Cut Out + Keep

Family Room "Built Ins" With Marble Fireplace Surround

A “fake it ’til you make it” project!

https://www.cutoutandkeep.net/projects/family-room-built-ins-with-marble-fireplace-surround • Posted by Jewels at Home

Today, a “fake it ’til you make it” project that I can be proud of! I love the look of built-in shelving – it’s the perfect marriage of beauty and function – but the price tag is another question. Also, I’m constantly redecorating, so I’m afraid of investing in something so permanent, when I might want to redo it next month! I am, however, a veteran at faking a built-in look by finding the perfect furniture pieces to fit my space. Up in our bedroom, I created a daybed bench from off-the-shelf pieces. My starting point for this project was a completely blank wall with two windows. I bought an electric fireplace a few years ago to help warm up the space – figuratively and literally – and while it’s pretty simple and no frills, we’ve gotten a lot of enjoyment out of it. Since my dream family room has white woodwork, I decided to paint our old fireplace. Let me just insert a piece of advice here: if you are putting together pieces of furniture from different sources, it’s definitely best to get paint custom matched. I had a “more haste, less speed” experience, when I tried to spray paint the fireplace not once, but twice. Neither spray paint was the right color to match the surrounding shelves, though I did create an interesting leopard effect. Thank goodness, my friend convinced me to walk over to the hardware store and get some paint to match the shelves. I rolled it on in one evening, so the third time was a charm! To complete the fireplace makeover, I wrapped the pieces that surround the firebox with this grey marble adhesive film. I love the transformation! Finally, with the addition of some accessories, our new fireplace wall is complete! We all love the final result and have enjoyed many happy hours playing and lounging in our cozy new family room.

You will need

Project Budget
Reasonably Priced

Time

6 h 00

Difficulty

So-so
Medium 110224 2f2015 08 07 172052 fireplace%2b1 Medium 110224 2f2015 08 07 172102 fireplace%2b2 Medium 110224 2f2015 08 07 172112 fireplace%2b3 Medium 110224 2f2015 08 07 172128 fireplace%2b4

Description

Today, a “fake it ’til you make it” project that I can be proud of! I love the look of built-in shelving – it’s the perfect marriage of beauty and function – but the price tag is another question. Also, I’m constantly redecorating, so I’m afraid of investing in something so permanent, when I might want to redo it next month! I am, however, a veteran at faking a built-in look by finding the perfect furniture pieces to fit my space. Up in our bedroom, I created a daybed bench from off-the-shelf pieces. My starting point for this project was a completely blank wall with two windows. I bought an electric fireplace a few years ago to help warm up the space – figuratively and literally – and while it’s pretty simple and no frills, we’ve gotten a lot of enjoyment out of it. Since my dream family room has white woodwork, I decided to paint our old fireplace. Let me just insert a piece of advice here: if you are putting together pieces of furniture from different sources, it’s definitely best to get paint custom matched. I had a “more haste, less speed” experience, when I tried to spray paint the fireplace not once, but twice. Neither spray paint was the right color to match the surrounding shelves, though I did create an interesting leopard effect. Thank goodness, my friend convinced me to walk over to the hardware store and get some paint to match the shelves. I rolled it on in one evening, so the third time was a charm! To complete the fireplace makeover, I wrapped the pieces that surround the firebox with this grey marble adhesive film. I love the transformation! Finally, with the addition of some accessories, our new fireplace wall is complete! We all love the final result and have enjoyed many happy hours playing and lounging in our cozy new family room.

Instructions

  1. Small 110224 2f2015 08 16 041134 fireplace1

    Since my dream family room has white woodwork, I decided to paint our old fireplace. Let me just insert a piece of advice here: if you are putting together pieces of furniture from different sources, it’s definitely best to get paint custom matched. I had a “more haste, less speed” experience, when I tried to spray paint the fireplace not once, but twice. Neither spray paint was the right color to match the surrounding shelves, though I did create an interesting leopard effect. Thank goodness, my friend convinced me to walk over to the hardware store and get some paint to match the shelves. I rolled it on in one evening, so the third time was a charm! To complete the fireplace makeover, I wrapped the pieces that surround the firebox with this grey marble adhesive film. I love the transformation!

  2. For the shelving, I measured the space around the fireplace and found that the IKEA Hemnes sofa tables fit almost perfectly. IKEA is a great place to find pieces for your own custom arrangement, because a lot of their product lines come in a variety of sizes and shapes that let you mix and match to fit your space perfectly.