Outdoor Kitchens
Mamma Mia!
Instead of dialing for delivery, step outside and see what’s cooking.

 
 

Look what’s happened to the 21st-century backyard. Within the last 10 years, it has turned into a luxury escape. According to the Hearth, Patio and Barbecue Association, the phenomenon of outdoor living is a $6.2 billion industry. Accessorized to the hilt, the backyard is now an oasis — an outdoor room fully furnished and intentionally constructed.

Central to the concept of the outdoor room is the kitchen, often just as equipped as its indoor counterpart. One accoutrement delivering the ‘wow’ factor is the wood-fired pizza oven. This component immediately grabbed the attention of Parkville residents Robert Hazelwood and his wife, Stephanie VanDyne.

“Stephanie decided that she wanted a wood-fired pizza oven since she likes to cook, so we investigated by going to a home show at Bartle,” Robert says.

The oven is the focus of their 14-foot by 14-foot concrete patio leading from a walk-out on the lower level of their traditional home at The National. “Since our house is essentially built on a bluff with views of the golf course and creek, we wanted to highlight the backyard area with a fully dressed-out entertainment area,” Robert comments. His builder had connections and found a commercial Woodstone oven that once graced the kitchen at now defunct Café Rumi.

The couple’s experience constructing their oven was not unlike the venerable wood-fired ovens that have varied little from the original Roman design: a round, domed chamber providing radiant heat built out of brick or stone and vented in the front. High heat and a live flame inside the oven give it an advantage to retain heat, while the brick oven floor can be used as a stove top.

Robert drew up the design, rendering a 6-inch-to-10-inch Arkansas stone dome encasing the 5-foot-wide oven insert. “Given the oven’s size and weight, we had to make sure it was located at least 12 feet from the house and supported by 6-inch-deep reinforced concrete footings beneath the patio,” he says.

With the oven an imposing center of attention, the couple admits it’s definitely a conversation point despite being labor-intensive. “We’ve become more comfortable the more we use it. The more you research and talk with people, the easier it gets,” Robert acknowledges.

Resources:

Designer: Robert Hazelwood
Patio/Oven Surround/Countertops/Plumbing: Kansas City Stone
Limestone Countertops: Cripple Creek Rock Co.
Oven: Woodstone – Corporation
Grill: Weber, Platinum
Cabinets: KC Custom Metal
Sound: JBL, speakers/Yamaha, receiver