Fireplace How To:

First thank you so much for all of the bedroom fireplace Love! We were so thrilled to read all of your very thoughtful comments!!!

We had a lot of different options on the table when we decided to tackle the bedroom fireplace, mantle vs. no mantle, new wood vs. barn board, palette wood or construction timber? I think that the fireplace would look amazing with some old reclaimed barn boards but for the style of our home, we could only add a touch of rustic, so we choose construction timber.

Your cost will vary widely depending on where you buy your insert! We found ours on Craigslist! It's a really great option, they had TONS of fireplaces . . . literally TONS! Gas inserts, electric inserts, even some Gel Inserts.
You'll need your insert before you construct your fireplace surround because you'll need those measurements!

Next create your frame. We can't give exact measurements because they depend on the size of your insert, if you have a knowledge of framing . . . well you're ahead of the game, if you don't just make sure that the insert is supported from the bottom, we built a stand for it inside the frame (see image below), and make sure you secure it to the wall!!!

Insert the insert (haha), Place your fireplace insert into your frame!

Lastly add one last piece to the front of the fireplace, something extra to nail the facing too.

Next add all the boards to the exterior. We fastened them at each end and in the middle with brad nails.
Once the boards were up, they were primed and painted them. We found that the closest match to the Ikea bonte wardrobe was Martha Stewart's HEAVY CREAM!
Lastly we needed trim!

We used 3" baseboard for the top of the fireplace. Because our ceiling is slanted we went with really simple trim, if your ceiling is flat, some crown would look nice too.
Next we trimmed out the sides using corner molding. It's in the shape of an 'L' so it can wrap around the edges covering the unfinished ends.

Lastly, we added the 7 1/2" baseboards to the bottom of the fireplace. We also added 1" quarter round above the base, it covered a small gap between the base and the insert. It also gave a nice little detail!

We filled the nail holes on the trim, but left the nail holes on the boards. I liked how it looked a bit more rustic with the nail holes.

The whole project took Lee about 1 full day and 2 half days. The first day he framed it out, that took about 3 hours, because of our slanted ceilings it took a little bit longer then normal. The next day it took about 6 hours, securing the fireplace insert, fixing the fan, adding all of the facing. We also primed and painted the boards. The next day was about another 4 hours, attaching the trim, doing some finishing work around our existing molding, and touching up paint. Not too long at all. Like I said it might take you a bit less time if you don't have slanted ceilings to contend with.

Tools you'll need:
-A hand saw.
-A power drill and screws for the framing
-A brad nailer, although you could just use a hammer with finishing nails.

Recap:
$191.40 +  Simple tools +  14 hours  = 

I hope that answered any questions anyone had. Please if you have anymore, post a comment below and we'll answer them as best we can!!