DIY Living Room Fireplace & Mantel Ideas

Are you interested in changing up your fireplace or mantel? We will get you started here with all the hacks you'll need to know. Be inspired by new projects, join the discussion board, and ask a question. You can even check out a slideshow on fireplaces and mantels. Go on in and check it out!

DIY Fireplace Makeovers Guaranteed To Impress

A Hot New Look for Your Room

Position is paramount: Position your fireplace according to the size of your wall. For small walls, center it. For larger walls, an off-center approach looks modern.
Mantels can meld multiple materials: Spice up your fireplace with a multi-material mantel. Combine old bricks, rustic woods, and stone for a unique look.
Make a mantel from faux wood: Glue crown molding to faux wood and fill the gaps with Styrofoam before varnishing to create an authentic-looking mantel.
Remove the mantel for a sleek look: You don’t always need a mantel. Remove your old mantel for a modern, minimalist look. Make the fire flush with your walls for a sleek finish.
Don’t sacrifice style for safety: Never place flammable objects too close to your fireplace. Take note of the structure of your room and position the fireplace accordingly.

Living Room Ideas

Top Projects for Living Room Fireplaces & Mantels

Visit our top DIY fireplace and mantel projects and revamp your living room.

Fireplace Makeover

Brick fireplace makeover with stained wood.

Frank

Painted Brick Fireplace-Farmhouse Inspiration

For over 20 years I've dreamed of living in an old farmhouse, and I'm not going to sit here and complain about not being able to live that dream just yet, because I'm Beyond Blessed. I enjoy the challenge of giving a plain house character. So this 1974 ranch has had many looks, and a few have been since I've lived here :) I originally painted the brick fireplace when we remodeled the kitchen several years ago. You can find the original How To here If you follow me you already know that I recently updated my kitchen island with faux brick. You can see that post here How I did it: After thoroughly vacuuming the brick, I painted the grout lines with Alamo White in small sections, then used a slightly damp rag to spread paint over the entire section. You can see how I did it in the below video. It really was as easy as it sounds. It took me an hour and 10 min to paint the brick and less than 8 oz. of paint. So this project cost me less than $10.00...Woo Hoo!! Video below! More details on our blog.

Shabby Paints

New Modern Fireplace Surround

We wanted to make this circa 2005 plain vanilla fireplace an interesting focal point on an otherwise long, boring wall in our condo. I found the wood molding boards at the Habitat Restore, where I volunteer. They are each bevel edged, 6 inches wide and cut to 72 inches long. Total cost, $50!! We started by removing the original ceramic tiles and wood trim. Then we proceeded to box in the original white wood floating mantel with 3 rough cut 1 by 8 boards from Home Depot and then cut end caps cut to fill in the ends. I used chalk paint and stain to make the mantel look just like an old barn beam!!! We have not painted or stained the wood yet, leaving it natural until we decide how we want it to look. Any suggestions? Wallah!! Loving the new look that has modernized our home.

Dianne Leonetti

Ugly Fireplace Makeover

First things first. When I bought my house 4 years ago it was seriously the absolute worst house in the best neighborhood. It was bank owned, listed poorly, overgrown, squatters, rodents, pillaged.. now that you have that picture, the fire place was not high on the priority list. Now that the whole house is finally finished it time to work on the eyesore. My hubs built a make shift mantel just to kind of make it tolerable .

Dunham Design Company

DIY Mantle/Floating Shelf

A friend asked me if I could build a mantle for her to hang in her living room. I had never built one before, but figured it can't be that hard, right? After some trial and error, I must say that I'm pretty pleased with the end result!

Shane Imler

Revamp an Ugly Brick Fireplace No Paint

Ok, I hated this fireplace so I purchased a used Mantle Craigslist find ($600.00) and started on my plan. Everything worked around this "mantle" as it was very ornate.

Hotheadzmarine.williamson

How To Make A Faux Fireplace On The Cheap

We're stationed in Germany and we wanted to install a fireplace but the cost of installation was upwards of 10,000 euros. So we built out own. We used the example from blogger Lauren of Bless'er House as a visual guide but since we didn't have the mantel and surround we needed to draw our own plans. We are pretty happy with how it turned out and the cost was about $300.

Bloom Simply

A Dreamy Fireplace....

This is what happened when an interior designer (ME) gets the challenge of selling her own house.. Back in January of this year 2016, I got the news about loosing my workshop because my associate was moving to Europe and the workshop was located at her home basement. So because of the economy We decided to try selling Our home and move to a house with either a workshop or an unfinished basement or with a 3/4 car garage. Well we hired a Realtor agent and put Our home for sale!

