When you’re renting, it can be hard to want to invest a lot of money into your home.  But, being a  girl who moved around my whole life, I’m a believer in making wherever you live feel like home even if it’s only for a little while.  

My husband and I decided to rent for awhile to explore the housing market and while our place is overall adorable… The space where I work was just NOT that inspiring.  So, I went on my way to making it feel a little more “us” and found myself staring at the horrible fireplace sifting through my options to change the look without costing an arm and a leg.  While staring at a pile of gorgeous Birch wood, I came up with the idea to cover the entire fireplace since we don’t use it anyway, by refacing it with a faux fireplace that cost about fifty bucks!  Details below! 

BEFORE & AFTER

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MATERIALS

Materials used for Fireplace Screen

1. (1) 1/4″ back panel board (cut to fit)
2. (3) 1/2″x4″x linear feet needed for frame pieces (cut to fit) 
3. Clear Silicone
4. Small L Brakets
5. 3/4″ Screws
6. Small Paint Roller
7. Small Sponge Rollers
8. Chalk Board Paint
9. Spray Paint for Frame
10. Scotch Double Sided Mounting Tape – I ended up not using this, but bought it to help with mounting to the wall. 
11. 1″-1-1/2″ Cut Tree Rounds

All of this for right around $50! 

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Step 1 : Cut the rounds of your tree branches into varying lengths of 1″ to 1’1/2″ for height variation. 

Step 2 : Paint your back panel.  I like chalkboard paint because of how rustic it looks behind the wood rounds. 

Step 3 : Cut your framing to size and prime/paint your framing pieces.  

Step 4 : Start laying out your cut rounds next to one another to your liking.  Remember, you want it to look natural, so don’t be afraid to mix them up!

Step 5 : Start attaching the wood rounds to the back panel with a dab of silicone in the center of each and allow to dry for at least 30 minutes. 

Step 6 : Construct your frame using silicon and L Brackets. 

Step 7 : Attach L Brackets  to the frame to attach the back wood display panel to.

Step 8 : Attach back wood display panel to the L Brackets and Frame. 

Step 9 : Discreetly use L Brackets to mount your new Faux Fireplace to the wall of your choice!  

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Wha-lah!  Your Faux Fireplace is complete! You can now use this on any wall to create the “look” of having a fireplace or, you can use it as I’ve done here to cover up an existing eye sore of a non-working fireplace!  If you have questions regarding this DIY Project, please feel free to shoot us an email at hello@whitestonedesigngroup.com! 

Happy DIY-ing my friends!  – heather scherie