avenue.

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Font O Fire Firebowl as fountain centerpiece at BluEmber

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The plaza fountain at BluEmber Restaurant in Rancho Mirage, CA was one of the first to incorporate my firebowls. A Font O' Fire Sculptural Firebowl is the centerpiece of the multi-level masonry fountain. At night, the fire fountain provides lighting and ambiance, by day it provides a warm gathering place.

BluEmber features award-winning classic California cuisine with a contemporary spin as part of Rancho Las Palmas Resort and Spa.

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