Fireplaces are primarily decorative and less commonly used for heating. This is especially true for traditional or rustic designs, as opposed to modern ones.

Fireplaces are primarily decorative and less commonly used for heating. This is especially true for traditional or rustic designs, as opposed to modern ones.

That being said, a fake fireplace can be a great design feature. It gives the space a cozy and warm ambiance and can be easily built with simple materials.

Different Types of Fireplaces:

Indoor fireplaces are popular nowadays. People are installing high-quality indoor fireplaces for their benefits.

At first glance, most indoor fireplaces may appear identical. However, they are actually distinct, so caution is needed when selecting one. Many people mistakenly choose the wrong fireplace assuming they are all the same.

Gas Fireplaces:

A gas fireplace burns natural gas or propane for a steady flame. These flames are arranged around fictitious logs to mimic a high-end wood stove fireplace. Indoor gas fireplaces don’t need flues or chimneys, so you don’t have to clean or maintain them or worry about leaving the flue open.

Just turn on the fireplace and relax.

Electric Fireplaces

Electric fireplaces are ideal for enhancing indoor aesthetics while providing heat. Many people choose to install their electric fireplaces near entertainment centers and media consoles so they can enjoy their favorite TV shows with a cozy fire. Most electric fireplaces use heated coils to warm the cold air.

Wood-fueled options are ideal for a more authentic fireplace experience. Indoor wood stove fireplaces have many functional and aesthetic similarities to traditional fireplaces. You can install them in your existing fireplace or on freestanding legs.

While this enhances the visual appeal of your indoor space, installing a wood fireplace is more complicated.

Vent-Free Fireplaces

What’s most striking about these fireplaces is that they’re self-contained. You may place an indoor fireplace anywhere without fear of combustion or safety issues. The sole disadvantage is that they produce less heat than gas or traditional fireplaces.

Pros and cons to indoor fireplaces.

Gas Fireplaces

If you have a natural gas pipeline, a gas fireplace grants you access to unlimited fuel without the need for logs. Like other fireplaces, gas fireplaces have pros and cons:

– Pro: Gas-fueled fireplaces generate greater heat at a lesser cost. Ventless gas fireplaces ensure that all heat stays in the room, making it easier to heat only the rooms in use.

– Con: Installing a gas fireplace can be costly if your home doesn’t have a gas connection.

Propane Fireplaces

Some models use a propane tank for fuel, meaning you can have a gas fireplace even without natural gas pipes on your property.

Even if ventless models have safety sensors, there is a slight possibility of carbon monoxide entering your house due to the lack of ventilation. However, these issues are rare, and annual inspections ensure the safe operation of your ventless fireplace.

Electric Fireplaces

This is one of the most affordable options for installing a fireplace in your home. The advantages and disadvantages of an electric fireplace are:

Installing an electric fireplace is simple since no ventilation or fuel is required. Just make sure they are near a power outlet. Electric fireplaces produce less heat compared to gas and wood-fueled units and can be considered more like space heaters.

However, electric fireplaces are highly adaptable and come in various styles and sizes, making them affordable and convenient to transport.

Wood Fireplaces:

The traditional fireplace burns wood, offering an authentic experience, but also has a few drawbacks:

– Pro: Wood-burning fireplaces operate without electricity, providing light and heat during power outages.

– Con: Maintaining a supply of logs is necessary for proper function. Starting a fire and cleaning the fireplace are also required to prevent build-up.

Pro: For a cozy and authentic ambiance, choose a wood-burning fireplace. Nothing compares to the atmosphere created by a classic fireplace.

Con: Adding a wood-burning fireplace to your home requires extra construction for the aperture and ventilation.

Stone Veneer Fireplace Types

Stone veneer fireplaces are elegant. Let’s look at what to expect when choosing one:

– Storage fireplace: Some fireplaces can be integrated into the wall for added functionality. Alongside the fireplace, you can have cabinets and shelves.

– Arched stone fireplace surround: Arched fireboxes have a more formal appearance. Use stone to frame the top of the arch.

• Fireplace entertainment center – Mount your television or entertainment center above the fireplace to make it the focal point of the room.
• Bathroom fireplace – Place a fireplace next to a soaking tub to create a peaceful ambiance.
• Outdoor fireplace – Use stone to dress up an outdoor fireplace and blend it seamlessly with the surroundings.

