The Wood-fired Oven at the Heart of 2026’s All-year-round Outdoor Living Trend

All-year-round outdoor living is the big trend for 2026, as Brits embrace the concept of relishing every season in their garden, whether that be through their planting choices, the creation of covered dining spaces or furnishing themselves with outdoor cooking facilities.

Gone is the idea that living outdoors equates to staging an occasional barbecue or getting a sun lounger out of the shed.  In 2026, British homeowners will be demonstrating their love of gardens as mental health havens and areas in which to create the strongest family memories.

This shift in thinking is also leading to a move towards changing the set-up of facilities outdoors.  Outdoor warmth is being created through the installation of fire pits and outdoor heating within pergolas.  Retractable roofing is becoming increasingly popular, to both fend off rain and provide shade. Lighting is being provided outside, to increase the dwell-time in outdoor spaces.  2026 is the year in which outdoor and indoor living will have their dividing boundary blurred beyond anything we have seen before.

Outdoor cooking at the heart of outdoor living

And this includes cooking. Having an indoor kitchen rustle up the food to eat outdoors is now old hat.  British homeowners are, these days, either opting to install an outdoor kitchen, or taking the first step towards that full-hog situation, by purchasing an outdoor oven versatile enough to cook virtually anything that could be cooked indoors.

In many cases, however, both things are happening, with a high-spec woodfired pizza oven being the central feature within an outdoor kitchen.  This is one reason why Orchard Ovens’ star product - Valoriani pizza ovens - will be a major part of 2026’s outdoor living trend.

“A Valoriani pizza oven can offer all that anyone intent on outdoor living could wish for.  Rather than being a British imitation of a Mediterranean tradition, a Valoriani wood-fired oven is the real deal.  Manufactured by artisans, based in Tuscany, Valoriani ovens have become part of many Italian families’ lifestyles, with generations of the Valoriani family having poured passion and love into the creation of their pizza ovens,” explains Orchard Ovens’ Andrew Manciocchi.

Why is a Valoriani the best wood-fired oven available?

A worldwide reputation for being the finest pizza ovens in the market has been justifiably secured. The quality of the build of a Valoriani oven goes beyond anything witnessed in the vast majority of ovens.  The materials used are first-class, with top-quality refractory clay being used to facilitate easy fire-up and excellent heat retention.  The insulation of a Valoriani oven is incredible, meaning no red-hot shells to burn the user, as is the case with many ovens.  The symmetry and shape of the oven is also conducive to delivering the very best cooking environment, under a perfectly proportioned Valoriani dome.

All of these ingredients have also created an oven with longevity.  Brits have rushed to fuel the throwaway society in recent years, by purchasing pizza ovens that last little more than one summer.  Valoriani ovens, on the other hand, should be at the heart of the family from the kids being babes to them heading to uni.  This lifespan is all-important for those making the oven the centrepiece of an outdoor kitchen or garden scheme.  Nobody wants to be having to replace an oven in record-quick time and ruining what has been put in place around it.

A wood-fired oven for all seasons

The cooking performance of the Valoriani oven is of huge importance when it comes to the all-year-round outdoor living trend.  Most wood-fired ovens on the market struggle to get up to temperature and retain heat even on warm summer days.  In contrast, a Valoriani oven, is very happy to be outdoors in December, cooking the Christmas dinner or warming the mulled wine.  

The only thing it does not particularly like is strong wind and torrential rain, but who wants to be outside in those conditions anyway?  Give it a dry, calm winter’s day and it will merrily get to work, whether you want to cook pizza, a roast dinner, curry or stews, baked desserts or even Yorkshire puds.

The different Valoriani wood-fired pizza oven options available to homeowners

A Valoriani oven can also fit in with the homeowner’s budget and desires for cooking outdoors.  For those who want a ready-to-go oven, there is the Fornino range – available on a wheeled stand or able to sit within a kitchen worktop run or on a plinth or base.

For other homeowners, who want to really make their oven a permanent feature in their garden, there is the option of buying the oven and then building a surround – out of whatever colour of brickwork or other material appeals to the design aesthetic of the garden space.  Here, the imagination can run wild, shaping this surround however the customer wants, whether that is as an Alpine chalet, a smart dome or a more rustic affair that channels the country idyll.

An oven can be situated under a canopy too, making it even easier to cook outdoors in any season.

A year-round pizza oven superstar

Of course, the wood-fired ovens from Valoriani provide their own welcome warmth when the weather is a little chillier, making them a brilliant focal point for the garden.  Gathering around them for a hot chocolate or glass of wine is like sitting around a traditional indoor hearth.  It’s a place for conversations, fun and laughter and exquisite family time.  With all generations able to get involved in the cooking process, it’s also a way to bond and forge friendships.

When it comes to the all-year-round outdoor living trend for 2026, a Valoriani oven is a key consideration. It should be the central cog in many a design scheme and the star-player in any outdoor kitchen.  Celebs, top chefs, A-listers, international footballing superstars and leaders of industry have already discovered this.  2026 may well be the year in which many ordinary homeowners follow their lead.

To find out more about the Valoriani oven or full outdoor kitchen scheme that could make you a family for all seasons outdoors, please call Orchard Ovens on 07743 847647.

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Editors notes

Orchard Ovens is the domestic and commercial pizza oven supplier in the UK of Valoriani, based in Reggello, Tuscany - the manufacturer of Italy's hugely respected Valoriani pizza ovens, known as the Maserati of pizza ovens and the kings of clay. These ovens are made from superb refractory clay - cotto clay - found in the family's quarry and unique, thanks to having just the right alumina. This allows Valoriani ovens to heat up quickly and retain heat superbly, bring huge advantages to homeowners, as well as restaurant owners, hotels, pubs, mobile caterers, pizzerias, takeaways and more.

Orchard Ovens supplies some of Britain's best-known restaurants and chefs, whilst it is also a specialist creator of outdoor kitchens and wood-fired oven builds for the rich and famous, as well as everyday homeowners wishing to add value to their home and enjoy an outdoor lifestyle to the full.