My $82 Fireplace Makeover

What do you do with an outdated-looking fireplace, that’s proportions are all wrong, for around eighty bucks?

First, you bulk up the mantle by attaching wider wood to it:

All it takes is a 1”x8” piece of lumber, that’s distressed and stained the color of your choice:

Then, you remove the cast iron firebox:

Next, you paint the brick around the opening, and the cracked concrete hearth, black:

Then, you add strips of wood & luan plywood to the facade to create dimension, using Liquid Nails:

Next, attach various 1x4’s, as well as 1/4”x4”s to the luan plywood using wood glue or Liquid Nails:

Don’t ask me what that weird pinkish spot on the back wall of the fireplace is. I have no idea. All I know is that everytime I looked at it, I saw Wilson, from “Cast Away”:

Next, tape off the brick, so that you can caulk the seams and paint all the wood:

Last step, paint the inside of the fireplace with black heat-resistant paint.

Here’s how it looks today, after implementing all of the simple and inexpensive steps listed above:

Here is a close up of the newly added wood:

And a view of the side of it:

As a temporary and inexpensive solution, I accessorized the mantle mostly with things I already had around the house. I used my Twinkle, Twinkle Quotebox, a $4.00 flea market frame, a bunch of seashells and rocks, four mercury glass candle stands, a rusty-lidded old jar filled with teeny-tiny white rocks and a small potted fern:

I did buy two of these wooden candleholders today at Target, for $2.50 each. They’re right by the front door, in case you’re interested in picking some up.

I also bought all six candles today.

Inside the fireplace, I used my barnwood trough, my “Gator Farms” bucket, and a Boston fern I bought today, at Home Depot, for $11.97. I love the way it simulates fire, with its green, flame-shaped leaves:

My favorite colors are blue and green. I plan to use lots of Green, and both Navy and Porcelain Blue throughout the entire house:

We’re really enjoying the way the fireplace looks now. It really added a lot of cottage charm to our home.

Eventually, I will take down the Twinkle Quotebox and flea market frame, and put together a very wide mirror, out of beveled mirror tiles, to hang on the wall above the mantle. I’ll also install two wall sconces on either side of the mirror.

On the hearth, we want to lay some kind of natural, sandy-colored tile. Think: A wooden boat (the fireplace surround) washed ashore (the tile) and covered in seashells and seaweed (the ferns). The reflective elements (the mercury glass and future mirror) will represent the sea.

I found this sandy tile in Montgomery, for $3.99 a square foot:

I’d love to get the above tile in the 1”x1'” size, and if I remember correctly, I think they carried those as well. (The ones in the photo above are 2”x2” tiles)

I found these 1” ones on the internet, and their high contrast pattern is a little out of my comfort zone, but I’m also drawn to them because of that for some reason:

If they were a little more de-saturated in color, they’d be perfect.

Another option I’d like to investigate is using a Pebble Tile, like these:

Speaking of the sea, we’re heading to the Gulf Coast tomorrow. We’ll comb the beach for shells, visit the Copper Possum (in Milton, FL)...

Photo: Bob Gibbs

...and celebrate this little ones 3rd Birthday:

His name is Maddox, and he is our nephew. I can’t wait to hear his giggle. There’s nothing like the sound of it.

Hope everyone has a great weekend! I’ll leave you with this beautiful quote I pulled from my Quote Jar this morning:

“Every accomplishment starts with the decision to try” – unknown

Don’t be afraid to try to revitalize those old, outdated fireplaces! You CAN make major cosmetic changes to them , in cost-effective ways, in as little as one weekends time.