Love the Tompkins

Building a faux fireplace from scratch is surprisingly easy. This is great news for anyone who wants to add this feature to their home. The task begins with constructing the fireplace frame, which can be made from wood. You can use scrap pieces from previous projects for this. Once the frame is in place, you can add the shell, which consists of plywood panels.

Attach them with adhesive for a clean, simple look. After that, you can customize the fireplace by painting it, adding tiles, and other elements. Lovethetompkins has a detailed tutorial on this project.

Hometalk also has a guide on creating a faux fireplace.

Before dismissing the idea of a faux fireplace, consider its impact on the room and house. A faux fireplace takes up minimal space and can serve as a wall ornament. Enhance its charm with a stone surround or by adding wood logs or slices. The mantel is ideal for displaying items.

Find more inspiring ideas on hometalk.

Functional Fireplace by The Sweetest Digs

If you’re serious about adding a DIY faux fireplace to your living space, consider making it the central piece of your living room wall unit. You can design and build various configurations starting from the fireplace. For instance, you can place the TV on the wall above the faux fireplace and integrate it into a shelving unit with open and closed modules on the sides.

If this interests you, check out the tutorial on thesweetestdigs.

A faux fireplace must look authentic and real, even if it’s not functional. The one featured on makeit-loveit achieves this. It’s portable, allowing for easy redecorating and storage during summer months.

In winter, when it’s chilly outside, it creates a cozy atmosphere in the living room.

Introducing the DIY Fireplace Entertainment Center.

A faux fireplace can serve as more than just a decoration in your living room. For example, you could integrate it into an entertainment center. In other words, you can use the mantel as a shelf for electronics and extend the back panel of the fireplace upward to mount the TV. Alternatively, you can install the TV directly onto the wall.

This idea is inspired by blesserhouse.

DIY Fireplace with Shelves

A faux fireplace may appear out of place if it isn’t integrated into the room’s décor or made a part of a wall unit. To make it a permanent feature in your living room, include it in the entertainment center. Visit iheartorganizing to see how seamlessly this built-in DIY fireplace blends in.

You wouldn’t even suspect it is non-functional.

Before building a faux fireplace, you must make important decisions. One such decision is choosing the materials. A reclaimed wood fireplace can look charming.

Since this won’t function as a real fireplace, there’s no need to worry about fire hazards or other details. You can stack wood blocks like Lego pieces, which can be a fun activity. Visit kristimurphy for tips on this project.

DIY Fireplace with Candles

When considering the placement of your new faux fireplace, think about where it will go. If you can’t incorporate it into a wall unit, find an empty wall that needs a focal point. If the living room doesn’t have space, try the master bedroom or home office. The mantel can hold framed pictures and decorations, and you can also place candles inside.

Check out this DIY faux fireplace on thepursuitofhandyness – it’s perfect as is. Before you start, sketch out your design.

Of course, you might already have a fireplace in your home, perhaps even a functional one. In that case, you could give it a makeover by tearing down the old frame and mantel and building a new surround from scratch. Gather your materials and make a sketch with measurements for a plan to follow. You could reuse some pieces from the old fireplace if necessary.

More details about this project can be found on athomewiththebarkers.

Not a fan of wood or stone fireplaces? Perhaps you’d prefer a DIY concrete fireplace instead. This project is permanent, so be sure you’ll keep it for at least a few years because tearing it down won’t be easy.

You’ll need materials, tools, and maybe some time and effort to demolish an old fireplace. Find all the details you need about this project on designertrapped.

Maximizing Space

A cool option is to give your existing fireplace a makeover and add some built-in shelves on the sides. For example, the facing of the fireplace was changed, enhancing the overall design. After marking the shelf placement with painter’s tape, custom-designed shelves were installed.

You can see the full journey on thediyplaybook.

Rustic DIY Fireplace Idea:

Painting the fireplace is a nice idea. It’s an easy way to change its appearance without using a lot of resources and without starting a big and complex makeover project. All you need is paint in any color you think would look good (white is always a nice option, especially for brick fireplaces), a brush, a piece of cloth, and some painter’s tape so you don’t go over the edges.

You can find more details on postcardsfromtheridge.

Here’s another change of look. The wooden frame was kept since it was in good shape and matched the new look. The brick was covered in joint compound and got a white overlay. Instead of covering the whole surface, the focus was on the lines between the bricks. After applying the compound, the bricks were washed with a sponge to achieve a whitewashed, antique look.

To learn more about this technique, visit thefrugalhomemaker.

