Decorative log stores in Corten steel

Each of these pieces is shaped from 2 mm Corten steel and delivered with the Cortenys signature patina. Dimensions are as listed on each product page; weights are empty weights and prices are UK prices in the base finish. Corten is a material, not a paint colour: the steel rusts on the surface on purpose, and that warm, rust-brown layer is what you see.

These pieces are meant to display firewood close to where you burn it: by the back door, at the edge of the patio, near a fire pit or an outdoor fireplace. Keep the clearances given by the maker of the appliance, though: a log store, decorative or not, never goes right up against a fire. The outer volume of our decorative shapes ranges from about 0.05 m³ for Fortito or Circulu to 0.21 m³ for the long Gemitus and 0.28 m³ for Sylvain. That outer volume is a ceiling the stack never quite fills, so think of it as enough for a few evenings rather than a season.

To keep a cubic metre or more, pair a decorative piece with a large log store under cover at the bottom of the garden and top it up as you go. All our larger designs, with or without legs, with compartments or several tiers, are on our Corten steel log stores page. A quick way to size that main store: multiply length × depth × height in metres for the outer volume, then expect noticeably less wood, because the gaps between logs take a real share of it.

If you searched for a hexagon log store or a hexagon wood store, Sylvain is ours. It borrows the shape of a honeycomb cell: six open sides, standing straight on the ground, with the logs settling into the angles. It measures 920 mm long, 385 mm deep and 800 mm high, weighs 20.3 kg empty and costs £790. It is the tallest and roomiest of our decorative pieces, but it comes in one size only, and we do not make a set of nesting hexagons or a taller version.

On a lawn or on paving, Sylvain reads as a sculpture of wood and metal: the pale cut ends of the logs against the coppery patina. Because it is a single freestanding cell, it looks best with a little space around it rather than squeezed into a corner.

Most people searching for a round or circular log store picture a big drum of logs. Circulu is not that. It is a round window module 390 mm in diameter and 380 mm deep, weighing 15.6 kg, at £870. You set it in front of a woodpile or build it into a larger log store, and it works like a porthole: the eye goes straight to the cut ends of the logs inside the ring.

Inside, it holds an armful of logs, around 0.05 m³ of outer volume. If you want a large circular store for the winter supply, we do not make one; a compact Circulu framing the front of a bigger rectangular store gives the round look with a proper amount of wood behind it.

The three windows share a depth of 350 to 380 mm and a height of about 380 mm (Circulu, at 390 mm across, is barely taller), so they combine well. Fortito, the most compact, stands alone, stacks or goes into a low wall; Gemitus runs along a wall, in 780 or 1480 mm; Circulu, placed in front of a stack or set into a log store, draws the eye to the logs.

Our product pages mention no wall-fixing kit for these modules. If you plan to stack them high or build them into a wall, talk to us before you order.

• A low line: two long Gemitus end to end beneath a window of the house, nearly 3 m of logs on show.
• A wall of wood and light: Fortito modules stacked in a chequerboard, with a few squares left empty to let the light through.
• A focal point: a single Circulu at eye level in the middle of a woodpile.

Meum is an openwork heart, 600 × 540 × 380 mm and 11.4 kg. You can slip it into a woodpile, lean it against a wall or set it in the middle of a border. Its open outline takes a few logs and lets the air through, but it also works empty, as a piece of garden decoration.

Meum also makes a natural present: for a housewarming, a wedding anniversary, a first house with a wood burner. Meum costs £930, Circulu £870 and Sylvain £790. Each one is made to order, so allow 2 to 5 weeks from order confirmation to delivery, which is free, and order well ahead of the date.

The windows are 350 to 380 mm deep and Sylvain 385 mm: logs cut to 33 cm sit inside without sticking out, whereas 50 cm logs would overhang the front. Every shape is open, so air moves through the stack and helps it dry. Only put wood that is already seasoned and ready to burn in these pieces; freshly cut logs dry better in a ventilated shed.

The signature patina is applied in the workshop before delivery. Damp logs and rain carry rust down onto the ground, so stand these pieces on gravel, dark stone or spacers. The protective varnish is offered as an option on all five, for example £20 more on Sylvain (£810 instead of £790); it greatly reduces rust run-off but does not rule it out: even varnished, Corten steel can still stain the ground, especially under a wet stack, so keep a gravel strip, spacers or a drip tray underneath. Our Corten steel care guide explains how to treat a mark.

Our log stores are designed for outdoor use. A decorative indoor log store next to a wood burner is possible only once we have approved the project with you, before you order, and with the workshop varnish; even then, varnished Corten steel can still stain a pale floor, rug or hearth stone, so stand the piece on a tray or spacers and wipe up any damp marks quickly. Keep the stove's clearances too. More on the finish on our protective varnish page, and on the material itself on Corten steel.

To stack logs high against a wall, in 2- or 3-tier columns, see our vertical log stores. For capacity, the box without legs, the frame on legs and the tiered and compartment designs are all in our full range of Corten steel log stores. For layouts that mix log stores, planters and fire, browse our Corten steel garden ideas.