DIY Fireplace Remodel

One of the biggest transformations we have made in our house has been the fireplace remodel we did ourselves. I get so many questions and compliments on it. It use to be completely outdated, one of those fireplaces with the giant hole in the center for the big tube TV. It had two large shelf cubbies on either side that I tried numerous times to make cute with decorative baskets or folded blankets, but it always looked so cluttered and disorganized. I hated that it was the focal point of our house because of our open floor plan. So we decided to tackle this DIY home project and we are so happy with how it turned out.

Here is the BEFORE

an old outdated fireplace — Fireplace BEFORE

fireplace progress picture during a home renovation

How we did it

Our plan for this fireplace makeover was to fill all the holes and insets first. We then knew that we wanted to tile the entire bottom of the fireplace because of its large scale and then build out a large mantel that better fit the size of the room and fireplace. We would then add DIY ship lap to the top and behind the fireplace around the windows. This was going to be a big project.

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Demo started with tearing out the tile and pulling out the shelves on either side of the fireplace. We then filled all the holes with drywall.

Mom Tip: I let the girls make little time capsules with pictures and notes about us and we placed them in the left hole before closing it up. They got a really big kick out of doing that!

The next big step we had to do was to build the mantel. We couldn’t add tile or anything until that was built. So Rex and all his handyman skills built our faux wood beam using 1 inch thick white wood. We then distressed it using all kinds of tools in the garage (this was a really fun part) and then we stained and sealed the wood.

faux wood beam mantel on an updated fireplace

faux wood beam mantel for an updated fireplace renovation

Once we had the beam up, it was time to tile. This was the scariest step for us because we had absolutely NO idea what we were doing, but it ended up being the easiest step. I picked out this beautiful black picket tile for the bottom of the fireplace. Rex cut the tile while I placed them on the wall.

black and white picket tile on a fireplace being renovated

Once we finished the tile it was time for our DIY Ship Lap to finish it off. For the tutorial on how we did our DIY Ship Lap click HERE.

Here is the Amazing Transformation

I love how the fireplace turned out. It was such a wonderful, modern update for our home. We decided that all our hard work needed to be rewarded so we splurged for a Samsung Frame TV to hang on the new fireplace. I didn’t want just a big, black rectangle hanging on our beautifully designed fireplace. I love how when we aren’t watching TV (which is most of the time), it looks like a piece of artwork hanging above our mantel. And that I can change the art whenever I want to fit my mood or the season. It really is a decorators dream! Check out The Samsung Frame TV HERE.