The presence of a fireplace gives a zest to the home. Currently, the fireplace has lost its true purpose: there is no need to warm up in front of it in the cold and cook food. It has become a beautiful piece of furniture, successfully performing a decorative function.
Installing a real fireplace is troublesome and not everyone is able to place it in their apartment. But if you really want to revive your interior, then a false fireplace will help you to cope with this task. Moreover, making it with your own hands is quite simple.
Necessary materials
To make a fake fireplace, a minimum investment is required. The main material is thick three-layer cardboard. Therefore, you will need cardboard boxes left over from purchases of household appliances. They are easy to cut with a clerical knife (in the absence of one, any sharp knife will do).
For additional fixation of the elements, we will use construction tape with a paper base
Liquid nails or PVA glue will help to glue the parts.
Suitable for decor are foam moldings, wallpaper, acrylic or water-based paint, colors.
Manufacturing process
At the first stage, it is necessary to decide on the model of the future fireplace (corner, wall-mounted) and complete the drawing. Whichever version of the fireplace you choose, the step-by-step manufacturing instructions will be the same.
In accordance with the drawing, using a ruler and a marker, markup lines are drawn. The easiest option is to create a fireplace from the large cardboard box from which the TV was purchased. In the absence of it, the fireplace is created from separate parts. Wherein to make the product durable, it is recommended to duplicate each element and glue them together. On such a mantelpiece, you can place additional decorative elements and not worry about it being deformed.
The cutting process is perfectly handled by a clerical knife. In the process, it is important that it rests against the ruler. Then the lines will be straight.
The fire window can be rectangular or arch-shaped. The cut is made in such a way that the resulting blades can be glued to the rear wall of the structure.
The base is made 5-10 cm larger than the fireplace itself. For its strength, several cardboard strips are inserted inward along the width.
A false fireplace needs a mantel. For this, an additional box is used, which is laid on top of the resulting structure.
All parts are glued together with liquid nails or PVA glue, the joints are putty.
Don't be alarmed if the cardboard becomes soft from the glue. After drying, the product will become hard again.
Finishing options
After the chimney box is assembled, we proceed to finishing the fireplace. The easiest way is wallpapering. Non-woven ones are ideal in this regard, which will remarkably mask the joints between the boxes; irregularities and blemishes, if any. A thin sheet of polystyrene is suitable as a base, on which wallpaper sheets are glued with liquid nails.
However, using ordinary materials, you can make a false fireplace, which outwardly will not differ from the real one.
One of the beautiful options is stone or brickwork. Its imitation is available in several versions:
Cardboard. Rectangles are cut out of cardboard to act as bricks. They are used to paste over a box pre-painted with acrylic paint, leaving a small space between the "bricks". In this technology, the right solution would be to use contrasting colors: brown base and white bricks
If you want to add volume to the "bricks", then stick napkins or toilet paper soaked in PVA glue (papier-mâché technique) on them. After drying, we get an uneven textured surface, reminiscent of an aged brick or stone.
Styrofoam. Styrofoam allows you to create a very beautiful decor in the form of masonry. On a solid piece of this airy material, the contours of stones of different sizes are cut with a knife. Depressions are carved along them, separating the stones from each other. The effect of antiquity will help to perform a hard iron brush, with which the surface of the product is processed
A regular paint brush is used for painting. To make the stones look as natural as possible, the color in the recesses between them should be darker than the "stone" itself. The final stage of painting is light tinting with white.
Polyfoam also allows you to create brickwork. For this, each "brick" is cut out separately and glued to the cardboard base. After painting, the space between the foam parts is filled with putty, to which color has been added. It is important that this composition is darker than the color of the "bricks".
A Victorian stucco fireplace of the last century will help create Styrofoam moldings that can be easily found in any hardware store. After gluing them, the fireplace is painted white.
Imitation of stucco or woodcarving can be done using cardboard parts. The floral ornament looks very nice. The glued parts are covered with decorative putty and varnish.
A fireplace grate is easy to make from a thick cable. After painting it black or bronze, it feels like the grille is really made of real iron. Due to the plasticity of the material, it is easy to imitate iron forging. Individual elements are interconnected with electrical tape or Moment glue.
Additional decor
Firewood will look great in the fireplace insert. Since our fireplace is not real, decorative firewood will be quite appropriate and will harmoniously fit into the overall look of such an interesting piece of furniture.
To make decorative logs, you need corrugated cardboard, from which tubes of different thicknesses are twisted. To large "logs" with paper tape are attached "smaller" ones that act as lateral knots and branches. After that, the "logs" are painted white. If desired, you can add naturalness. For example, apply black strokes that mimic birch.
If you decide to use real logs, then by scattering red, pink and yellow transparent stones between them, you will achieve the effect of fading embers
You can use a Christmas tree garland. It will create an additional glow and fill the house with coziness.
Candles of different diameters and heights, located in a chaotic manner in the firebox of a white false fireplace, look very stylish
Christmas is a special category of decorative fireplaces. They need a certain decor. The Christmas tree legs are very beautiful, which are laid out on the mantelpiece. They are decorated with Christmas tree decorations, luminous garlands, bright socks hanging to the hearth. All this creates an amazing magical mood of Christmas and New Year.
As you can see, making a cardboard fireplace with your own hands is not difficult. It takes time, but the result is worth it. You will enliven your interior, make it unique and surprise your friends and acquaintances.
