Easy DIY Faux Fireplace and Mantel

I’ve been looking for a vintage mantel for my antique booth for quite a while. When I’m lucky enough to find one, the price tag is always more than I’m willing to spend. Since I’m planning to use it for display and to create a “room” in my booth, it doesn’t need to be anything fancy. It finally occurred to me that I could just make my own DIY faux fireplace and mantel.

I’m once again participating in the At Home DIY Challenge with a group of talented bloggers. The theme for this month is “build it cheaper than buying it”. Many thanks to Eileen from Just Measuring Up and Megan from Two Feet First for coordinating these challenges. Be sure to click the link at the end of this post to see all of the other creative projects!

I got my inspiration from something I saw on Pinterest, but that mantel was built with authentic barn wood. Instead, I decided to use new wood and try my best to make it look old.

Using my living room fireplace as a template, I figured out the height and width that I wanted. My DIY faux fireplace and mantel design requires just 7 pieces of lumber. I ordered the wood from our local hardware store and had it pre-cut to my dimensions. (If you read my blog, you know that I don’t “do” power tools).

Here’s what I ordered:

• (2) 1×8’s – 53″ 
• (2) 1×4’s – 49″ 
• (1) 1×4 – 60″
• (1) 2×3 – 60″ 
• (1) 1×8 – 68″

Total spent: $56.00

I banged the new wood up a bit with a hammer and screwdriver. I wanted it to get some dings and dents to mimic older wood.

To age the wood, I applied Dixie Belle Best Dang Wax in brown. I used a wax brush to apply the wax in a circular motion. The wax will settle into my “dings and dents” and accentuate those imperfections. You can see another way that I used brown wax on this stool makeover.

Next, I wiped the wax off and buffed with a cotton rag. I love how you get the look of “stained” wood quickly and without the strong odor. As a bonus, the wood is also sealed! I recommend letting the wax cure for a few days. As I was on a blog deadline and didn’t have extra time, the assembly was a bit messy!

I laid the wood pieces down to assemble the fireplace and mantel. Start with the two 53″ 1×8’s and lay them down vertically.

Lay the 60″ 1×4 horizontally across the top of the two 1×8’s. Then center the two 49″ 1×4’s vertically on top of the 1×8’s.

Put the 60″ 2×3 horizontally on the top of the upper 60″ 1×4.

Attach the three top layers with a nail at each end. A drill will make this much easier. I’m using a hammer and nails because my drill wasn’t charged. Once again…blog deadlines!

Attach the two decorative 49″ 1×4’s to the vertical 1×8’s. Then add the 68″ 1×8 mantel piece to the top and attach to the 60″ 2×3.

I just leaned this up against the wall for staging, but you’ll want to secure it to the wall with nails. I really love how it turned out!

This would add a lot of decorative impact to a plain wall. Wouldn’t it be fun in a bedroom?

I just love decorating mantels! Especially during the holidays 🙂

Now it’s time to check out the projects from my blogger friends. Enjoy!

Rebecca

See More Build it Cheaper Than Buying It Projects