Easy DIY Fireplace

In this tutorial, I share How to Build a Faux Fireplace using plywood and basic woodworking skills. Building a faux fireplace has been a huge subject on my Instagram account since my hubby made a DIY faux fireplace for our family room in Fall 2018. Since I announced we were building a second faux fireplace for our bedroom, my followers have been begging for this tutorial!

Keep reading to learn how to build a faux fireplace mantel and see how we built a DIY faux fireplace in our bedroom! Watch the quick video for a fast DIY cheap faux fireplace tutorial or watch the easy Faux Fireplace detailed video tutorial in the recipe box (or click on the YouTube video below).

How much does it cost to build a fake fireplace?

The total cost to build the faux fireplace in our family room was around $25. Most of the wood we used was scrap wood (we keep everything!) so the only thing I purchased was the fancy corbels from Hobby Lobby and paint.

The cost of the fake fireplace we built for our bedroom was around $34. The sheet of plywood was $20 and the corbels were $14. We used scrap wood and paint for the remaining cost. If you don’t already have these items, the cost might be more for your project.

Looking for an Easy DIY fireplace?

Keep reading and watch the video below! If you don’t have baseboards in your home, you can skip steps 6-8 (although most homes have baseboards and you won’t want to cut those out from your wall, but instead build around them following our instructions). 😉

Faux Fireplace Mantels

One of the fun parts when building a faux fireplace is choosing the mantel to put on it. There are so many options! You can use reclaimed wood or a vintage piece. You can use plywood or a thick piece of pine. You can paint the mantel or stain it. Keep reading to see how to attach a mantel on a faux fireplace.

–>>This post on Instagram has been very popular with my readers and shows a time-lapse of the process to build the faux fireplace in our bedroom!

How to Decorate Inside a Fireplace

The fun part about a fake fireplace is decorating the inside since you can’t actually use it for a fire, hehe. The faux fireplace in our family room has an electrical outlet inside it so I covered it up with some chalkboard vinyl (the outlet is also covered to avoid accidents!). Our kids can draw on it (and so can I, lol) and it’s a nice black, rustic color that resembles the inside of a real fireplace.

A few other ideas to decorate the inside of your faux fireplace:

Wood Slices
Stencil Spanish Tile
Wood Planks
Shiplap
Faux Bricks
Faux Herringbone Pattern (Brick or Wood)
Place a Small Bench inside

How To Build a Faux Fireplace

In this tutorial, I share step-by-step instructions to build a fake fireplace out of wood. We are using machines with blades and are experienced with these machines.

I suggest you are familiar with using circular saws, etc and have read the safety precautions on these machines/equipment before use. You always have the option of asking Home Depot to cut your wood for you if you don’t feel comfortable using table saws yourself.

Let’s get started with the supplies needed to build a faux fireplace…

Supplies:

4′ x 8′ piece of plywood (19/32 of an inch thickness… or just over 1/2 inch thick)
Underlayment or other scrap wood for trim/design detail
2 Corbels (ours are from Hobby lobby but these will work too)
Table Saw (or take the measurements to Home Depot and have them cut it)
Miter Saw for smaller cuts (or take the measurements to Home Depot and have them cut it)
Air Strike Nailer (alternatively you can use small nails and a hammer)
Gorilla Wood Glue
Paint or Stain
Paint Brushes or Sponge Brush
Wood Putty
Rags
Screw(s) to attach to the wall

Directions:

