Final batch of 327 • No restock • In 6 active carts right now
Murdo's Fireplace Diffuser
Murdo's Fireplace Diffuser
Dispatched within 1–2 days
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Murdo's Fireplace Diffuser
Made by hand in Kemnay, Aberdeenshire · 327 left · no restock
A little fire you can put your hand through
Murdo Strachan spent forty-seven years building real fireplaces. This is the small one he built for his wife Elspeth, in a care home where candles were not allowed: painted logs, a low ember glow, and a flame of cool, lit mist rising from the top. A drop of lavender in the water, a remote by the bed, and a timer that switches it off after she falls asleep.
— Murdo Strachan, stonemason since 1966
She said the care home smelled like a hospital and she missed watching a fire go up the chimney. So I gave her a flame that moves, and a little of the lavender from her desk drawer. The first night she rang me and said, Murdo, it’s lit. And it smells like lavender.
Murdo Strachan, about the first one he built for Elspeth
Everything you need for the first evening is in the box. Shona, Murdo’s daughter, insisted on the oils.
Every one of these comes from forty-seven years of watching real fires, and one year of building small ones before dawn.
No tools, no setup, nothing to assemble. Most people have it lit in under two minutes.
Why the families at the care home in Inverurie asked for this one by name.
| Candle | Plastic diffuser | Murdo’s | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Looks like a real fire | Yes | No | Yes |
| Safe to touch the flame | No | — | Yes |
| Allowed in most care homes | No | Yes | Yes |
| Switches itself off | No | Sometimes | 1, 3 or 8 h |
| Scent for the evening | Yes | Yes | Yes, 3 oils included |
| Logs painted by hand | — | No | Yes |
From 31 years in the fire service
“Candles start about a thousand house fires a year in this country, and more than a third of them start in a bedroom. December is the worst month, and Christmas Day the worst day of the year. Once you are past sixty-five, you are about twice as likely to be hurt in a house fire. A thing like Murdo’s gives people the part they miss, without the part that used to get me out of bed at two in the morning. And it turns itself off, so nobody has to remember.”
— Dougie Massie, retired fire officer, North East Scotland
Most of these are not bought for the person ordering them.
- A little fire, not a light bulb. The glow sits low in the painted cracks and the mist flame moves on its own, the way a real fire never holds still.
- Cool all evening. No open flame and no heat, which is why the care home in Inverurie let Elspeth keep the first one on her bedside table.
- It switches itself off. Set 1, 3 or 8 hours and fall asleep watching it.
- Ready the first night. Remote, cable and three oils are in the box. You only add a glass of water.
- Yours is a little different. Every set of embers was painted by hand, so no two glow exactly alike.
- 327 exist and there is no restock. Murdo’s hands are finished and the shed goes with the house before the snow.
If it doesn’t make the room feel different, send it back within 30 days and get your money back. Every order is checked and packed by hand and is dispatched within 1–2 days.
Please read before ordering
This is a tabletop piece, 24 cm long and 10.4 cm tall. The photographs are taken close up, so please check the measurements. It is made for a bedside table or a shelf, not to stand in front of a hearth.
The flame is cool water mist lit from below, not fire, and it gives off no heat. The logs are cast resin, patterned on real split oak and painted by hand. We would rather say so here than let anybody find out later.
It runs on the USB cable, not on batteries, so it needs to be plugged into a USB wall plug or port. Please do not fill the tank above the water line, or the mist effect will be weaker.
The oils are for scent and atmosphere only. Use a few drops in the water, never on the skin, and keep the bottles away from children and pets.
It looks its best in a dim room in the evening. Switch off the lamps and it becomes a fire.
| Product | Murdo’s Fireplace Diffuser, tabletop fireplace aroma diffuser |
| Size | 24.1 × 9.9 × 10.4 cm |
| Weight | 600 g |
| Housing | Matte black, removable lid with flame slot |
| Logs | Cast resin, patterned on split oak, embers painted by hand |
| Flame effect | Cool water mist lit from below by warm LEDs |
| Water tank | 300 ml |
| Controls | Remote control; touch buttons on the front for the 1, 3 and 8 hour timer |
| Power | USB, DC 5V/2A, about 5 W |
| Heat | None. The flame is cool to the touch |
| In the box | Diffuser, remote, 3 essential oils (lavender, sweet orange, tea tree), USB cable, instructions, gift box |
| Made by | Murdo Strachan, Kemnay, Aberdeenshire. Built 2025–2026 in his granite shed |
| Quantity available | 327 pieces. No restock |
| Shipping | Dispatched within 1–2 days |
| Guarantee | 30-day money-back guarantee |
The Final Series
The Final Series
Message from the workshop:
After forty-seven years building fireplaces across Aberdeenshire, Murdo Strachan can no longer hold a brush steady. He built these little fireplaces in his granite shed in Kemnay in the year after he lost his wife Elspeth, most of them before the sun came up, each one painted by hand for rooms where a candle isn’t allowed. 327 were finished. When these are gone, there is no restock and no second run.
Why there is no second batch
Why there is no second batch
Some things are made by one pair of hands, for decades, and then never again.
The Final Series is the last work of craftspeople who are putting down their tools. No factory, no successor, no second batch. Just the final pieces from their workshops, each one shaped by a lifetime of getting it right.
When they're gone, they're gone.
Frequently Asked Questions
Got a question? Here’s how to reach us.
Got a question? Here’s how to reach us.
Email us anytime at support@backroad-goods.com. We answer Monday–Friday 9am–5pm and Saturday 10am–3pm (ET) — whether it’s about your order, a gift, or just to say hello.
Can I return it if it’s not for me?
Can I return it if it’s not for me?
Of course. 30-day money-back guarantee. Put it on your bedside table, and if it simply isn’t right for you, email support@backroad-goods.com within 30 days for a full refund. No questions asked.