We’ve been working in this backyard for weeks, beginning with the demolition and removal of a built-in swimming pool. Things were coming together nicely last week as you saw this somewhat controversial Phoenix pizza oven on top of an outdoor fireplace really starting to take shape.
You might wonder what is so controversial about such a project. Well, it seems that this is a first, a one-of-a-kind in the Phoenix – Scottsdale area , let alone the state of Arizona. If what we have discovered looking around the internet is true, then you might have to go as far as Japan to find such a patio design feature in place that allows a wood burning fire in both the pizza oven and the fireplace below. We weren’t on a course to break records, do the undoable, or even to prove a point. Desert Crest simply did what was necessary to make out client’s dreams come true. Still, unless someone steps forward and corrects us, our latest design challenge is something remarkable indeed. Everyone else uses an insert or kit and gives you your choice of outdoor fireplaces or pizza ovens… never both in one unit.
Here you see the finished outdoor living space’s focal point. The Autumn Blend natural stone veneer and pizza oven door is in place. The pavers used in this Phoenix patio design are Native Blend which is a beautiful companion to the local stone colors on the outdoor fireplace’s structural face. The large planters are a great accent and are outfitted with rear drainage to keep water seepage from damaging the beauty of the flagstone capping.
Also included in this particular Phoenix landscape design are some great desert living plants and an old world style outdoor fountain. Plant material used in this backyard are pigmy date palm, plumbago, little johns shrub, and elephant food. Newly installed trees used are green elm and fantex ash tree.
Radical, as backyard makeovers go, this landscape remodeling job has completely changed the view from the windows for this homeowner. It’s also put a whole new twist on outdoor living space uses for them. Rather than having a swimming pool as the total focal point, they now have plantings that will mature into highly attractive spaces. 
The water feature adds layers of sound and ambiance without taking over the area. The pizza oven over outdoor fireplace combination though is an asset no matter which way you look at it.
All they need now is the right patio furniture to fit this new patio design’s outdoor living spaces. For this homeowner, its a whole new world in backyard living, custom designed to their needs by Desert Crest.
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Everyone has priorities when it comes to the most valued features in their outdoor living spaces. In small backyards, like many people around Scottsdale and Phoenix, patios and pools can argue with each other for square footage. Naturally it depends on the homeowner and the family who lives there. Pools aren’t on the top of everyone’s most desired lists. Whether the home was purchased with the pool and its hardly ever used or the kids have grown up and moved away, there are times when drastic backyard recreation become the option for getting the features we really need.
Having wood fired Phoenix pizza ovens on the patio will no doubt get truly gourmet outdoor cooks in the area excited over the possibilities. Its something not that many people have, but hearing about someone getting one nearby will no doubt get those old world bread and pizza taste buds stirring. By the way, the best firewood for baking bread and pizza is pecan or apple, or citrus. You can mix some mequite in with either, but for best flavor in wood fired breads and pizzaz is recommended. The rest will burn too dirty or ruin the flavor of the baking dough. Apple is kind of sweet, so it sounds like pecan or sour citrus would be the first choice for pizza baking.
A standard outdoor pizza oven gives you just that feature, and nothing else. Inside outdoor kitchens, this setup makes perfect sense. As a focal point of outdoor living spaces though, a different approach is needed. As on this project, where the homeowner wanted both fireplace and pizza oven in one unit. Rather than buy a kit or slip in, Desert Crest decided this would greatly compromise the quality of overall design and ornamental appeal. This method of combining outdoor fireplaces below a pizza oven isn’t something you’ll find anywhere else around Scottsdale or Phoenix. That’s the great thing about truly custom design.
We’ve built lots of Scottsdale and Phoenix outdoor fireplaces. Its one of our specialties, but this project is our first pizza oven design request. It was a challenge in engineering, but our masonry experience and skills have really made it all come together. Here’s the finished outdoor fireplace pizza oven combo completed, with just the door left to be installed.