M&B Furniture Decor Llc

From Bland to Glam

Our fireplace was outdated and a did nothing for a focal point of our family room. With our vaulted ceilings it needed to be a lager & grander scale We demo'd the hearth to make it more flush and not take up so much space. Plus it was dangerous for babies. We removed carpet, added a new light fixture and painted before fireplace renovation

Amy Underwood Wilson

Cozy Up Your Living Space With A Beautiful Fireplace Remodel

A beautiful fireplace is one of the most desirable amenities of a home. There is nothing more welcoming than a cozy fire during the cold winter months! In addition, a lovely and decorative fireplace can add style and character to any room.

Best Of Hometalk

Fireplace Makeover

Brick fireplace makeover with stained wood.

Frank

Painted Brick Fireplace-Farmhouse Inspiration

Shabby Paints

New Modern Fireplace Surround

Dianne Leonetti

Ugly Fireplace Makeover

Dunham Design Company

DIY Mantle/Floating Shelf

Shane Imler

Revamp an Ugly Brick Fireplace No Paint

Ok, I hated this fireplace so I purchased a used Mantle Craigslist find ($600.00) and started on my plan. Everything worked around this "mantle" as it was very ornate.

Hotheadzmarine.williamson

How To Make A Faux Fireplace On The Cheap

Bloom Simply

A Dreamy Fireplace....

M&B Furniture Decor Llc

From Bland to Glam

Amy Underwood Wilson

Cozy Up Your Living Space With A Beautiful Fireplace Remodel

Best Of Hometalk

Living Room Fireplace & Mantel Videos

Here you'll find video tutorials on DIY fireplaces and mantels. Check them out.

German Schmear Fireplace Makeover

Have a dark fireplace that needs a fresh new look? We caught an episode of Fixer Upper a few weeks ago where they did a gorgeous German mortar schmear on all of the old outdated brick in the house. Since we saw that, I haven't been able to get this trend out of my mind!Are you in love, too? Here's how to get a Chip and Joanna-approved makeover in no time! Check out the video if you'd like to follow along with us!

Abbie M

Brick Fireplace Makeover - Going White!

Let's face it...white is in!Whether your style is modern, farmhouse, French country, traditional or shabby chic, white is a great way to lighten your space.Many times it's just white paint with existing decor that will completely change the design and style of the space. White is airy, pure and breathes freshness into a space.Take a look at how we changed living rooms by simply painting the fireplace white.Prep and clean the surface of red brick.

JH Wall Paints

Updated Fireplace

A friend of mine was redecorating her house and the fireplace really needed to be updated.

Alicia W

Fireplace Renovation

We recently purchased property in Virginia with a small farmhouse cottage (832 sq. ft.) as a vacation home for us. The home was built in the 1940's, while in good repair - needed lots of cosmetic updates. The tiny living room contained this very large brick fireplace that someone had mortared round river rocks on it. While the rocks are pretty, but we wanted to bring the fireplace back to brick - to update the room and gain space. We also soon found out that the rocks were unsafe, many of them were loose and falling off - as well as hiding places for bugs and spiders!

Cindy Hagemann

Hometalkers' Favorite DIY Living Room Fireplace & Mantel Projects

Here are the best fireplaces and mantel projects on Hometalk. Learn something new!

Fireplace Makeover! Learn How to Tile

Learn how to transform your fireplace in a weekend! This project makes a huge statement, and is really easy!

Caitlin Bigelow

DIY Faux Fireplace

Hello again! I’m always searching for ways to add cozy vibes to our small home! Our home is 1,308 sq ft and has a good amount of character on its own, like the ceilings and closets - they have this neat plaster swirl detail that is so good, but our bedroom just felt like it needed a little something extra. I pondered the idea of an accent wall for a minute but couldn’t decide on the perfect wall. So for now, I decided to add a faux fireplace under our TV!

Brooke | craftingupcuteness

New Face for an Old Fireplace

Rehabbing novice experiments with an ugly fireplace for great results. You can learn to do anything on the internet!

Time for Change

This unused fireplace has been overlooked for years, it was time to make a change - nothing structural - just a new look.

Andra Van Der Westhuizen

Fireplace Facade

My son and girlfriend's new house. They didn't like the fireplace, wasn't "rustic" enough for them. They asked me what I could do to fix it.