Gather Supplies. Please watch the video below with more instructions and pictures!
Have Home Depot cut the plywood in half while in the store. They should provide this cut for free but I’ve heard how many cuts and how small you want things cut depend on the employee you get that day 🙁
If you are having Home Depot cut the remaining pieces for you (again, I’m not sure if they will charge you for this) then give them the measurements and have them cut.
Use a table saw to cut a 12 x 49.2-inch piece from the plywood (this is the top piece).
Cut (2) 10 x 30.25-inch pieces from the plywood (these are the side pieces).
Then you need to cut some wood to frame the back of the fireplace so your fireplace wraps around the baseboards in your home. You will need to measure how tall your baseboards are to determine how much space to leave on the bottom backside of your fireplace. Our baseboards are 3.25 inches, so we build a frame on the back with 3.25 inches open at the bottom. Make sure you have these measurements if you are getting Home Depot to cut the wood.
Use the leftover plywood to cut 3-inch strips for each side on the back of the fireplace.
Remember to leave the space for your baseboards at the bottom. These strips will also hold the entire frame together.
Use Gorilla Glue to attach the strips together then use an Air Strike Nailer to attach the strips to the back. One tip my hubby gave me when using Gorilla Glue is to spread the glue on, attach the two pieces, then lift the pieces apart to get oxygen in the glue (which will help adhere better).
Now you are ready to flip the fireplace over and start designing the front (this is the fun part!).
We used leftover underlayment (very thin plywood) and cut 2 strips for each side of the fireplace (one was 6 inches wide and the other was 2 inches wide). For the fake fireplace in our family room, the design was a bit more detailed because we added molding and baseboards at the bottom. The design you choose will depend on how good you are with woodworking and what type of scrap wood you have to work with. Designing a unique fireplace can be fun though so have fun!
Once you have the design you like, start gluing and using the Air Strike Nailer to attach the design to the frame.
Use glue and the Air Strike Nailer to attach the corbels.
Now you are ready to add the top mantel! This is another fun part because you can get creative with really thick pieces of wood, reclaimed wood, and more! We ended up using a 2″ x 10″ x 8′ piece of wood that we cut to 52 inches long (so it’s 2″ x 10″ x 52″ mantel). Cut the mantel to your desired length.
Use Gorilla Glue and the Air Strike Nailer to attach the edge of the mantel to the fireplace.
Now you are ready to attach it to your wall!
If possible, try to attach the fireplace to a stud in the wall. There are many ways to attach but we ended up attaching 1 large screw in the center which went into a wall stud.
Cover the screws or nails with wood putty.
Paint or stain the fireplace as desired. I painted the faux fireplace in our family room with Rustoleum’s Linen Chalked Paint. I stained the faux fireplace in our bedroom with Varathane Briarsmoke Wood Stain.

Conclusion to How To Build a Faux Fireplace

I hope you enjoyed this tutorial sharing How to Build a Faux Fireplace! You can ask your local home improvement store to cut the wood for you usingt he measurements in this tutorial to make this DIY quick and easy! Have fun decorating your new fireplace and make sure you send me a picture of your creations!

Did you build a faux fireplace or a similar version? I would love to see it! Send me a picture on Facebook, Instagram, or email and I’ll share with my followers 🙂 ***If you have a business account, please tag me to give me credit on social media when posting your creations inspired by me!***

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How To Build a Faux Fireplace

Print Pin Rate

Prep Time: 2

Active Time: 1

Yield: Fireplace

Author: Melanie | Simple Made Pretty

Cost: $34

Equipment

Table Saw (or take the measurements to Home Depot and have them cut it)
Miter Saw for smaller cuts (or take the measurements to Home Depot and have them cut it)
Air Strike Nailer (alternatively you can use small nails and a hammer)

Supplies

4' x 8' piece of plywood (19/32 of an inch thickness... or just over 1/2 inch thick)
Underlayment or other scrap wood for trim/design detail
2 Corbels (ours are from Hobby lobby but these will work too)
Gorilla Wood Glue
Paint or Stain
Paint Brushes or Sponge Brush
Wood Putty
Rags
Screw(s) to attach to the wall

