How to create a homemade false fireplace with your own hands?

Types

There are really many types of false fireplaces – some devices come complete with working heating elements, while others play the role of interior decoration, without any applied functions.

All products presented on the shelves of modern stores can be divided by several key features.

The first of them is, of course, functionality. Devices are:

Reliable – resemble full-fledged fireplaces and imitate flames using electronics. They are equipped with heat-generating heating elements for heating the surrounding space with high temperatures.

Conventional — they differ quite significantly from natural fireplaces, being, in fact, an ordinary portal or niche in the wall. They do not provide any heating systems, they can only serve as decoration.

Symbolic — drawings, collages and schematic images of stoves with wide open fireboxes, intended exclusively for the decoration of suitable locations.

The second way to classify popular false fireplaces today is to divide all designs into groups depending on their size and configuration:

Large – a bias towards the classics, implemented through imitation of stone or brick. Almost always, a decorative fireplace is functional due to the room heating systems located inside the structure.

Medium ones are a solution for people who want to get acquainted with home decorative fireplaces, but do not want to spend large sums of money on such a hobby. They are also almost always distinguished by their authenticity.

Small ones are purely aesthetic designs that create a feeling of comfort, coziness and warmth. They are used to decorate the space in accordance with the ideas of design specialists. Their location does not play a special role.

Surprisingly, you can assemble any false fireplace with your own hands – from a simple portal or niche, to a block equipped with electric heating modules with preliminary floor filling. Here everything depends solely on the skills of the direct performer of the work.

Where is the best place to place it?

A false fireplace is a device that imitates a real hearth, so people practically do not have to think about the place of its installation. In modern houses there are enough rooms that literally need to be decorated with such a design. Kitchen, bedroom, living room, study – a small artificial stove will create the right atmosphere anywhere, helping with the arrangement of any room.

True, the surrounding interior should correspond to the very essence of the design. The bias should be towards rooms with a strict and slightly restrained design, which will be diluted inside with almost natural flames and sparks. In general, you should only start working on the placement of a false fireplace after you have a sketch and calculation of the future design of the room in your head.

Modern interior design experts prefer to install decorative fireplaces in steps of one of three basic instructions:

1. Near the walls. The classic and common option for placing a fireplace. It is advisable to place the device next to a sofa or a pair of armchairs, so as to emphasize a unique area for rest and relaxation.
2. In the corner. Not the most typical solution, used mainly by owners of reliable devices. The module not only serves as a kind of decorative accent that attracts attention, but also heats the surrounding space.
3. As an island. Such a system will suit owners of spacious apartments and houses. Although it takes up a huge amount of space, it looks as impressive as possible.

The method of placing a false fireplace varies depending on the presence of functional heat-generating elements inside the unit. Purely designer units can be installed anywhere, while designs with heating elements and other electronics require a properly selected installation area.

How to do it yourself?

A decorative fireplace is a fairly simple design that you can assemble yourself, literally from scrap materials. materials, without excess dirt and construction dust. Foam, boxes, plasterboard, an old TV, natural plywood, a wardrobe frame – there are really many options for implementing a unique project.

However, you need to approach the process of preparing and arranging a false (not cast iron) fireplace as carefully as possible. Before starting work, you should draw up a detailed drawing with the dimensions and dimensions indicated, and also take care to find a laser or bubble level. False fireplaces are laid in any room, in compliance with the rules of design compliance.

Budget false fireplace made of foam

The first, easiest to process and most common material suitable for making false (not cast iron) fireplaces is, of course, ordinary foam. In order to build the corresponding structure with your own hands, in addition to the drawing, you will need:

• large sheets of cardboard – necessary for the manufacture of a sufficiently strong frame capable of withstanding at least minor mechanical loads;
• foam sheets – panels made of artificial porous material with air layers, 1 to 1.5 cm thick inclusive;
• scotch tape sheets or masking tape – the main fixing elements by means of which we will fasten individual parts of the structure together;
• glue, a knife with replaceable blades, a tape measure and a marker – additional tools that can be easily found in any office supply store;
• putty and paint – filling materials that can be useful at the final stage of work associated with decorating the frame;
• decor made of foam plastic or polyurethane with a brick effect – framing elements that allow give the device a neat and dignified appearance.

The assembly of the false fireplace itself is carried out step by step according to the following, extremely simple instructions with photos:

1. Choose a place to install the structure. A block made of such material as classic foam will look best in a corner version. We begin to form the frame from the very bottom bar, not forgetting about the additional central support installed at floor level. When arranging the frame, a red laser rangefinder that takes measurements in the air will help.
   
2. Take a solid foam panel and cut out the front part of the future decorative hearth. We select the dimensions, as they say, according to the readings, depending on the dimensions of the room. It is advisable to first draw up a small drawing, and only then start cutting.
   
3. We form the central part of the false fireplace – the full-size hearth itself. It should be installed on the central support, directly behind the lower decorative strip. The elements are fastened together with specialized glue or ordinary PVA.
   
4. We install the upper facade and side partitions by height, not forgetting to glue all the joints and corner joints with the right adhesive composition. If necessary, you can use sheets of masking tape. Don’t forget about the level – laser or bubble, for constructing planes in the air.
   
