Fireplace wall unit....

I've been giving little snippets of my Faux Fireplace wall unit for a few weeks now and am happy to say "It's finally finished"... or at least almost finished. I have a few tweeks left and a touch here and there of paint in spots I might have missed, but, it's finished!  I  am so happy with the results.

My fingers have several bruises  and blood blisters from the hammer and my wrist is suffering a bit of pain.  It will all heal in time, but the smile on my face will be here for years to come.  Although it's been hot I have turned on the heat and it works!  I can't wait for winter to set in.. but in the mean time I can just use the fan and just let the glow of the flame surround my senses.   Now I'm thinking of buying a second  unit for the upstairs hallway.

From what I understand this heat unit uses the electricity of a light bulb!  

That is a good thing!

It all started with this 'blank canvas wall'.  The heater looks dwarfed against the wall and a fireplace is something I've always wanted in this house. The HOA will not allow me to knock down the wall for a real fireplace so this is the next best thing.
 I went to my local Home Depot and gave the cutting guy my measurements and he cut a 4' by 8' sheet of cabinet plywood. I bought nails, glue, wood filler and got to work!

(but first I said a prayer and crossed my fingers)
I also might add, "The only help I had was when Mr. N. helped me hold the wood together while I hammered"
(he thought I was nuts for taking on such a project) 

Here are the tools and items I used most to create this project.
Simple Items really, glue, hammer, nails, paint and a much needed measuring tape.

I had to take out the carpet along the wall, then put inside the surround two cinder blocks to give the heater a bit of height.  The Amish are very proud of their beautiful wood cabinet but I did not want the cabinet showing, I wanted a white wall unit.... it had to be hidden. 

I then Put together the book shelves on both sides.

Did a bit of hand sanding to smooth the wood then sat for a full day looking at the unit to see how I could make two half doors to allow the cable guy to get in and our getting the heat unit out, if repairs were needed.  After I cut the doors I found my measurements were so wrong.  I had to  cut off a fraction of an inch.. only to find "I cut it crooked"!!  There was not enough wood left to cut new doors so I did a bit of patching with wood filler.

This is when frustration set in and I had to walk away from my work for a full day.  Went shopping and cleared my head.
The next day, mind refreshed, I got the doors to work and put on a topcoat of primer. Also I found a little scroll decoration to add to the front of the face.  A little too traditional for me but it added something.

  All in all the entire project took me about 5 days.  I did not work non stop or rushed through it.  I found if you have the measurements exact and someone can cut the wood for you, it makes for an easy project.

After putting on two coats of Satin Enamel Paint I let it dry for two days then gathered items from around the house to decorate a bit... I think I want to get a lamp of some kind to stand on the book case.  Guess I'll have to do a bit of shopping this week.
Now I need to think about a new floor. Why is it that one project always leads to another.  Can't leave it as is now!

Under the old carpet is a slab of concrete. My thought is to take a piece of tile from the back of the laundry room and go find paint to match it...My entire downstairs has such nice "Spanish Terracotta Tile".  I'm going to simply paint the concrete   then get a large throw carpet.  I have a photo of one from Pottery Barn but they want about $900.00 for it.  I think not!  The search is on.
As I said, the entire project took about 5 days and I spent just under $100.00 for all the supplies and wood.  The Faux Flame seems to feel real when the room is dark and it is gives a nice calm feeling at the end of the day.  Did I tell you an added extra came with the fire heat surge, a remote to turn the flame high or low, heat has 5 settings and you can turn off the heat and just have the glow of the flickering flame.... 
One more thing,, I put down a new floor. A light wood throughout the entire downstairs....

Nice, very nice! 

I'm happy to be joining 


Saturday Night Special