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What do you do with an outdated-looking fireplace, that’s proportions are all wrong, for around eighty bucks?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”x 8” 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 1×4’s, and 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:
(Spring)
(Winter)
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
So don’t be afraid to try and revamp those old, outdated-looking fireplaces. You CAN give them budget-friendly facelifts in as little as one weekends time!
tagged with: DIY, fireplace, makeover, mantel, redo.

























love that mantel! do you have the dimensions on it? i’d like to try your idea on a flat gas fireplace…do you think it would work?