Do-it-yourself fireplace from the boxes

A real fireplace made of natural stone is naturally beautiful, but the cost of such a structure is rather big. When it is completely economically unprofitable for you, you can make a fireplace out of the boxes with your own hands. This is a fairly simple and beautiful product that will help realize your long-held dream of your own fireplace. But to make it, you will need certain knowledge, which you will receive in this article.

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Materials needed for a raised fireplace

To make decorative fireplaces from ordinary cardboard boxes with your own hands, you must:

• determine the place where you will install it;
• make a drawing yourself or ask a friend who understands this.

After this follows the stage, which is the preparation of materials. To make a fireplace out of cardboard with your own hands, you will need boxes. An excellent option would be a box from under the TV, which has a large diagonal.

Important! When one solid box is not available, you can use a variety of pieces of cardboard, only for this they must first be fastened together. Since this material does not differ in high strength, you can install metal profiles in the corners from the inside - stiffeners, they can help strengthen the entire fireplace construction made of cardboard.

Further for work you will need some tools:

• polymer glue;
• stationery knife;
• masking tape;
• building spatula;
• pencil;
• ruler.

And additional materials:

• corners;
• polyurethane borders;
• putty;
• gypsum stucco molding;
• moldings.

They will be used as decor elements, so the choice depends entirely on your personal preferences and the specific style that the fireplace from the boxes meets with your own hands.

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An example of manufacturing a wall-mounted version of the fireplace from the boxes:

1. To begin with, use a ruler and a pencil to transfer the outline of your future fireplace to the side of a cardboard box.
2. Then, armed with an ordinary or clerical knife, cut out the necessary elements, for example, a furnace in the center of the structure.
3. Bend the cropped edges inward and glue to the back wall - in this way you will get a niche.
4. Glue a gypsum or foam border along the drawn lines. The edges of each segment should be cut at an angle of 45 degrees so that their connection in the shape of a rectangle is easy, beautiful and elegant.
5. In the center of the upper side squares you can place a variety of decorative elements made of gypsum stucco - angels, pigeons, flowers, other figures - here you have no limit to your imagination.
6. A fireplace portal made of cardboard boxes can be made with a lid in the form of a shelf. In this case, it will be preferable to further strengthen the structure with several cardboard sheets or foam. They need to be securely fastened together with glue.
7. Glue a wide ceiling plinth on the sides and on top of the future shelf.

Important! In order for the joints to not stand out in any way, since they are usually uneven, it is necessary to paste all the corners with mounting tape.

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Decoration of a raised fireplace

The next thing we offer you to do is to start decorative decoration. You can make it with paint, but:

1. Pre-fill the entire surface with drywall solution.
2. After that, wait for a day for your putty to dry completely, and proceed to the decorating process.
3. You can use a water-based paint or white, or absolutely any other, depending on the interior of your room. The paint should also dry.
4. Then you can fix the result by applying a layer of high-quality varnish.

If the room is made in the Empire or Provence style, you can make the fireplace vintage - artificially age the material. You can easily achieve a similar effect if you apply a more massive layer of putty, drying it with a hair dryer - this way small cracks appear. You can use several types of paint: apply darker on the bottom, lighter on the top, and rub in some places with ordinary sandpaper. You can also use a special craquelure varnish.

Important! To make a fireplace from foam, you can use exactly the same scheme as for making a fireplace from cardboard.

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A variant of the fireplace from the boxes in the corner

When the room is small, you can make a corner fireplace from the boxes. Decide on the place where this fireplace will be installed.

Important! If one of the adjacent walls is the side of the cabinet, then calculate the dimensions so that the finished design of the fireplace is flush with the cabinet, and does not protrude.

To begin with, the following materials will be prepared:

• glue;
• cardboard;
• metallic profile;
• mounting tape;
• construction film of two types - wood and brick.

The correct sequence of work:

1. Glue the cardboard in the form of a triangle, according to the required dimensions.
2. Cut a hole in the center that will simulate a rectangular firebox. You can make it semicircular from above.
3. For greater strength, install stiffeners inside.
4. Paste all corners and joints with a mounting tape to hide various bumps.
5. Paste the cardboard fireplace portal with ordinary building film that mimics stone or brick.
6. From the sheets of cardboard form a lid-shelf, then tighten these sheets together.
7. Paste a shelf with a film that will imitate a tree.
8. Install a finished cardboard fireplace inside your room.

Important! Place candles, real or decorative stones, firewood and other decorative elements in the furnace that you only wish.

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Stock footage

In this article, you learned how to simply and easily transform the interior of your home with a false fireplace. We hope you liked this idea, and you have already begun to implement it.