Y’all, this DIY is my absolute favorite of our entire house! I completed this project about 2 years ago, and since then have received compliment after compliment on our “fireplace” and amazement when I tell them that it isn’t real. So, I thought I’d show y’all how to create your own faux fireplace!

For as long as I can remember I’ve wanted a fireplace in my house. I really almost talked my husband into making an offer on the ugly house across the street when we were looking to buy, solely because it had a fireplace and ours did not. I love them, in part because of the luxury of building a fire in the winter but, largely because of having a mantel to decorate each season.

I decided I was going to make a faux fireplace work in our living room no matter what! I searched for what seemed like forever on Craigslist and our local Facebook page for mantels for sale. Finally, I found one nearby, that was over 100 years old, from a lady for $100 (I talked her down to $80). The fireplace is 71in wide and 53in tall with an opening that is 46in wide and 37in tall, so it has a pretty large opening. Because of this, I knew I needed to build some type of insert. I had noticed Home Depot sold faux brick panels that tied in well with the style of our house. The color, to me, made it look very fake, so I decided to give it a face-lift with some white paint.

Now, to tackle the faux wood-stacked insert! Some diy’s build an entire box for the fireplace so that it is far enough from the wall for you to actually use it as a wood box. Personally, I loved that this technique was really simple and a space saver. I measured the size I needed for the faux insert, making sure it met the brick at the same spot on either side to get it an even look. My dad helped me cut the wood and then I painted it black so that it would look as though it had depth. I gathered various tree limbs that we had from yard work and began cutting them in random lengths (3in- 5in). Most of our limbs are oak so I also purchased some faux birch wood slices at Michaels, but only allowed myself 3 since they were not cheap. I did this in order to give the wood stack a variety of looks and sizes.

I wanted the fireplace to look as natural as possible, so I used two large planks of wood, different lengths, for the hearth and painted them white, stacking the shorter board on top. First we stacked these two boards against the wall where we wanted the mantel positioned. Next, we put our faux brick and wood stack wall against the wall, securing with screws if necessary, on top of the hearth. We then placed the mantel in front of the brick panel and on top of the hearth footboards. We secured where necessary, and called it a day!

Since we considered this mantel my birthday gift (in October), I got started right away with fall decor and then I celebrated with my spooky Halloween decorations. Hands down my favorite though were Christmas decorations! I had a blast with stockings and garland. Hope this tutorial helps y’all create a fireplace for your own space and appreciate the joys of decorating them!