DIY Faux Fireplace
To say I’m excited to finally share this project is the biggest understatement! This time last year, I saw a craft technique on Instagram using cardboard and plaster to build decorative furniture and was completely inspired to create a faux fireplace that would better match my style and home.
Since this blog is now primarily focused on hosting, I wasn’t sure if I should share DIYs like this any more, but I ultimately decided that a big part of hosting for me is creating an environment that I LOVE to host in. When we moved into this rental, I immediately disliked the dirty fireplace (which isn’t even functional) and the dated tile that surrounded it. For the better part of a year I searched for a piece of furniture that would block it from view and act as a sort of media cabinet, but the tile around the fireplace came up so high that no furniture piece was going to be that tall. When I finally stumbled upon the craft tutorial everything seemed to click into place. That same week, I found the perfect height bookcase for free on the side of the road (like, what are the odds!) and I took it as a sign to begin a faux fireplace front.
This project was a much bigger undertaking than I expected, and a complete experiment from start to finish. There was lots of troubleshooting throughout, but I have to say, I am so pleased with the final result. And even though it took me a year to actually complete it, I finished it in time to decorate for the holiday season! Read on for the full nitty gritty process.
AFTER
It’s amazing to look back on the photos of when we first moved into this space. The two nooks on either side of the fireplace were completely empty. We weren’t sure if we’d be able to hang a tv in the center. I had no idea where to store all of our tech in way that looked good. Yet somehow, we found a way to solve all of the above in a way that is rental friendly!
First we hung custom shelves, which immediately made the alcoves feel more purposeful. We then splurged on a Frame tv, a longtime dream of mine (I love it so, so much). We found cabinets that fit almost perfectly into the alcoves for our media storage. But the pesky fireplace remained.
I knew I wanted to cover up the dated looking tile around the fireplace, at the very least. I kept screenshotting and saving images of beautiful white fireplaces in plaster with arches but didn’t think I could pull it off without having some woodworking knowledge (which I don’t).
BEFORE
INSPIRATION
PROCESS
Enter: the cardboard method. It seemed simple enough, not to mention cheap, since I had so many boxes from packages lying around. It couldn’t hurt to give it a try! A full step by step is below the images.
Part One: Cutting cardboard arch and gluing it to the internal support
Part Two: Buying plywood and coating in joint compound
Part Two: Back panel ready and in place
Front and back ready to go!
Part Four: Paper mache the edges
Part Three: Filling in the sides using cardboard “hinges”
Part Five: Coat completely in joint compound, then white paint
Part Three: Painting the whole thing white to see how it’s looking
Fin!
PART ONE
I wish I had a photo of the bookcase I found for free on the curb (thanks, neighbors) but at the time, I wasn’t sure this whole project was going to work so I didn’t start documenting until a few steps in. You can sort of see in the first picture above that the bookcase isn’t as wide as the fireplace (there’s about a foot on each side that I needed to build out to cover everything) but I figured it would be good to have a pretty solid internal structure rather than making the entire thing out of cardboard. I started by knocking out one of the shelves on the bookcase (I eventually knocked the other one out too, although how cool would it have been to have a hidden shelf inside?) and then cut a rough arch out of a large piece of cardboard I had from a shipping box. I did this roughly by tying some string to a tack on one end and a pencil on the other to make the guiding marks, then cutting with with a box cutter.
PART TWO
Next, I measured the space I wanted to cover completely and headed to Home Depot where I selected some cheap plywood that they were able to cut to size for me. I knew I wasn’t going to attach this to the wall or to my structure since we rent, and I wanted to be able to easily move the whole thing, so I picked a material thick enough that wouldn’t warp. I also grabbed some Drydex brand buckets of joint compound. You can get joint compound a lot cheaper if you buy it unmixed in bags, which in hindsight is what I should have done since this project required waaaay more than I initially planned for — but hey, I avoided a giant mess and potentially breathing in toxic dust so — I’m not too upset about it. Finally, I got some liquid nails glue, enlisted a friend to help, and got to work coating the plywood board in the joint compound and gluing the cardboard arch onto the bookcase. The most fun was using the joint compound because it’s like frosting a giant cake. It goes on pink but dries white and makes the prettiest plaster texture!
At this point, I was pretty pleased with how things were turning out, especially since I did all of that in a day and a half. Little did I know I was about to have do some more intense problem solving.
PART THREE
I had the front and back squared away, but what about the sides? I cut some more cardboard to connect the front piece to the back plywood board, and another long strip to enclose the top. The cardboard is super forgiving — I eyeballed or roughly measured a lot of it. But, the gap between where the inside bookcase ended and the cardboard was pretty substantial and I was worried about it being hollow. This fear increased when I tested a little bit of joint compound on the weaker points and the moisture began to warp it. I knew I was going to have to figure out a way to reinforce the cardboard.
While pondering my new issue at hand, I opted to paint the whole thing quickly in white paint to see if it was going to capture my vision. We also made sure the size was shaping up to be correct. My husband declared that even in it’s unfinished state, he liked it a whole lot better than what was underneath!
That was really encouraging, but life has a funny habit of getting in the way — my sister’s wedding, summer vacation, and work picking up meant that the fireplace project got put on hold from February to November. We got so used to it sitting in our living room, looking like a half built stage prop that had been abandoned. But every time I passed it, I tried thinking of more ways to make it sturdy enough to support a coating of joint compound.
PART FOUR
Sometime in the summer, the idea of paper mâché entered my brain. If layered properly it can actually be quite durable! I started collecting my junk mail, ads and newspapers in a box in the garage just in case. By the time one of my craft-loving friends came to visit in the fall, I had enough saved for us to pick up where I had left off months ago. This friend was also the one to suggest adding a little bit to the “hearth” — my imprecise method of measuring meant that a tiny bit of tile was still showing underneath the base of my structure. Our local Ace Hardware helped us cobble together a few pieces of wood to fit the 2 inch gap we needed to cover. The joint compound really covers and fills in a multitude of sins…if only people knew how much duct tape, glue and cardboard is buried underneath, holding all these things together!
While at Ace, we also picked up some cheap plastic containers, brushes, and Elmer’s glue to make the paper mâché. We the set to work plastering all the edges and seams with several layers of newsprint (paper mâché couldn’t be easier, it’s just equal parts glue and water, thinly painted over each piece of paper). As it dried I could immediately tell it had helped so much to even the whole thing out, while keeping the organic look.
PART FIVE
Finally, it was time to coat the whole thing in joint compound, let it dry, and then paint it! Initially I didn’t think I’d have to add paint, but parts of the joint compound dried a little more yellow than others so I just grabbed some basic white acrylic paint I had on hand and coated the whole thing one more time. I’m really glad I did because this even further filled in the gaps and gave it a beautiful matte finish.
There are honestly still a few things I want to do to the sides, but getting it done to this point in time to decorate for festivities was huge! I immediately hung my vintage bell garland and stockings, and we put the cozy Netflix fireplace video on repeat.
I can’t wait to restyle it in the coming days for year-round use. Perhaps if I get tired of the wood stack I’ll try candles inside, or some books. Now if we can just get some dining chairs we love, the living area will finally be complete!
One last note: I have to give credit to Geneva Vanderzeil of collectivegen.com, the ultimate craft queen! Her faux arched mantle from a few years ago gave me the confidence to make this project myself, without the use of power tools. Her instagram highlights are full of great ideas and more step by step videos if you need further inspiration.
Let me know in the comments if you have any questions, and I’ll do my best to answer them! Oh, and happy new year.
— M