ZENO Square Log Holder by Cookking 60x60 cm - Welded Steel, 2 Levels

The ZENO log holder by Cookking (Reference : 333253) is a square column in solid steel bars, 60 cm a side and 25 cm thick, built on two stacked tubular frames. Above, an open store of large capacity. Below, a low, narrow tray closed by a sheet-steel plate.

It gains height, not floor space

This is the point of the model, and what sets it apart from the rest of the range. Standing against a wall, the ZENO takes up no more than a rectangle of 60 cm by 25, in other words 0.15 m² — the area of a small side table. All the storage volume is gained upwards, not sideways.

In practice, it fits where a spread-out store will not go : in a corner of a room, between a stove and a wall, between two doors, in a fireplace recess, at the end of a narrow terrace. Its square shape seen from the front gives it the poise of a piece of furniture rather than that of a tray set on the ground. If on the contrary it is a low height you need, because the unit has to fit under a ledge or a console table, then our low model 80 cm wide is the one to look at ; and if you are after a round piece, decorative in the middle of a living room, we offer one 80 cm in diameter.

Two stacked levels, deliberately unequal

This is not a shelf unit divided into two equal parts. The upper level takes the great majority of the volume : it is the log store proper, the one you fill in one go and draw on for several days.

The lower level is a shallow band, the height of an armful of kindling. The manufacturer has sized it for lighting the fire : split sticks, vine prunings, small branches, laid flat rather than stacked. This separation by use, and not simply by shelf, avoids what always happens in a single store : the kindling slips to the back, ends up under the big logs, and you have to empty half the pile to get it out.

This lower level is the only one to receive a protective steel plate. That makes sense, since it is the one that takes the small pieces : the chips, the splinters and the bark stop on the steel instead of ending up on the floor. On a wooden floor or light-coloured tiles, this is what separates a tidy store from black dust to be swept up every day.

Welded in one piece

The whole structure is in welded solid steel bars : not a screw, not a bolt, not a bracket. On an upright unit, that matters even more than on a tray resting on the floor. A column loaded with wood is put under an off-balance load as soon as you fill it unevenly, and a mechanical assembly ends up warping. The weld beads, on the other hand, fix the geometry once and for all.

Another, more pleasant consequence : the ZENO reaches you assembled at the factory. There is no bag of screws, no key supplied, no instructions to follow. You unpack it, you stand it where you want it, you load it.

Indoors as well as outdoors

The steel is given a powder coating cured in an oven — powder coating, far tougher than a paint applied on the surface. The manufacturer states that it resists damp, changes in the weather and mechanical damage, which allows both uses : indoors next to an insert, a stove or a fireplace, outdoors on a terrace, under a canopy or near a garden fire bowl.

One point the manufacturer's instructions do not mention : outdoors, do not push it flush against the wall. A few centimetres of clearance let the air circulate behind the stack, the wood dries distinctly better, and water that would otherwise stand between the steel and the masonry no longer has the chance to attack the coating through a flaw.

What it goes with

It naturally extends the fire bowls and the outdoor fireplaces we stock under the same brand : identical steel, identical finish, the same visual family. Keeping the wood store a step away from the fire changes the comfort of an evening outdoors, especially when it needs refilling often.

Indoors, its tiny footprint tucks it into a corner, between two doorways or inside a chimney recess, next to an insert as readily as a stove. The maker, Cookking, produces its entire range of hearths and accessories in Europe.

What to know before ordering

This item is not kept in our warehouses : it leaves the manufacturer's workshop directly for your address. Refer to the lead time shown on this page before confirming your basket. The unit weighs around 9 kg empty : it travels by carrier, but once at your home one person lifts it without difficulty to move it or sweep underneath.