Homeowners in Central Pennsylvania are increasingly bringing outdoor kitchens into the earliest conversations about backyard design, according to A Plus Landscaping, a design-build company based in Reinholds. The company says that rather than adding a kitchen after a patio is finished, clients now raise the kitchen during the initial walkthrough, alongside the patio and fire feature. This shift matters because it allows plumbing, gas, and electrical connections to be mapped before any patio surface is installed. As a result, counters, appliances, storage, seating, and walking paths can be planned as one unified layout instead of being retrofitted around existing infrastructure.
Marcus Waldner, founder of A Plus Landscaping, explained the change in client behavior. “Homeowners used to think of the kitchen as something you add once the patio is done. Now it’s one of the first things they bring up on the initial walk-through, right alongside the patio and the fire feature,” Waldner said. “Building it into the plan from day one means we’re not working around plumbing or seating that’s already locked in.” This early integration gives homeowners more control over how the space functions and reduces the likelihood of costly modifications later.
National data supports what the company is seeing locally. The 2026 U.S. Houzz Outdoor Trends Study found that 95 percent of outdoor kitchen projects started from scratch, and more than two-thirds included plumbing, electrical, or heating improvements. Those figures underscore that outdoor kitchens are no longer simple grill stations but fully integrated living spaces that require planning comparable to indoor renovations.
A Plus Landscaping designs outdoor kitchens around how each homeowner plans to cook, serve, and gather. Projects may include built-in grills, pizza ovens, counters, storage, seating, and adjacent fire features. Each project begins with a property visit from an A Plus Design Professional, and larger projects may incorporate full 3D renderings before construction begins. The company manages the project from design through installation, ensuring that utility routing and hardscape elements are coordinated from the start.
The implications extend beyond aesthetics. When utilities are planned early, homeowners avoid the expense and disruption of tearing up a finished patio to run gas or electrical lines. Seating and traffic flow can be arranged to keep the cook connected to guests, and storage can be built into the layout rather than added as an afterthought. For the broader outdoor living industry, the trend signals that consumers increasingly view their backyards as functional extensions of the home, not seasonal extras.
A Plus Landscaping is a family-owned outdoor living design-build company founded by Marcus Waldner in 2006. It serves homeowners across Central Pennsylvania, including Lancaster, Harrisburg, Hershey, Mechanicsburg, Middletown, and Reading. Services include outdoor kitchens, paver patios, retaining walls, custom pools, decks, and landscaping. The company backs its paver patio installations with a limited lifetime warranty, and financing is available through HFS Financial. Homeowners interested in learning more about the company’s approach can visit A Plus Landscaping online.
