Tabletop fire bowls made of concrete, ceramic or terra cotta can provide a sense of warmth and ambiance to your outdoor dining space and can also serve as relaxing outdoor lighting when just chilling on your patio, deck or porch. Learn how to make DIY tabletop fire bowls in literally… minutes! No tools needed.
There are many DIY fire pits and fire pit ideas found online. They can be called tabletop fire bowls, fire pits or even firepieces. Most are labor intensive or need handy skills and tools to make them. Some styles require propane, gel fuel or natural gas to create the flame.
As we move into the outdoor season, we often entertain around the firepit in our yard. It can be magical, but when it is just Ed and I and we don’t feel like getting a big fire lit, it is nice to have a small firepit on the dining table on the deck.
For my outdoor tables, I wanted to create the look and feel of a modern table top fire bowl, but I wanted to make it easy to create.
I also wanted it to be portable so that I could move it from the high deck table to the round one or to the picnic table in my yard as well as the dining table on the lakeside gazebo.
What Can You Use To Make a Tabletop Fire Bowl?
After thinking on how I could create the style of fire bowl I was envisioning, I got the idea for this “made in minutes” fire bowl.
Do you remember when I made this faux concrete bowl to display holiday ornaments in my foyer?
In the spring, I used it to hold flowers on my coffeetable in my living room.
Now my DIY faux concrete bowl has a new function.
Easy To Make Tabletop Fire Bowl
I turned it into an outdoor tabletop fire bowl to enjoy when we eat dinner outside during the summer months. No fuss or big fire to light and care for all evening.
This DIY project idea is one of the easiest DIYs since all you need to do is gather a few items and put them together. I call easy projects like this Insta-Style decor.
How to Make a DIY Tabletop Fire Bowl in Minutes
You may be thinking… “I like this, but I don’t have a bowl like this or want to make one.” That is the beauty of creating a tabletop fire bowl like this.
All you need to make a tabletop fire bowl yourself in your decorating style is 3 items:
- A large bowl, planter or even a tray that has sides
- Landscaping rocks, lava rocks, sand, gravel or glass pebbles. (Optional – for large bowls – lightweight filler for bottom – packing peanuts, bubble wrap or sand)
- TIKI style table torch, canned heat or a large candle.
I used a TIKI style table torch to use in my fire bowl and lava rocks. The rocks are just decorative as the flame is contained in the table torch that is filled with citronella oil, and has a thick cotton wick.
You can purchase similar table torches like this at Walmart, Amazon and Target. (See resources below.)
What You Need
Time needed: 10 minutes.
This outdoor table concrete fire bowl was done in my style, but yours may look completely different from mine depending on the planter you use and the size and color of the rocks and torch flame.
- Gather Items
Place items on work table. Pour stones, or layer a few inches of gravel, pebbles into planter filling 3/4 of the way full.
Place TIKI style tabletop torch in the center on top of the rocks or gravel so the top is just about the rim of the planter.
Fill the planter the rest of the way with rocks or gravel.
- Light Torch
Once the tabletop fire bowl is assembled, light it and enjoy the glow.
Since the flame is enclosed in the glass torch, your planter won’t get burned and can be reused again as a planter when needed.
- Cover Wick When Not in Use
Use the metal wick cap that comes with the TIKI style table torch when the your fire bowl is not in use.
- More Ideas for Tabletop Fire Pits or Fire Bowls You Can Make in an Instant
If you don’t have a planter or outdoor table torches, look around your house for any vessel that would hold stones and a few candles.
I used a wood dough bowl, white landscaping stones found at a garden center or home improvement stores along with 3 battery-operated pillar candles to assemble and make this long tabletop fire bowl. It took 5 minutes.
How to Make a Sterno Firepit?
I like the idea of using a can of Sterno as a flame source for a DIY fire bowl. It will have a wider diameter flame than the table torch I used.
Place it in the same way as I did the torch, but then cut a piece of wire mesh slightly larger than the can opening. Place this over the top. This will keep any gravel or stones from getting into the can.
Discard when empty and simply replace with a new can.
Where To Buy Ready-Made Tabletop Fire Bowls
DIY Tabletop Fire Bowl Resources:
