— CASE STUDY / SOLVANG, CA
Solvang Outdoor
Kitchen
A custom outdoor kitchen, wood-burning pizza oven, and full backyard transformation set into the oak-studded hills of Solvang.
LOCATION
Solvang
Santa Ynez Valley
BUDGET
$200k-$400k
Full Backyard Build
SCOPE
Landscape
+ Hardscaping
YEAR
2025
Completed
A Backyard
Built for Sunsets
THE BRIEF —
The owners came to us with a quiet hillside lot and a clear ambition: a backyard that could host fifteen friends for pizza on a Friday and feel just as good empty on a Tuesday morning. The existing pool was sound but isolated. The slope behind the house was unused. There was no shade, no kitchen, no real reason to come outside after sunset. Our brief was to design a single connected outdoor environment, anchored by a kitchen and pizza oven, that worked across all four seasons in the Santa Ynez Valley.
THE APPROACH —
Three Decisions That
Defined the Build.
01
A custom wood-burning pizza oven, hand-tiled in white mosaic, became the centerpiece of the entire build. Every other element of the kitchen — the prep counters, the grill, the dining bar — was sited around it.
Anchor with the Oven
02
A material palette of poured concrete countertops and cedar ceiling panels gives the structure permanence without coldness. Built to weather the valley's full temperature range and only get better with age.
Concrete and Cedar
03
The pool, kitchen, fire pit, and lower terrace were redesigned as a single composition rather than four separate features. The result is a yard that flows in either direction and feels like one room from any angle.
One Connected Plan
THE BUILD —
Six Months,
One Yard.
"We interviewed four firms. Legacy was the only one that asked us how we actually live in the yard before pitching anything. Six months later, we're cooking in it three nights a week. Worth every dollar."
[David Sheppard - Owner]
Solvang Outdoor Kitchen 2025
SCOPE OF WORK —
Everything,
End to End.
Designed, built, and project-managed in-house by Legacy Landscape & Arboriculture. No subcontracted design. No hand-offs.
— HARDSCAPE
Custom outdoor kitchen with poured concrete countertops, cedar ceiling pergola, and integrated grill stations.
— POOL
Pool re-tile, deck resurfacing, and integration with the new patio composition and dining terrace.
— LANDSCAPE
Drought-resilient planting design across the rear slope: native grasses, agave, and oak underplanting.
— FEATURE BUILD
Custom outdoor kitchen with poured concrete countertops, cedar ceiling pergola, and integrated grill stations.
— OUTDOOR LIVING
In-ground fire pit with custom seating, lower terrace stairs, and built-in bar seating along the kitchen.
— LIGHTING & AMBIENCE
Architectural lighting throughout the kitchen, pergola, fire pit, and select landscape moments.
Considering a Project Like This?
Let's Talk About
Your Property.
Legacy Landscape works on a small number of full-scope projects each year across Santa Barbara County and the Central Coast. Consultations are by appointment.