5. We make a kind of lid, also gluing it, for example, using ordinary PVA. Then it remains only to proceed to the process of direct decoration of the structure. Using a sharp blade, we cut off parts of the panels, forming an imitation and texture of brickwork.
   
6. The final part of the process is the use of all kinds of paints and paints and varnishes. Special stencils and paints suitable for working with such material as polystyrene foam are sold in construction stores. Of course, you should not use simple watercolors or gouache. Moreover, such paints and varnishes will crack in sunlight.
   

We take a solid foam panel and cut out the front part of the future decorative fireplace. We select the dimensions, as they say, according to the indications, depending on the dimensions of the room. It is advisable to first make a small drawing, and only then start cutting.

We form the central part of the false fireplace – the full-size hearth itself. It should be installed on the central support, directly behind the lower decorative strip. The elements are fastened together with specialized glue or ordinary PVA.

We install the upper facade and side partitions by height, not forgetting to glue all the joints and corner joints with the right adhesive composition. If necessary, you can use sheets of masking tape. Do not forget about the level – laser or bubble, for constructing planes in the air.

We make a kind of cover, also gluing it, for example, with ordinary PVA. Then it remains only to proceed to the process of direct decoration of the structure. Using a sharp blade, we cut off parts of the panels, forming an imitation and texture of brickwork.

The final part of the process is the use of all kinds of paints and paints and varnishes. Special stencils and paints suitable for working with such material as polystyrene foam are sold in hardware stores. Of course, you should not use simple watercolors or gouache. Moreover, such paints and varnishes will crack in sunlight.

You can put anything you want inside the formed niche – from candles and decorative ash and sand to coals and photo frames. The portal should have good parameters in terms of mechanical stability, achieved due to the stand integrated inside. You can get acquainted with the process of making a false fireplace from foam thanks to the video presented in our selection below.

A simple false fireplace in a house made of cardboard boxes

Surprisingly, a practically real bio-fireplace can be made from the simplest materials – such as ordinary cardboard boxes. However, the process of finding them should be treated with the utmost care – the cardboard should be dense and rigid, without signs of use and perforated holes through which air passes.

You can find it in large quantities at the pick-up points of popular marketplaces (OZON, Wildberries, etc.). Another option, which will cost more, is to buy cardboard in a hardware store (Leroy Merlin, Petrovich).

The main nuance is to also select the right base for gluing sheets, joints, corners and connecting points. Spray cans and liquid nails corrode both the boxes themselves and all sorts of decorative overlays, which are often ordinary dumbbell moldings and foam baseboards. The best solution to this problem is a specialized glue designed for polyurethane.

The assembly itself is carried out in stages according to the elementary step-by-step instructions. You can start working immediately after you have enough cardboard at hand:

1. We join the upper boxes together, using ordinary glue or masking tape in sheets. The fireplace portal of the artificial hearth can either be cut out or formed in advance by cutting off the parts in the right places. Each extra element should be hidden with tape.
   
2. We glue a strip on top – it is a ceiling plinth made of foam plastic, 3 to 10 cm thick. The front side is decorated with simple plexiglass 1.8 mm thick. If you want to save money, buy inexpensive hardboard (these materials will help get rid of the effect of visually noticeable joints after painting).
   
3. Next, you need to seal the bulk of the joints with alabaster. Those parts that have already been applied with pre-diluted material are sealed with masking tape. It is very easy to avoid the appearance of all sorts of irregularities, especially if you have a bubble or laser level at hand.
4. Glue the back wall and form the top shelf from the same plexiglass or hardboard. Cover the base with primer – the primer should be selected as gentle as possible so that it does not corrode the decorative elements made of foam. It is advisable to avoid aerosol cans and work the old-fashioned way, using a brush or roller.
   
5. We cover the almost finished structure with water-based paint and varnish. We fix various decorative elements (for example, a designer rope) using ordinary hot glue. If necessary, we use wallpaper of a suitable color – they are glued with a pencil, since the cardboard will get wet from a specialized composition for walls.
   

We glue a strip on top — it is a ceiling plinth made of foam plastic, 3 to 10 cm thick. The front side is decorated with simple plexiglass 1.8 mm thick. If you want to save money, buy inexpensive hardboard (these materials will help get rid of the effect of visually noticeable joints after painting).

Next, you need to seal the bulk of the joints with alabaster. Those parts that have already been pre-diluted material are sealed with masking tape. It is very easy to avoid the appearance of all sorts of unevenness, especially if you have a bubble or laser level at hand.

We glue the back wall and form the top shelf from the same plexiglass or hardboard. We cover the base with primer – the primer should be selected as gentle as possible so that it does not corrode the decorative elements made of foam plastic. It is advisable to avoid aerosol cans and work the old-fashioned way, using a brush or roller.

We cover the almost finished structure with water-based paint and varnish material. We fix various decorative elements (for example, a designer rope) using ordinary hot glue. If necessary, use wallpaper of a suitable color – they are glued with a pencil, since the cardboard will get wet from a specialized composition for walls.

Anyone can handle such work – the main thing is to start it with a detailed drawing and sketch with calculations, and as you move through the assembly stages, do not forget about the laser or bubble level. Then even such a simple and banal material as cardboard will turn into a full-size decorative fireplace, filling the apartment with a feeling of warmth and comfort. Moreover, every design flaw will be hidden behind the finishing material. You can get acquainted with the process of making a false fireplace thanks to this video.