Don’t these dry brush bricks look amazing? Dry brushing is a simple technique to apply a 3D effect to your fireplace. Use a brush lightly covered in paint to rub over the ridges and bumps in the bricks.

This highlights the raised sections and adds depth. You can either use white paint directly on the unfinished bricks or paint your brick fireplace white first, then go over it with gray paint as suggested on madnessandmethod.

Faux fireplaces are charming. They’re nice if you’re short on space or if you want the cozy look without the functionality. Since there’s not much space to work with, using regular materials might not be an option.

Use of real bricks is not necessary; faux bricks can provide a nice frame or more detail to your fireplace. Check out this makeover from jenniferrizzo to see how this technique could be used.

From Outdated to Contemporary

Classic red bricks can look nice in certain contexts, but they may not suit a modern space. This fireplace didn’t fit here because of the exposed bricks and the flat wall. To resolve this, the entire fireplace was painted in a dark shade of gray, which looks more modern and matches the rest of the space.

Visit madeinaday to see the transformation.

Speaking of brick fireplaces and their outdated look, another idea for updating them involves using chalk paint. It doesn’t take long to paint the fireplace, and you can also paint the mantel to create a uniform look.

If you want a bit of red to show through, follow the technique on diybeautify. You can also sand off some of the paint if it covers up too much of the bricks. The paint dries quickly, so this project is quick to complete.

Fireplace Makeover.

This white fireplace stands out with its unique design. Unlike other plain fireplaces, it incorporates a combination of bricks and shiplap, adding texture and dimension. The mantel acts as a seamless transition between the two sections, masking any abrupt changes.

Additionally, the brick pattern and striped shiplap prevent the top of the fireplace wall from appearing monotonous. To learn more about this captivating design, visit burlapandblue.

This brick fireplace makeover effectively used cement and wood to achieve a new and modern design while maintaining its character. To achieve this look, smear the brick with cement for a flat and even surface. For the bottom section, cement was used, while the top section is covered in tongue and groove. This transformation eliminates any visible brick, which better suits the space.

Find more details about this makeover on boxwoodavenue.

How to Whitewash a Fireplace

Whitewash has an attractive, hazy-white, transparent aspect that veers between revealing and concealing the brick. It is a look that you can achieve easily and affordably on your own fireplace, and we’ll show you how.

What you’ll need:

– Scrub brush with nylon bristles

– Cotton rags

– Mixing cups

– Paint tray with liner

– Painting tape

– Sponges

– Drop cloth and plastic sheeting

– 1 gallon of white paint

– Trisodium phosphate

– Scissors

– Chip brushes

– Wooden stirring stick

– 1 pint of gray paint

How to Whitewash Unpainted Brick

Step One

Cover the floor to keep it clean. Use plastic and painter’s tape to cover areas not meant to be whitewashed.

Step Two

Get a clean bucket with warm water and add trisodium phosphate. Use a scrub brush to clean the bricks needing painting. Rinse with water and let the surface dry completely.

Step Three

Mix white paint and clean water in a 3:1 or 4:1 ratio. The amount depends on how you want the whitewash to look.

Step Four

Find the least visible section of the fireplace brick and, with the chip brush, apply whitewash. Brush it in completely and let it soak for a few minutes.

If you enjoy the appearance, move to the front. Use a four or six-brick section to create a key that you’ll refer to as a starting point. Variations may arise throughout the process.

Step Five:

With the chip brush, whitewash the remaining brick. After brushing an area, dab and wipe with the rag. This aids with the whitewash’s integration.

Frequently step back to ensure the fireplace complements the focal point.

How to Whitewash Painted Brick:

Step One:

Seal the areas you don’t want to paint with painter’s tape. Remember to tarp the floor.

Step Two:

Clean the brick using the same warm water and trisodium phosphate mixture. Avoid cleaning the inside of the fireplace.

Step Three:

Grab the scissors and cut the sponge to match the size of the brick.

Step Four

Fill the lined paint container halfway with gray paint. Moisten the sponge. Squeeze the sponge into the paint while keeping it relatively dry.

To test the color, press the sponge against a cardboard or paper piece. Add additional white paint if you want a lighter tone.

Step Five

Once you’re satisfied with the hue, use the sponge to apply a faux-whitewash to the fireplace. You must adhere to the brick’s lines. If you’re having difficulty seeing the mortar, slant a light source downward to create depth.