Lynn Jordan

From Drab to Fab!

How to transform your dated fireplace, it's easier then you may think! But it does take time and patience to get the coverage you desire. Let me walk you through the steps I took, to turning my old drab fireplace into the focal point of your room.

Reiner MacPhail

Fireplace Makeover! Learn How to Tile

Learn how to transform your fireplace in a weekend! This project makes a huge statement, and is really easy!

Caitlin Bigelow

DIY Faux Fireplace

Brooke | craftingupcuteness

New Face for an Old Fireplace

Rehabbing novice experiments with an ugly fireplace for great results. You can learn to do anything on the internet!

Time for Change

This unused fireplace has been overlooked for years, it was time to make a change - nothing structural - just a new look.

Andra Van Der Westhuizen

Fireplace Facade

My son and girlfriend's new house. They didn't like the fireplace, wasn't "rustic" enough for them. They asked me what I could do to fix it.

Lynn Jordan

From Drab to Fab!

Reiner MacPhail

Popular Living Room Fireplace & Mantel Discussions

Browse the DIY fireplaces and mantels discussion board and give us your two cents.

How do I make a faux fireplace?

/> Janet

View discussion

How do we install gas fireplace logs??

/> Ann Liggett Brentano

We have a brick woodburning fireplace that we would like to convert to gas logs. We're in our 60's and chopping wood or and/or hauling wood may not be in our future. What steps are needed to install gas logs?

View discussion

How can I refinish a brick fireplace?

/> Sharon

View discussion

Where can I find firebrick splits 1"to a maximum of 1 1/8" thick?

/> Carol Ann

Need to replace the firebrick in my fireplace insert. Unit is County Flame but 35 or more years old and requires the really thin firebricks called splits and really hard to find the right thickness. This is still our basic heat for our house and well worth the effort. Thank you for your help.

View discussion

New Living Room Fireplace & Mantel Projects

Looking for new ideas for your fireplace or mantel? Peruse our collection here.

From Pass-through Aquarium to Fireplace

When we bought our house we found a surprise in the master bedroom - a big hole in the wall. But not just any hole - apparently it was for a pass-through aquarium! After years of trying to figure out what to do with the space, we got a little creative.

The Rozy Home

Cozy Master Bedroom Retreat

I've slowly been transforming my master bedroom with furniture finds, painted personalized touches, a chalkboard fireplace, and a custom DIY bench. I now have a cozy room to retreat to at the end of the day and everything in the room was budget-conscious and under $900 (except for mattress).

Sophia's - Live Beautifully

How To Build A Corner Fireplace Surround & Mantel With Airstone & Oak

When we bought our home, the existing gas fireplace was sitting on a tile insert in the corner of the room. It was functional, but it was pretty plain. My husband and I decided to build up a fireplace surround to give it a finished, beautiful look. Besides, I really wanted somewhere to hang all the homemade stockings that I’ve made my family over the years. I searched the internet for inspiration for my corner fireplace, but I didn’t really see anything that had the look I was envisioning. So we decided to just build everything from scratch. The woodworking was one the harder projects we’ve tackled in our home, but I’m really pleased with how it turned out! So read ahead to see how we got the fireplace surround of our dreams!

Kati Urbanek-Countryesque

A Mantel Gets Springed up With One Wood Scrap Happy Window Box

Those that know me, know I live, eat and breathe reclaimed wood. So when the opportunity came to 'spring up' my mantel with something new, I ran to the wood pile. Well... more like broken barrel. After staring at the rubble for a spell, this vision appeared... would this work? I admit, it's a tad off the wall... but hey... what stuff of mine isn't? :)

Donna at Funky Junk Interiors

How to Build a Portable Free Standing Decorative Faux Fireplace

So excited to share my favorite project of all time: a DIY faux fireplace! I've always dreamed of having a fireplace but my rental apartment doesn't have one. I was determined to change that and I finally did it ! I'm absolutely in love with it and It's amazing how it completely transformed my living room - it's like I moved to a new apartment!***Do keep in mind that this project is for decorative purposes only and is not to be used as a heater***

Engineer Your Space

Fire Place Makeover With Mosaic Tiles #DIY #Tiling

This summer we finally saved up enough money to do some home improvements to our house. We started with one project and then all the sudden it snow balled to all of different projects. We ended up putting in a tile back splash in our kitchen and because of that, we felt like we needed to do a few other things to make our house look more fancy and that included redoing our fireplace.