DIY Faux Fireplace

12 Materials
$40
2 Days
Easy

Hello again! I’m always searching for ways to add cozy vibes to our small home! Our home is 1,308 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 glueing 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! 😍

To see more of my home and DIY projects, click here.


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  • TM TM on Jul 21, 2020

    That’s super creative and turned out really nice. Kudos to the one who came up with that design!

  • Susan Susan on Dec 14, 2020

    .....AND WHEN THE TV DIES? How do you unplug it?


  • Gig69451122 Gig69451122 on Apr 15, 2023

    You did an amazing job! Faux fireplaces are so costly! My thought? With all the white there, maybe some white shudders, or mini white barn doors covering the t.v.? The black t.v. is still the focal point. Where as your beautiful fireplace should be. Otherwise 👍👍👍❤

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