Does the coming winter season chill remind you how a lot you skip the fundamental element of fire to warm those long nights? Unfortunately, your home’s builder wasn’t the romantic you are, and you have no fireplace. Never concern, The Budget Decorator is here! Okay, so that’s corny, but this project sure is not!

The first factor to do is to figure out what element you want your fireplace to be made of. A great deal of this depends on the formality of your space, and the style of fireplace you select to make. Paint, tiles, fake bricks, wooden molding and plywood, scrap beadboard, it goes on as far as your creativity.

Next, you’ll need to figure out how a lot labor you want to place into the building. The choices range from a flat front “tromp loeil” style fireplace, to a wood building of an actual fireplace box and mantle.

Ideas to get you began:

Fake stone fireplace

Mask off the entire region of the fireplace, and paint it a background colour-this will be your grout colour. Mask off an region that will be the firebox, paint it a matte black colour. Consider an ordinary household sponge and tear it into several various dimension irregular pieces, simulating pieces of rock or stone. In a paper plate, pour 3 earth tone colors of craft paint. Dab the sponge into the paint colors, dont be concerned about them mixing some, dab off the additional paint so it doesn’t operate, then “stamp”stones onto the fireplace background. Continue to alternate sponge measurements, leaving some space in between stones for a organic masonry appear. Alternatively, if you have entry to many smaller stones, how about glueing the stones right to the painted background! Add a mantlea simple pine shelf will do.Be sure to accessorize the mantle with individual pictures, and most importantly, candles! Candles give the impression of fire, and the mantle and firebox total the illusion. This would be a fantastic option for an informal rustic space.

Fake tile fireplace

Observed those cool contemporary ceramic or stone tiled fireplaces? Simple to do. Same concept as over, except somewhat more formal. You could both mask off the tiles with ¼ inch masking tape,and paint them, or if you can get some castoff tiles, you can glue on the actual factor. I did mine with leftover fake marble self stick tiles from a floor project, and plain white ceramic tiles are pretty cheap.Hint: If you use self stick tiles, reinforce the adhesive with a glue gun! A flooring store might even have some discontinued tiles they would allow you have for totally free. Looseends.com sells paper mache stones and brick, although I don’t discover them especially cheap, they are superb quality, and might be really worth it. Or, you could attempt your hand at generating your own. Finish off the fireplace edge and firebox with some cheap wooden molding, even lathing strip, and add a mantle!

Traditional Fake Fireplace

For the labor loving decorator, you could even build an actual wooden box, the most reasonable of the choices! Because I don’t pretend to be even a weekend woodworker, attempt the ideas on discovery daytime (www.discovery.com) from The Christopher Lowell Display.

So, now, I know what I’m performing for the cold nights this coming winter season!

Kathy Wilson is an author, columnist, and editor of The Budget Decorator. For hundreds of totally free spending budget decorating ideas and to sign up for her totally free newsletter and e-book, go to her at http://www.newsletterjournal.com