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The Fireplace is Done!

There is something very satisfying about finishing a home improvement project, and I am super happy that my fireplace is done!

The Fireplace is done!

Or, at least, mostly. Like, 99% done.

And I am so over-the-moon about it!

This project has been a long time a’comin.

When we first looked at the house, over five years ago, it was one of the things that I actually mentioned it could use.

Down the road of course.

And each year we put it off because of other commitments and projects and finances.

And finally, this year… it happened!

With some debate. About the TV.

TV. TV. TV. Apparently we have some TV fans in our house.

Once again, it seemed I was outvoted about getting rid of it. Apparently the three other members of this family felt it was important to keep a TV in this space.

So; I went to work figuring out the best way to include a TV above a fireplace and found some lovely inspiration. In fact, I have a whole Pinterest Board dedicated to Fireplaces & Mantels that I’ve been gradually adding to over the years.

It seems that recessing it in an alcove with all kinds of paneling around it was what appealed to me most.

A white fireplace stone and mantel.

Via

A white and black fireplace with a small white dog sitting in front of it.

Via

And this is the one I printed out to keep close at hand for inspiration…

There is a small mantel on this white fireplace.

Via

Do you remember how our living room looked before? We have a vintage white chalk-painted hutch as our TV cabinet:

A small white hutch with a TV on it.

A look into the living room.

It was a good solution, I think… and still created a nice focal point in our room.

But… it wasn’t a fireplace!

So… we hired a carpenter for this renovation project. We are super lucky to know a really talented carpenter who works on projects outside of his regular job.

He came in a framed in the fireplace for us, in half a day; according to the specifications for the unit that we had ordered through our local gas-fitter.

And, once framed, our gas fitter came in and installed the unit (it’s a direct vent propane unit and we already had a propane tank just outside that wall that was installed when we put in our gas stove in the kitchen).

The fireplace building process.

At first, it was framed in perfectly square, and then once we saw the way that the unit looked and the venting out, our carpenter was able to recess the upper wall and he changed the framing to account for an alcove above the mantel.

We worked together a lot on the design of the fireplace as the project went, and referred back to the inspiration pictures to guide the design.

He covered it all with primed MDF and then concrete board in the areas that were going to be tiled.

Here is a mid-way shot…

Putting the tile down on the fireplace.

Then it was all about moulding. And layering it on. He did such great work and worked about a thousand times faster then if we had DIYed it ourselves.

Once he was done, we went to town with the DAP (best product EVER for paneling and finished projects) as well as the Simply White paint (I painted it the same colour as our walls).

What do you think?!

A star above the fireplace with a TV.

Up close picture of the fireplace.

Our carpenter added a pipe inside the framed box for the cords to go up to the TV, as we didn’t have an electrician come in and wire it into the wall. Genius, right?!

The fireplace cords leading into the wall.

Now our cable box sits just under our bookcase and will be hidden, as the cords go up through the fireplace frame to the alcove where the TV sits.

All the cords on the floor.

Last job?!? Why it’s only 99% finished… our gas fitter needs to come back and hook up the fan; and we need to pick up a face plate for the switch and fan…

The switch for the fireplace.

 

The white fireplace.

But, yay!

For all intents and purposes, it is done.

Now I can hang some stockings!

Oh, and maybe a giant driftwood star??

signature and quote

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25 Comments

  1. Hi there! I found your post bc we are in the process of adding a gas fireplace to our home and there’s actually so few projects like this!

    Can I ask how tall you made your mantel? We’re also mounting a tv above ours and we’ve gone I circles trying to figure out how tall to ammenit. Also, how tall are your ceilings?

    Thank you for any help you can offer!

  2. Hi Krista:

    Love your fireplace…..actually make that your whole house! Can I ask what tile that is you used for the fireplace. 🙂

    1. Hello! Thank you so much! I bought it off the shelf at Home Depot! It’s a marble hexagon – a bit tricky to work with, but I still love the pattern:) Hope that helps!

  3. It looks wonderful! We had our house rewired to hide cables as well and it is amazing what a difference hidden cables make. I love the tile you chose! Your home is so bright and beautiful!

  4. Hi there… It’s so pretty! I would love to know your specs…. Primarily depth from front to back & the size of your TV. We have a narrow family room & I’m trying to convince my husband that something similar won’t eat up too much floor space . (Pinning for sure ❤️)

    1. Hi Toni! The size you need to build it really depends on the specs of the fireplace insert that you choose. Ours is quite a large insert, so it had to be 18″ deep and we ended up making it 60″ wide to accommodate the tile and then the mantel legs on each side. And with the mantel shelf it is even deeper and wider, but you could go smaller if you choose a smaller fireplace unit.

    1. Hi Tracey – great! We were happy to hire a carpenter for the framing part because that is something we haven’t really done a lot of and didn’t want to tackle on such a tight timeline. But a skilled DIYer could probably try it as well as the finishing work. Good luck with your project!

  5. That fireplace of yours is awesome! I have a fireplace (that is no more than a heat fan) and love it this time of the year to decorate on xmas mood and hung socks, the rest of the year I sometimes think of getting rid of it, and get a dinner table instead…moods!

    1. It’s so great to have a fireplace at this time of year! I know what you mean about changing your mind about things, though!

  6. Hip, hip, hoorah! Hip, hip, hoorah! A fireplace, and not just any fireplace, this is the one you designed. It’s totally awesome, Krista, beautiful. Cheers, Ardith

    1. Thanks Ardith! It’s such a joy to hang out in front of it with my cup of coffee in the morning:) It’s definitely going to enrich our lives this winter!

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