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Have you ever had a room that you were stuck on decorating and just didn’t know what to do? Well that was this room. We moved into our home in 2018 and quickly jumped into renovating. We remodeled the kitchen, living room, bathrooms and even the basement. But one room still did not sit right with us. The parlor room. After years of trying, no matter how many different ways we decorated this space, it just never felt complete.

Because, this is the very first room you see when you walk into our home, we wanted this room to be a show stopper. Something that grabbed your eye as soon as you walked in. We also wanted it to feel like a cozy living space where friends and family could enjoy.

So after 3 years of staring at this space, we finally decided to make this dream happen.  Enter, SimpliFire Electric Fireplaces by Heat & Glo. When Paul and I came across this partnership, we just could not pass it up! We knew that this would be the perfect opportunity to get the dream space we have been waiting for. Let me share a little more about the process.

BEFORE

after

framing

We spent a good amount of time sketching up this room. We went back and forth between what kind of layout to do, and decided to do a fireplace with builtins. So we framed, rocked, and spackled – the usual process. (When I say we, I really mean my amazing twin brother and brother in law. I’m not even going to pretend that we did it because it is just too immaculate of a job!) Then came the easy part. Installing the fireplace!

fireplace

The fireplace we opted for was the SimpliFire 36-In Built-In Electric Fireplace. The installation honestly could not have been easier. No need to worry about gas lines or venting. All we needed was an outlet! We inserted the fireplace and plugged it right in! We instantly fell in love. We got the look and ambiance of a real fireplace with the easy installation of an electric fireplace. This fireplace has so many wonderful features. You can use it all year round since it can operate it with or without heat. By the simple click of a button you can enjoy the flames in the comfort of your own home at any time of the day or night. You can set the ambiance to whatever you want as well since there are different light “flicker” levels. It creates the perfect atmosphere for friends and family to enjoy and will give any room a memorable focal point. We could not have been happier with this fireplace. Interested in upgrading your space too? Follow this link and use code JCHOMEDIY for 10% off your purchase of any SimpliFire by Heat & Glo fireplace through Jan 21.

Fireplaces bring so much warmth and character to a space, and we’re true believers that every home needs one, or maybe even two.

— shea mcgee

mantel

Though there’s no shortage of pre-made mantels on the market, we’re builders at heart, so we set out build a DIY fireplace mantel from off-the-shelf lumber. We opted for a traditional-looking design that goes with many types of decor. I will provide a more detailed blog post of exactly how we built it but for now I will show you general steps we followed. Here is a sketch of our plan.

Step 1: Build the back frame of the mantel.

Step 2: Build the outer frame.

Step 3: Add internal blocking to pack out the mantel to reach 5 1/2 “.

Step 4: Build front face and add crown moulding.

shelves

For built ins we decided to create two inch floating shelves using mitre joints to achieve a seamless look.The first thing we did was rip plywood pieces into 3/4 x 3/4 pieces. We installed these as cleats on the wall to help support the shelves. We then purchased brackets to add additional support.

Because the walls weren’t perfectly square we used a stair tread jig to measure the tops and bottoms of the shelves. We then transferred the jig and used it as a template to cut the wood on the mitre saw. Our shelves ended up measuring roughly 48″ wide and 2 1/4″ thick.

Once we cut the tops and bottoms, we cut the nosing for the shelves using the table saw on a 45 1/2 degree bevel. Quick tip: It is best to set your table saw slightly past 45 degrees in order to ensure that your seams are tight and the glue has space to sit on the joint. We added LED lights by cutting grooves (aka dados) on the bottoms of the shelves and glued aluminum LED channels to conceal the light strips. Next we dry fitted everything to ensure all the pieces worked and then moved onto gluing! We use Titebond 3 wood glue and painter’s tape to tape the joints shut.

dimensions

Mantel: 70″ W x 54″ H x 6″ D

Shelves: 48″ W x 2 1/2″ H x 9″ D

total cost of materials

Mantel: Includes lumber, screws, and glue – $350

Built-in Shelves: Includes lumber, studs, drywall, screws, and joint compound – $1,900

Electric Fireplace: $1,399 (but you can save 10% off your purchase of any SimpliFire by Heat & Glo fireplace with code through Jan. 21.