For as long as I can remember I have thought about how cool it would be to have a fireplace in my bedroom, but for whatever reason the thought of building one never crossed my mind. Even as a little girl my grandmother had a fireplace in her bedroom and I loved sitting in front of it after taking a bath!
I think the biggest hurdle for me was thinking it had to be a gas fireplace in order to look real and put out heat, but that’s not the case! Electric fireplaces have come a long way. They look real, have a beautiful sleek design, and are amazing at heating up a room! This meant I could easily DIY a fireplace in my bedroom, and I have to say this is at the top of my list of favorite DIY projects! I decided to go with Dimplex 25″ Multi-Fire XD™ Firebox w/ Acrylic Ember Media Bed
One of the reasons this firebox was at the top of my list is it’s plug and play. You literally just plug it into an outlet and you’re good to go! It also only pushes heat out in the front so you don’t need to worry about the wall behind getting hot!
For this project I decided to build a floor to ceiling shiplapped fireplace for a big impact! The first step was to build the frame. My husband and I built a simple box frame out of 2×4’s and wood screws. We made sure to include a vertical 2×4 in the center to mount the TV to. We also added a small shelf inside the frame to hold the TV cable box.
After the frame was finished it was time to cover everything with shiplap. In our experience the pre-made MDF shiplap boards are the easiest to use and have the cleanest look, so that’s what we used! We simply cut the shiplap boards to size and secured them to the frame with 2″ brad nails. We finished off the corners with some simple corner trim for a nice clean look.
When it came time to paint, I knew I wanted to go bold and have a color that really popped against my white walls. I picked my favorite Tricorn Black by Sherwin-Williams. It was the perfect choice and gave me the sleek modern look I was hoping for!
After building this fireplace and realizing how much I use it I wish I would have tacked this project sooner!
-Grey Birch Designs-
