Turn A Spare TV Into A Stunning Fireplace Feature With This Clever Design Hack

Who doesn't love curling up next to a cozy fireplace in the evenings, or watching the flames flicker while you sip your morning coffee? A fireplace can bring a cozy aesthetic to a home, especially when it's complete with a gorgeous stone or brick mantle. If your house doesn't have one, though, it doesn't mean you have to miss out on comfort and style. With an old television, wood, styrofoam, and a few basic tools, you can create a gorgeous faux fireplace and mantle. While this hack sadly doesn't involve any actual flames, you can still pretend it does by cranking up the thermostat while playing a cozy fireplace video on the television. As a bonus, this is a great way to flawlessly integrate a TV in your living room.

In a nutshell, you'll be building a frame and mantle around the television. Because the TV is the focal point of the build, this should be the first item you acquire for this DIY. If you already have an old television to dedicate to this project, that's perfect. If not, you can check out your local online marketplace to find affordable used ones or buy a lower-priced new one from Amazon like this Insignia 32-inch Fire TV. Once you have the television you're going to use squared away, you can get started building your gorgeous faux fireplace.

A stone fireplace can help to create a cabin vibe in your home, and it's fairly easy to create the appearance of one. First, you need to build the frame for the TV, which also functions as the foundation for the fireplace. To decide how big you want it, consider the size of the television you'll be using, as well as how much wall space you want to dedicate to the piece. For reference, a video posted by the YouTube channel Samhain Propworks details a build for a faux fireplace that is approximately 36 inches tall, 42 inches wide, protrudes 6 ¾ inches from the wall, and is built around a 27 ½-inch television. 

Start by building a larger rectangular frame out of 2-by-4s cut to your ideal measurements. For the base, you'll need a wider piece of wood that sits on the floor. Four vertical support posts will be attached to the four corners of the base, and two upper horizontal support posts will each connect to the two vertical ones. Attach these using wood screws. Next, frame the fireplace opening by adding vertical and horizontal posts cut to fit around your TV. For extra support, attach two smaller pieces of wood between the vertical posts on each side. Finally, you'll need to create the frame for the part that extends outward from the base of the fireplace, underneath the TV. To do this, build a rectangular frame underneath the "firebox" that matches the width of the TV frame, but juts out a few inches.

Once the frame is built, it's time to attach the "walls" of your stunning DIY faux fireplace, which will be made up of styrofoam boards. After cutting the styrofoam panels to size, use wood glue to attach them, covering the entirety of the frame. Only the television should be left visible, and the very top where you'll eventually put the mantle. Then, draw a river rock pattern onto the foam, taking care to create rounded, irregular shapes that mimic the natural look of the stones.

Using a rotary sander, begin to carve out the stones by shaving down around the outlines you've drawn, creating gaps between the rocks. Don't forget to also sand down the tops of the rocks so that they're not all perfectly smooth. Imperfections here are great because they'll imitate the look of natural stone. Alternatively, you can draw and carve out a brick pattern instead of river rocks.

After creating the shapes of the stones (or bricks), you'll want to paint them a natural hue of gray (or red), and then add some texture by finishing it off with a dry brush technique. Finally, attach a board to the top of the piece to function as the mantle, and use 2-by-4s cut to size to add trim around the base. If desired, use wood stain to give the exposed wood a polished and warm look. 

While the faux stone fireplace looks amazing, it's understandable if that particular DIY project is a bit more complicated than you're willing to take on. Fortunately, there is an easier (and less expensive) alternative way of creating a faux fireplace that only uses contact paper and foam board. Similar to the first build, you'll start by measuring how large you want it to be. Once you have your measurements, cut the foam board to size and hot glue it together. It's a good idea to break the frame up into sections, and include support pieces for each section so it will be sturdy. After gluing the frame together, you can slide it up and around the TV, which can simply be sitting on its feet or a stand on the floor.

When the frame itself is built, it's time for the fun part — decorating it! All you'll need is contact paper. For a more rustic look you can use this red Sevalo Brick Contact Paper, or you can even mimic the look of the other fireplace with a product like this Okydoky Grey Stone Peel and Stick Wallpaper. For the mantle, you can use another piece of foam board if it will be purely decorative and you won't be setting anything on top. If you want it to be sturdier and more functional, it would be better to use a piece of plywood or particle board covered with this Dimoon Dark Wood Contact Paper to give it a more authentic look.