Brick Oven Details

Customizing the exterior of a brick oven allows the owner to enjoy their cooking device from a purely aesthetic view.  Since the oven will be part of the visual environment and since brick ovens by nature are ancient, it makes sense to me, that they should reflect both the personality of the baker and have a cultural context.

Two features that merit special attention are the keystone and the shelf.  These most often have materials that differ from the rest of the oven and become 'standouts'.

The above brick oven has Irish limestone shelf and keystone.
The below oven has natural river-smoothed stone and mosaic.

Each oven I build has a guiding theme.  The function of the oven is determined. The appearance can vary greatly.