One curvy, one straight – 2 epic outdoor stoves!

Chimineas and fire pits, firebowls and fire baskets… they’re similar, and there’s a lot of overlap. Then there’s outdoor stoves. A garden stove sounds perfect in its simplicity – basically a cooker for the garden – but the name deceives. While you can cook on a garden stove it’s about so much more than BBQing. It is also a fire thing, a decorative thing, a mood lighting thing and an ambience thing.

These stoves are ideal to dot around the garden, lighting the way and illuminating the places people naturally gravitate to relax and chat. No faffing, no complexity, just the magic of fire contained safely inside a strong, good-looking metal body. Place it on a surface that won’t burn and you’re ready for rock ‘n’ roll.

Curvy garden stove

First, the curvy one. The Cook King Havana Decorative Stove is a lovely organic pear-like shape enhanced by cut-out shapes that delight by day and mesmerise after dusk, creating an intimate atmosphere for the conversation to flow late into the night. It’s also a good little cooker for making simple BBQ treats, either on the flat top. A cast iron frying pan or cookpot works a treat.

Straight garden stove

Second, the straight one. The Cook King Faro garden stove is another thing altogether, with a sleek cylindrical body and arched rectangular mouth. There’s a neat log store in the bottom section and the fire burns merrily away at a higher level. A couple of carry handles make it easy to shift around when the metal is cool and the neat little chimney gives it a quirky Steampunk feel. At 135cm tall this is an impressive-looking garden stove as well as a sturdy one, made to exacting standards from tough materials.

Which will you choose for your garden? Each with its own distinct personality, they both look wonderful in all sorts of garden settings when lit and unlit.