DIY Electric Fireplace Mantle

It’s the 7th week of the One Room Challenge. Which means this is the last progress report and next week there’ll be the REVEAL! That also means that I’ll no longer be working 10-12 hour days on the kitchen, so that’s something for me personally to look forward to! Let me show you where we’re at with the space. I also have a tutorial for a DIY electric fireplace mantle!

Catch up on all the Kitchen One Room Challenge Posts!

Floor Plan / Interior Window / Mood Boards / Stairs Plan / Demo & Flood / Drywall / Rainbow Wallpaper / Cabinets, Floors, & Ceiling /

how to make a DIY electric fireplace mantle

SUPPLIES

• 1 set of 2 wood rosettes
• 2 wood swags
• 1 Fluted Molding
• 1 Egg and Dart Molding
• 3 Sheets of White Hex Tile
• Electric Fireplace Insert

step 1

The first thing we did was build the electric fireplace into the wall. It’s in the studs so that it doesn’t stick out too far. 

I know most people won’t be able to do this, but since we were doing major construction, this is what we did. 

In the above picture, you can also see that we built studs for around the fireplace. There’s a PVC pipe that runs the cord through the studs out to the other side of the wall so it can be plugged in. We were not messing around.

And now with the magic of drywall, lots of work, and wallpaper, here’s what the fireplace looked like built into the wall-

 

step 2

The next thing we did was come up with a plan. I thought I had a good plan, but my husband got super specific. He figured out how far off the ground we mounted the fireplace (a little over 8″), the width of the fireplace, and then drew a plan to match all of our specific items.

Here was my inspiration-

 

 

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by E l l e (@elle_the_home_bird)

I love this English fireplace. I thought the trim on the top and sides was pretty, but simple enough to replicate. 

Note, this mantle was custom built for our kitchen space and the items we had on hand, but I still hope the tutorial is helpful.

Next, after coming up with the plan, my husband built a simple frame for the fireplace out of 2×4’s and screws. We used wood that came out of the kitchen during the renovation. How great is it that that wood gets a new life in the new kitchen?!

Note, to get the two pieces of swag to meet up, I removed one flower with an exact-o knife.

step 3

And now, I thought I’d show more of the frame and how we layered extra wood to create the foundation. Notice the pieces of wood for the rosettes. 

Please note, the base of our fireplace is built to accommodate a vent for the heating and A/C in our house. So you’ll see ours is notched out and will have a space for the vent.

Though the base of the fireplace was mostly built outside, we’d bring it in to make sure it fit perfectly with the hole in the drywall and with the electric fireplace insert.

At the top, you can also see the grey piece of cement board. That was added so my fireplace tile would have the perfect place to be laid.

Once all the cement board was added, the fireplace mantle was screwed into the studs on the wall. It is now anchored in! Which means the electric fireplace can be mounted.

step 4

At this point, it started to get fun! The decorative molding added so much right away! Since I used old wood for part of the frame, I had to spend a lot of time patching it up. It was worth is though! Especially since wood is so pricey right now and I love using what I have around the house!

Next, the fluted moulding, swag trim, plinth block, and piece of wood for the vent were installed. I got really excited at this point! It’s coming together!!!

After lots of wood filling, sanding, and caulking, it was time to paint. I knew I wanted an all white fireplace so it was fun to see even the first coat of paint on the fireplace!

Next, the trim was layered on top. I used a decorative egg and dart piece of trim before the crown molding.

The final piece of decorative molding was installed next- crown molding. This was left over from the previous kitchen. It was cute, but too little for my style. So it gets to live its next life on here!

The top of the mantle was empty, so we added blocks of wood until it filled in the empty space. Last, a piece of wood was cut and installed as the mantle top.

step 5

Finally, it was tiling time! I used white hex tile. It was a little tricky to cut it around the fireplace. But once we figured it out, we got the tile up in a few hours.

The day after the tile went up, I did more painting and then grouted the tile with white grout to minimize the grout lines. I figured that a subtle pattern was good for this classic fireplace.

after

OMG! I’m so, so excited to show you the final fireplace mantle! Isn’t she a beauty?! I still need to add one more trim piece around where the tile hits the fireplace, but other than that I’m so so proud of how it came out!

While building this, it was somewhat tricky. My husband said I gave him a puzzle to complete and told him he had to create the puzzle pieces too. So I wouldn’t call this an easy build. But it came together in three long days and I LOVE it!!!

I thought I’d show a side view so you can see how the top trim wraps around. The front bottom piece where the fluted trim hits is just a piece of base board cut down. 

And one last pulled back view of the fireplace. It works like a charm and is so cozy in here! I know it might seem weird to have a kitchen fireplace, but I think it’ll be really great in the winter when it gets really cold and bleak.

Also did you notice in the picture how the interior windows have started to be installed?! I haven’t quite done all the finish work on the left side one, but I LOVE them!!! I’ve dreamed about this look since February so seeing it come together is a big deal and so fulfilling!

The big huge list of things still to do

Now that you’ve seen what’s been done this week, here’s the master list of things still to do that have to happen this week!!!-

• Backsplash tile and grout
• Under cabinet lighting
• Crown molding
• Window Casing
• Stair balusters 
• Shelf under upper cabinets
• Wallpaper- rainbow above shelf
• Hang the chandelier and light over the sink
• Beam and corbels in the doorway
• Put in rug, table and chairs
• Hang mirror
• Accessorize
• Extra credit- build a plate holder
• Extra credit- hood for microwave

There will be some long days, but I’ll get it all done! I CANNOT wait to see it all come together! I’m dreaming of baking cookies and making crepes. And enjoying my little English cottage feeling kitchen. Now I’m off to work more on the kitchen. The final countdown is on!!!

ONE ROOM CHALLENGE FEATURED DESIGNERS

This post contains some affiliate links for your convenience. Click here to read my full disclosure policy. Thank you to The Tile Shop, eBay, Novo Building products, and Nieu Cabinet Doors for the gifted products listed in this post!

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