At this year's Dwell on Design, I took a liking to The Modfire, a contemporary take on the classic chiminea (and winner of Dwell's Best New Furniture and Accessory Design award). Metal worker Brandon Williams created the original Modfire for his midcentury ranch home in Phoenix, Arizona. Williams teamed up with two friends to start Modfire, a company that enlists local steel artisans to create handcrafted the fourteen-gauge steel fireplaces. The unit is available in a variety of colors, but our favorite is the natural steel finish shown below; the steel undergoes a bluing process and is then hand-waxed. The hand hammered bowl inside is for wood however a gas burning kit is also available for both propane and natural gas. The Modfire stands 47 inches tall and costs $950 for the wood burning version and $1,100 for a propane one. Go to for ordering information.