Fireplace Upgrade - How to Beautify Your Fireplace
This was a few houses ago, but I never got around to writing a post about this fireplace upgrade. The basement in this house was unfinished and it was really creepy. Just look at it . . .
I don’t even know if you can tell there is a fireplace down here, but there is! This picture was taken when we were touring the house. Not sure why they needed a swinging bench down here, but there it is! 😂 😂 😂
We covered the walkway and put a door, making this an official family room.
There was a lot of work that went into that, but that is for another time.
This is what I was working with. I wanted to add some color to the area.
Materials Needed
concrete screws
2X4s
shiplap
mdf baseboards
1X4 pine board (or whatever wood you prefer)
dap plastic wood filler
sander
stain
Step 1 - Frame Out Your Fireplace
The first step is to frame out your fireplace. I wanted to make mine all the way to the ceiling and a little on each side.
I used 2X4s and concrete screws to make my frame.
This frame is to hold the shiplap that I wanted to create the fireplace upgrade.
Make sure to use a drill bit to pre-drill the holes.
I love finding notes that old homeowners have left. Shiplap is in right now but I know one day it probably won’t be and they might tear this all down. I wanted to leave a note if they did.
Step 2 - Put Up the Shiplap
I did not get a picture of me putting up the shiplap, but I did it! I used a brad nail gun and nails to put it up.
Step 3 - Add the Baseborads
I know that it is already painted here, but I wanted to make sure that I did this in the right steps. I was just going to put shiplap but I decided it needed something to frame it out. Because of that, I used mdf baseboards.
I also used the baseboards, cut to the right size, to make the edge.
I used brad nails to put the mdf trim up.
Step 4 - Caulk, Prime and Paint
Yup, I already did that in the above picture! For you guys though, you will caulk with paintable caulk (all of the seems from the trim). Then you will prime and paint.
Step 5 - Make a Mantel
I have a blog on how to make a mantel and/or a floating shelf here. Follow those steps for this mantel.
Easy Steps – You build your frame with 2X4s and then you cover it with 1X4 wood. After that, you fill in the brad nail holes with dap plastic wood, sand down. Then you can stain it.
Fireplace Upgrade - After
This adds so much character to the space! This was one of the favorite rooms of the new owners, it is crazy to think of where it started. It just proves you can make anything look beautiful if you want to. If you want to know how to paint brick, here is a post on that.
If you love it, you can pin it
