Outdoor fire features transform Oklahoma’s outdoor living season — extending usable evening hours through fall and spring, creating a gathering anchor that no other outdoor feature matches, and adding warmth during the shoulder-season evenings when Tulsa and Broken Arrow’s outdoor entertainment culture is at its peak. Here are the fire feature concepts that work best in northeastern Oklahoma’s conditions and culture.
Masonry Fire Pit with Natural Stone Cap
The classic permanent fire feature: a concrete block core finished with stone veneer or stucco, topped with a natural stone cap. Built into the patio design at grade level or slightly raised, a masonry fire pit creates a visual anchor that defines the seating area and provides a wood-burning fire experience. The stone cap stays cool enough to use as a seating ledge or side table surface. Cost: $3,500-$6,500 installed. Most popular in Tulsa and Broken Arrow’s established neighborhoods where the wood-fire character suits the outdoor aesthetic.
Gas Fire Table with Lava Rock or Glass
A gas fire table — masonry or metal base with a burner insert set in decorative lava rock or fire glass — offers instant on/off convenience with no smoke. Gas fire tables produce a clean, even flame ring that works well for intimate patio settings and HOA-restricted neighborhoods where wood smoke is a neighbor concern. Cost: $2,500-$8,000 installed including gas line. Increasingly the default choice in Broken Arrow’s newer planned communities and South Tulsa’s higher-density residential areas.
Full Masonry Outdoor Fireplace
A full outdoor fireplace — firebox, surround, mantel, and chimney — is the statement fire feature that anchors a premium outdoor living space. Unlike a fire pit (which radiates heat in all directions at low height), an outdoor fireplace projects heat outward and upward, making it particularly effective on covered patios where the structure captures and reflects heat. Gas or wood-burning options available. Best on covered structures where the fireplace becomes the focal wall of the outdoor room. Cost: $9,000-$28,000 depending on size, finish, and whether it’s wood-burning or gas.
Fire Pit with Built-In Seating Wall
A masonry fire pit surrounded by a continuous built-in seating wall — a raised masonry bench with a stone cap that curves around two to three sides of the fire pit — is the most social fire feature configuration for Oklahoma’s outdoor entertaining culture. The seating wall eliminates the need for freestanding chairs (which shift, tip in wind, and clutter the space) and creates a defined, intentional gathering space. Cost: $6,000-$12,000 for the fire pit and seating wall combination. The most requested fire feature configuration on VistaScapes’ Broken Arrow projects.
VistaScapes & Design designs and builds outdoor fire features throughout Tulsa, Broken Arrow, and northeastern Oklahoma. Call (918) 779-1317 to discuss the right fire feature for your outdoor living space.
