So yesterday I left you with some Billy Bookcases from IKEA built, and secured to the wall. Now we are able to start the fireplace makeover preparations. The bookcases needed to be installed first so that we could get an accurate measurement for how wide the fireplace would be.
Yesterday I showed you my inspiration picture for my makeover. I also found that Layla from The Lettered Cottage did an amazing fireplace makeover for a friend that also became my inspiration. I ended up using the same stone as Layla as well the same BILLY bookcases from IKEA, although I used two more than she did.
I decided to bump out the fireplace surround a bit like Layla but not extend it all the way to the fireplace like she did. I wanted to leave a little bit because I was afraid the fireplace would look lost if I didn’t since my wall was so larger. I also added a chunky wood mantel like Layla’s, but without the corbels. And we both use the same AirStone for the fireplace but mine extended from the bottom all the way to the top of the ceiling while Layla did some planking above the mantel.
So here is the process.
Step 1: Remove the existing tiles and mantel from the wall. Although the picture above shows them gone already I wanted to show you the process. Basically a lot of tugging, and prying.
This tore up the wall pretty good but the nice thing about the AirStone product is that you can adhere them right to the wall. Bonus!
Step 2: Remove the fireplace hearth metal
The first issue was that the fireplace hearth wasn’t wide enough. I needed to do something to widen it or else it would look strange with the fireplace extending beyond that. I debated finding some sort of tile border but in the end I decided to add wood instead. I am so glad I did. It looks awesome and picks up on the wood in the mantel. So the first thing we had to do was the remove the existing metal piece around the tile. This proved challenging. In the end we just cut it off with my Rockwell Sonic Crafter tool with the metal blade. It worked like a charm.
Step 3: Cut out wood to extend the fireplace hearth.
I used 1” x 4” pine wood around the tile and mitered it in the corners. I did have to run the wood through my table saw to thin it out just a hair so that it was the same thickness as the tile.
Note: The PVC pipe sticking out to the left houses all our TV cords.
Step 4: Build boxes to build out the fireplace surround
We ended up using 2 x 2’s, 1/2” plywood and wood screws to build the boxes. Actually they are just two sided boxes since we didn’t need to add plywood to the side or back because that would have been waste. We made them 45” tall and 13” wide. To attach them we screwed a 2” x 2” into the wall and then air nailed another 2” x 2” into the bookcase. Then we added the plywood halfbox front to that with wood screws.
Here is a close up so you can see what we did. The mantel will sit on top of these boxes.
So here is where we are at this point. I removed the hearth to stain it using Minwax Special Walnut
After the stain and Minwax Wipe-On Poly 
And now it is time to build the mantel and then add the stone to the fireplace surround. Click here to continue reading about the DIY Wood Mantel.
And here are all the posts in this series for easy reference:
Family Room Makeover Part 1: Installing the IKEA Billy Bookcase Built-Ins
Family Room Makeover Part 2: Framing out the Fireplace
Family Room Makeover Part 3: Building a Hollow Rustic Mantel
Family Room Makeover Part 4: AirStone Fireplace Makeover
Family Room Makeover Part 5: Finishing Touches
Family Room Makeover Part 6: Styling the Built-ins
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