DIY Faux Fireplace Mantel

This post contains affiliate links & photos. See our full disclosure here.

Want a mantel to decorate with the seasons? Don’t have a fireplace in your home? Then you’ll love this diy faux fireplace project!

Hello friends! I’m so happy to be popping in from Making it in the Mountains again today to share this DIY Faux Fireplace instructions from a recent bedroom makeover. I have to say, I’ve been absolutely dying to share this beautiful DIY Faux Fireplace tutorial with y’all for weeks now – though we only just finished it up a few days ago, this fireplace has been on my mind for ages!

Finally decorate your own home – with confidence!

You’re so much closer to a beautifully-decorated home than you think. You just need a little help to get there!

LEARN MORE!

I haven’t told y’all yet, but BIG things are happening in the Mercer house lately … we’ve signed on to take part in the One Room Challenge! Have you heard of it? Basically, I’ve been working my butt off (with a ton of help from hubs) to completely transform one room in our home in just six weeks. That’s right folks … SIX WEEKS!

I wish I could plead ignorance as what I’ve gotten us into, but we actually participated in the Spring with this Rustic Boy Bedroom, so I knew the overwhelming blur of a six weeks I was in for. Taking part in the Spring had been A TON of work, but in the end, it was so nice to have an entire room completely and totally finished! Honestly, I think it was just the kick in the pants we needed to just finally get things done!

Curious as to which room we chose this time around?

I’m totally over-the-moon excited to create a Farmhouse Style Master Bedroom! Any gal will tell you how important it is to have a lovely place to relax after a long day’s work (whatever that work may be). In a house where I’m outnumbered by boys, I cannot wait to finally create a space for myself (though I suppose I may have to share this one with hubby too)!

With just six weeks to make it through the longest to-do-list ever, I’m literally eat, sleep and breathing all things master bedroom at the moment. Which leads me to today’s post …

I’ve been dreaming of a master bedroom with it’s own fireplace for years now. I just love the warmth and character that they bring to a room! Unfortunately, installing a fireplace in our bedroom just wasn’t in the budget this time around, but I’m thinking this DIY Faux Fireplace might just do the trick!

And I can’t wait to show you how we made it!

DIY Faux Fireplace

Supplies

2 – 2×6 cut to 48″
2 – 2×6 cut to 36 3/4″
2 – 1×2 cut to 48″
1 – 2×12 cut to 50 1/2″ (we cut an arch into ours about 4″ deep at it’s peak)
1 – 2×8 cut to 58″
2 – 1×3 cut to 44 3/4″
1 – 1×3 cut to 54.5″
1 – 50 1/2″ x 47 3/4 (or cut to fit back) piece of 1/4 inch thick MDF
Jigsaw
Measuring Tape
Drill
Wood Screws
Finishing Nails
Sandpaper
Wood Filler
Paint
Paint Brush

Instructions

1. The first step was cutting an arch into that 2×12. My husband came up with the most brilliant idea for this – he drew a rectangle onto the front of the board outlining where he wanted to create the arch, making it 4″ tall all the way along and stopping 5 1/2″ in from either end (where it would meet with the sides of the fireplace). Then, to turn the rectangle into an arch, he used a nail at either end and one in the middle to hold and bend a thin piece of wood (we used a spare piece of trim) creating a perfect arch shape to trace. Then, he simply cut along this line with a jig saw making a perfect arch. There’s probably some fancy tool that does this very job, but I thought my hubby’s creative arch-making idea was super smart!

2. With the arch made, it was time to start assembling the front. We started by attaching a 48″ 2×6 to the outside edge of one of the shorter 36 3/4″ 2×6’s, matching the bottom edges and securing it with several screws through the side, creating an “L” shape. We then matched the top of the shorter 2×6 to the bottom of the arch. After securing that all with a few more screws through the side into our 2×12, we were left with a front and side to our fireplace. We also added in a screw at an angle through the inside of the shorter 2×6 into the bottom of the 2×12, just outside the arch to help hold everything straight.

After working through these same steps on the other side, we had our front and sides assembled!

*This would be a view from what will be the back of the fireplace.
3. The front and sides may have been put together, but they weren’t looking finished quite yet. Next up was adding some 1×3 trim along the top and sides to cover the joining of the 2×6’s underneath. Nailing the long piece along the top and the shorter 1×3’s down each side, left everything looking much more polished.

4. Next up we added a 1×2 piece to the back of our fireplace on the inside of each 2×6 side creating a spot to fasten the backing to. After cutting a piece of 1/4″ thick MDF to size (ours turned out to be 50 1/2″ x 47 3/4″), we simply nailed it to the back of our fireplace, into the 1×2’s on the inside of the sides. *Quick tip: painting the fireplace is infinitely easier before putting this backing on!

*Hubs laid out a scrap piece of MDF on top of our 1×2 to show y’all how it all works.

*Attaching the backing this way not only allows everything to sit flush, but leaves room for cuts that may not be perfectly straight!
5. Finally it was time to add on our 2×8 mantel and, after several screws in through the top, we had ourselves a fireplace!

To finish it all off, we puttied up all of the screw and nail holes and added a few coats of paint. In hindsight, I wish we would have filled the gaps where the 1×3’s joined together on the front too, so hopefully I can save you from making the same mistake.