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The fact is that a glowing fire is a great way to celebrate the holiday seasons, take a chill off a room, or create romantic ambience but if you are like millions of other people, your home does not have a fireplace, which is where a faux fireplace can help. Unfortunately, sometimes people do not even have enough room for a portable fireplace but yet they want a mantle to decorate or the semblance of a fireplace, even if there are no logs or fire.
A faux fireplace can add an element to your home that is fun, eclectic, and a bit whimsical. Your first decision would be to find the location where you will create your faux fireplace. Remember that since this fireplace is not real, it does not even have to be standard size. If you only have a small section of free wall, then simply make the faux fireplace small enough to fit. Next, you want to decide the elements important to you. For instance, you may want a wood mantle on which candles, pictures, or other items can be placed. Perhaps you want side shelves where books and figurines could be displayed. The great thing about a faux fireplace is that you can construct it using many different materials. For instance, things such as faux stone, faux bricks, plywood, tile, and molding, are popular choices. In fact, this is a great time to use your creative mind. Keep in mind that the elements incorporated into our faux fireplace will largely depend on the look you want. Since this fireplace is not real, you can go a little overboard with materials if you like or stick with something traditional. One option would be to tape off the area where you plan to design your faux fireplace. Than, choose a background color you like to be the “faux grout” for your design. Next, paint the firebox area with a black, matte paint. To create the faux stone design, take a sea sponge or household sponge torn into small, irregular shapes. With these pieces, you can use various earth ton colors, dapping or stamping them onto the area above the “firebox”. The result will be the look of natural stone. Remember to leave a little bit of the grout color showing as lines so it will appear to be grout. Another option would be to purchase faux stones, which are designed as lightweight, flat-backed pieces that are adhered to the wall. This option creates some texture, which is nice. For the mantle of your faux fireplace, you can choose a beautiful shelf the same length of your constructed unit. Then, use shelf anchors or L brackets so you can actually use the mantle. Placing three candles on one end and perhaps a large vase or family photograph on the other end will help give your faux fireplace a very beautiful look. |
