DIY Faux Fireplace

Hello again! I’m always searching for ways to add cozy vibes to our small home! Our home is 1,100 sq ft and has a good amount of character on its own, like the ceilings and closets - they have this neat plaster swirl detail that is so good, but our bedroom just felt like it needed a little something extra. I pondered the idea of an accent wall for a minute but couldn’t decide on the perfect wall. So for now, I decided to add a faux fireplace under our TV!

I didn’t have a plan in mind when I started this project, so I just picked up a few 1x8s and 1x10s on my way home from work one night and decided to wing it. To start, I used my stud finder to find the two studs under my TV. The blue tape marks here are the edges of each stud.

Then I cut two of my 1x8s to 4ft and nailed them into the studs.

   

For the mantel, I used a 1x10. I held it on top of my 4ft 1x8s and marked where each stud was with a pencil. Then I used my Kreg Jig to make pocket holes on each pencil mark and used 2.5” screws to attach the board to the wall. I also used my jigsaw to cut around my cord cover, but later realized it would have been a lot easier to just cut the cord cover to end above the mantel. 😂

I decided I wanted the mantel to be thicker, so I trimmed it out with 1x4s.

Then I felt like it looked plain and boring, so I sketched out some corbels on some scrap 1x boards and cut them out with my jigsaw.

After gluing the corbels under the trimmed out mantel, I learned I hated it and took it all down. 🤣 This is how DIYs in real life go - it’s perfectly normal for a plan not to come together and to start all over. I licked my wounds and waited a couple days, then I tried a few different things until I liked what I saw! Here’s what I ended up with!

I also glued two 1x10s together for the mantel, because I didn’t have a 2x10 handy.

I could have stopped there, but I was going for cozy and couldn’t have real flames, so I needed real wood at least! I picked up a large foam board and cut it to fit inside my new faux fireplace. I also cut out a little hole for my TV cord since this will be covering the outlet.

Next, I used my miter saw to slice up a few pieces of firewood into thin discs, probably 1/4” to 1/2” thickness. You can also purchase wood discs from the craft store.

I used my fav construction adhesive to glue each disc to the foam board.

Almost there! My TV cord is pretty camouflaged.

I think it’s looking pretty cozy! A fresh coat of Sherwin Williams Alabaster makes anything swoon worthy! 😍