Zack and I built a faux fireplace back when we lived in our apartment, so, quite a while ago. We've lived with it but ultimately knew we needed to rebuild it. Now that its the focal point in our living room it sorta sticks out like a sore thumb. We built it pretty half assed to be honest. We didn't have the right tools and I was rushing to get it done just to have something in the space that I didn't focus enough on the details of it, but now that I've lived with it, and stared at it for a couple years now I have really tried to pin point the style I want. Here's a couple of my inspiration pictures...
The first thing we decided to do, and don't ask why we started with this part first because I don't know, was planking the wall. I chose to do it for several reasons, one, because it makes the fireplace appear built in and real, two, it makes it appear larger and more grand and three, because its a popular trend that I have fallen in love with. Of course, we did it the cheap and easy way.
We started with a trip to Lowes [isn't that how every project starts] and picked up a sheet of thin, cheap [$14.98] plywood. We had the people cut it into 6" strips right there to save time. We also picked up pieces of 1x4 primed MDF. When we got home I sanded the edges of the planks so that there were no sharp edges.
We marked the studs and then got to work. The first step was to make sure the top plank was level, most ceilings are not perfectly level so you want the plank to be leveled and not just pushed against the ceiling, otherwise, as you continue your planks down the wall it will become very noticeably uneven. Once the first plank went into the wall we used nickles as spacers and continued nailing the planks down the wall using a level every 3rd or so plank to keep it all straight.
Once all the planks were up [we only planked down to the top of the fireplace], we measured and cut the MDF and then nailed it into the studs as well. Then i got to patching and caulking. I use spackle on all the nail holes and then ran a bead of caulk where the planks met the MDF.
After the spackle and caulk dried I sanded it all down with a 220 grit sanding block and then wiped it down with a wet rag to clear off any dust. Then, I primed it with two coats of my favorite primer, Zinsser and one coat of leftover trim paint from the builder. [it's not a permanent color, we will change it when the entire fireplace is rebuilt]
Better already.
We put everything back together and decided we will finish the actual fireplace surround, and choose an overall paint color [I'm thinking grey], when we get back from vacation in a few weeks. We will be using
this plan from Ana White and adding a few modifications to fit it to our space. Hope it turns out okay!
---Jackie
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