My Hunt for Fireplace Inspiration

I feel like we’re at a bit of a stand still with the house projects because I’m still waiting for flooring for the Master Bedroom, and living with the subfloor in the meantime. I don’t want to start another project until I get that one wrapped up, so I’m a little stuck right now.

Max has worked a bit on building a work bench for the garage, and hung some things up around the house for me (which I will post about soon). In other exciting news, we are working on having a gate built for the indoor doghouse we built under the stairs, as our new pup should be here around February 20.

In the midst of all this, there’s not a lot I can do besides explore Pinterest and dream.

So that’s what I’m doing.

When we bought the house, Max and I agreed that the only thing it was missing was a fireplace. We always planned to add one eventually, but when we lost the buffet in the dining room and had to shuffle some furniture around, which left our living room TV on a nightstand, it became more urgent.

My original plan was to purchase a readymade electric fireplace (electric because it is easiest to install and manage, and you don’t have to cut a hole in the ceiling) and build it into the wall. The fireplace above was my number one pick, from Costco, and I figured I would paint it in a dark gray and add some trim around it.

But the more I thought about it, I just wasn’t in love with it. I couldn’t find one I thought was tall enough or was the exact style I wanted.

So my new plan is to build it from scratch.

Stay with me here I really do think we can do this.

For about half the cost, we can buy an insert and build our own fireplace around it. This is when I scoured Pinterest to really find out what I wanted.

I know I want shiplap, I love the texture of it, and I think it’s so modern rustic and will fit in well in my home. I also love rustic mantles, and reclaimed wood.

I also know I am going to want to mount my TV above the mantle on the shiplap.

I love this fireplace (above) but the TV is too close to the mantle for me, and the fireplace surround is a bit too busy with the trim and the marble.

This look is similar to what I want, but I think the shiplap is too narrow. I do like the mantle height here, but wish it was a lighter wood tone.

And then I saw this.

This is so close to perfection (above), with a few exceptions.

I love the shiplap, I love the black firebox. I love how the shiplap above the mantle is set back a bit (which would help keep my TV more flush to the wall).

I think the mantle is beautiful, but a bit high (or maybe it’s that the firebox is too low? I’d like mine to be a bit above the ground). I also want a bit thicker shiplap. Overall this will likely be the photo I model mine after.

And then I started to think about paint colours. I originally planned to go gray here, but I’m not sure it will work with my more beige walls. The white is beautiful, but maybe not enough for me?

I’ve started considering black. Black shiplap is awesome (see above) and I think black fireplaces are awesome. It’s hard to find a picture of a black shiplap fireplace, but if you squint at these images, you can imagine it:

How rustic and awesome is this one!

I also love how it makes a TV blend in.

So that’s where I’m at. Let me know if you have any thoughts or advice on it. If I move the firebox up closer to the mantle, do I need a hearth below it? Can it float without a hearth or will that look like a cheap electric fireplace?

Let me know if you have any questions.