DIY Your Own Fireplace Insert With A Pool Noodle Hack That Will Light Up The Room

A lit fireplace creates a cozy ambiance in a room, filling it with the sounds of wood crackling, the smell of smoke, and the heat from the flames. However, the more firewood burned, the more carbon dioxide emitted, which increases the carbon footprint. Suppose you're looking for a more energy-efficient option or don't enjoy the smell of wood burning in your home. In that case, you can easily create a fireplace insert with pool noodles that gives the illusion of natural firewood burning. The brilliant pool noodle hack comes from TikTok creator @seesideart, who turned their foam noodles into faux firewood logs using a few materials.

If you've been looking for something to occupy the space in your fireplace, follow this hack to illuminate the room. The great thing about this pool noodle hack is that you can leave the insert inside the fireplace all year. Since the fireplace will be clean, you don't have to worry about brushing out any soot. The only things you might need to swap are the batteries for the lights that will be wrapped around the pool noodles to continue giving them a beautiful glow. To flawlessly execute this hack, you'll need a few pool noodles, painter's tape, plaster, white paint, black paint, twine, and twinkle lights — all of which you can purchase from Walmart. Finding one with closed ends is best when picking out a pool noodle. However, a standard noodle will work.

When performing this DIY, it can get messy, so find a workplace where you don't mind paint splattering on the surface or place your materials on a flat piece of cardboard to prevent getting plaster or paint on your table. To make your fireplace insert, cut your pool noodle into three lengths, from longest to shortest. If you have a noodle with holes, cut circles on a piece of cardboard to patch them. Skip this step if you have a closed noodle. Then, cover all the noodle pieces with painter's tape and plaster. After the plaster dries, paint the pieces black and let them dry. Next, go in with the white paint and add thinner layers to allow the black paint to peek through. Finally, tie your noodle pieces with twine, wrap the lights around them, and place them in your fireplace.

You can make as many faux fireplace logs as you want to make the inside look fuller. You'll need to purchase more pool noodles and repeat the steps to give them the firewood effect. If you don't want to use plaster, you can alter this DIY by covering the pool noodles in brown paper by crumpling the paper, cutting it into strips, and applying it to the noodles with Modge Podge. The crumpling gives a bumpy effect since the wood isn't smooth. Then, you can paint the brown paper white and add brown spots for a burned look.