Fake It Til You Make It--A Faux Fireplace

Woodshop Diaries
by Woodshop Diaries
My sister had asked me to build her a “faux” fireplace to set her TV (massive TV I might add) on to replace the metal and glass stand she had but didn’t like. Simple enough, I thought. But, then she started sending me a gazillion pictures of fireplaces like “can you do this, but make this part like that, then do the moulding like this, but not make this part so big? Oh, and I want it to come in at this point but stick out here.” Oh. Em. Gee. “Um, why don’t I come over and we can draw out a picture and get the design settled?” Is this what having “clients” is like? Love my sister, she’s just a little picky…
So I went over and measured the space and we drew out a picture of what she wanted. Don’t laugh, it’s drawn by hand and on a church bulletin and totally not proportional and I drew it in a hurry. Don’t judge me. Here’s the rough idea:
Some things changed in the process of the build, but this gave me a good idea and I made her sign off on it so she couldn’t complain when it was done that it wasn’t what she told me she wanted. Just kidding…but I did think about it :)


I didn’t have a plan that was exactly what she wanted built, but I used some inspiration from Ana White’s version of a faux fireplace. Ana White is amazing. I want to be her, but I’m not cool enough.


My sister wanted her fireplace surround and mantle on a platform, so I built that first.
She wanted the surround to sit back from the front a couple inches, so I used 1×10 pieces for the sides and pocket hole screwed them into the platform making sure they were spaced so that the 1×12 front would fit (11 1/4″ from outside to outside).


Then I attached the shelf for the middle part and the crown moulding around the top. In hindsight, I would have attached the mantle before putting on crown moulding, but I wanted to make sure the mantle was wide and deep enough to cover the crown. No big deal doing it backwards, just makes it a little harder to line up the edges.
I cut the front doors to fit and glued the moulding on. I attached the mantle while the glue was drying. Once the glue was dry, I attached the doors with hinges. Both sides swing out and the middle folds down (just like the Ana White one).
Painting is the devil, so since I was doing this for free labor, I told sissy that she could paint. I was nice and puttied, caulked, sanded, primed, and sanded again before I gave it to her to paint. I can be nice :)


I’m sure she had fun painting it and I didn’t want her to miss out on some fun!



She’s a trooper…it’s a bazillion degrees outside right now.


And now she’s got a beautiful new faux fireplace and tv stand combo!
Check out the blog post for more details and to see the adorable pictures of her dogs posing in front of the new fireplace :)
Woodshop Diaries
Want more details about this and other DIY projects? Check out my blog post!
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  • LindaSanford LindaSanford on Dec 07, 2016
    Beautiful "faux" fireplace. Do have any ideas that is on a smaller scale because my apartment is very small. Thank you?
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  • Barb Barb on May 17, 2020

    It turned at gorgeous and I love the hidden spot for cords etc and the longer panel for storage. Looks stunning! 5-STARS 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟👏🏼👊🏼💪💡 Here’s an idea for the insert.

  • Gin Gin on May 17, 2020

    I absolutely adore this. Just a great idea. I would have to pay someone build it for me, since I know nothing about building or putting anything together. Thanks for the idea! Love it!

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