Instructions

Gather Supplies. Please watch the video below with more instructions and pictures!
Have Home Depot cut the plywood in half while in the store. They should provide this cut for free but I've heard how many cuts and how small you want things cut depend on the employee you get that day 🙁
If you are having Home Depot cut the remaining pieces for you (again, I'm not sure if they will charge you for this) then give them the measurements and have them cut.
Use a table saw to cut a 12 x 49.2-inch piece from the plywood (this is the top piece).
Cut (2) 10 x 30.25-inch pieces from the plywood (these are the side pieces).
Then you need to cut some wood to frame the back of the fireplace so your fireplace wraps around the baseboards in your home. You will need to measure how tall your baseboards are to determine how much space to leave on the bottom backside of your fireplace. Our baseboards are 3.25 inches, so we build a frame on the back with 3.25 inches open at the bottom. Make sure you have these measurements if you are getting Home Depot to cut the wood.
Use the leftover plywood to cut 3-inch strips for each side on the back of the fireplace. Remember to leave the space for your baseboards at the bottom. These strips will also hold the entire frame together.
Use Gorilla Glue to attach the strips together then use an Air Strike Nailer to attach the strips to the back. One tip my hubby gave me when using Gorilla Glue is to spread the glue on, attach the two pieces, then lift the pieces apart to get oxygen in the glue (which will help adhere better).
Now you are ready to flip the fireplace over and start designing the front (this is the fun part!).
We used leftover underlayment (very thin plywood) and cut 2 strips for each side of the fireplace (one was 6 inches wide and the other was 2 inches wide). For the fake fireplace in our family room, the design was a bit more detailed because we added molding and baseboards at the bottom. The design you choose will depend on how good you are with woodworking and what type of scrap wood you have to work with. Designing a unique fireplace can be fun though so have fun!
Once you have the design you like, start gluing and using the Air Strike Nailer to attach the design to the frame.
Use glue and the Air Strike Nailer to attach the corbels.
Now you are ready to add the top mantel! This is another fun part because you can get creative with really thick pieces of wood, reclaimed wood, and more! We ended up using a 2" x 10" x 8' piece of wood that we cut to 52 inches long (so it's 2" x 10" x 52" mantel). Cut the mantel to your desired length.
Use Gorilla Glue and the Air Strike Nailer to attach the edge of the mantel to the fireplace.
Now you are ready to attach it to your wall!
If possible, try to attach the fireplace to a stud in the wall. There are many ways to attach but we ended up attaching 1 large screw in the center which went into a wall stud.
Cover the screws or nails with wood putty.
Paint or stain the fireplace as desired. I painted the faux fireplace in our family room with Rustoleum's Linen Chalked Paint. I stained the faux fireplace in our bedroom with Varathane Briarsmoke Wood Stain.

Video

Did you make this project?Mention @simplemadepretty or tag #simplemadepretty!

Watch the Quick How to Build a Faux Fireplace Video:

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You can find peel and stick wallpaper online at Target, Amazon, Home Depot, and more! I’ve linked my favorite peel and stick wallpaper and the ones I’ve used personally below.

✅ This is the peel and stick wallpaper that I use in my home. It is reasonably priced and very good quality!

If you really like the idea of peel and stick wallpaper but have never used it before, I highly recommend reading my tips on using peel and stick wallpaper and checking out the different kinds of wallpaper that’ll instantly update your space!

There are so many different designs and colors and once you get the hang of applying the wallpaper, you will want to put peel and stick wallpaper in the closet, cabinets, bookcases, and more!

In our third home, I used this peel and stick wallpaper in our Entryway, this peel and stick wallpaper in our eating area, and this peel and stick wallpaper as our kitchen backsplash.

Using peel and stick wallpaper has definitely given us the ability to update our home quickly without all the hassle of cutting shiplap, faux wood, or tiling!

If you decide to try peel and stick wallpaper, I highly recommend reading my tips on using peel and stick wallpaper and checking out the different kinds of wallpaper that’ll instantly update your space!

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If you love white farmhouse kitchens and want to paint your kitchen white, then you will love this post teaches you How To Paint Kitchen Cabinets White Without Sanding! I’ll show you how to paint old kitchen cabinets and answer how much does it cost to paint kitchen cabinets (it’s much cheaper than you think!). I also have lots of pictures of painting kitchen cabinets before and after!

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–>> Learn how to Paint Kitchen Cabinets without Sanding here!

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If you enjoy updating your home, want to increase your home value or just want your home to look better, you should check out thee 10 Cheap Home Hacks That’ll Make Your House Look So Much Better.