How to make a fireplace out of boxes with your own hands
Sometimes you really want to spend warm, romantic evenings next to a cozy fireplace. However, most residents of large cities do not have this opportunity. But there is a great way out - to build a decorative fireplace out of the box with your own hands in an apartment. Such a fireplace will bring coziness and warmth to the interior. In addition, it will become an unusual decorative element in your home.
What is a decorative fireplace
A decorative fireplace completely duplicates the appearance of a conventional device, but you cannot light a fire in it, and it does not have a chimney. Moreover, since this is a false fireplace, it is also possible to organize a false fire in it. Typically, such a device is made from cardboard boxes that remain from the purchase of large household appliances.
This fireplace has several advantages:
- It fits easily into any interior
- Easy to assemble and decorate
- Assembly will be fun for the whole family
- It can also be used as a piece of ordinary furniture.
- On New Year's Eve, the device is the main decoration of the house
- It is convenient to hide New Year's gifts for children and adults here.
The classic size of the fireplace with a portal: the width of the pedestal is 1.2 meters, the height of the pedestal is 15 cm, the height of the portal with the pedestal is 0.9 meters, the width of the combustion chamber inside is 0.75 meters. At the same time, the device can be of any size - from a small one, 50 cm high to a full-fledged portal with a height of 1 meter.
Important! Before proceeding with the assembly, it is necessary to measure the location of its installation. Then you need to calculate not only the external dimensions, but also their ratio with all the details. Ideally, it is best to make a drawing on paper. After that, you can pick up the boxes you need in size.
If you create several options for calculations and drawings, then it will be easier to select boxes for assembly. So it will be possible to quickly change the architecture, if suddenly the necessary boxes are not available.
It can also be of any architecture. Another convenience of a cardboard device is that it can become temporary. For example, it can only be collected for the New Year holidays. Decorated with pine needles and colorful toys, it can easily replace a Christmas tree.
What kind of fireplace can be made at home
Since a decorative fireplace is assembled from boxes, it can be given any shape. As a rule, they use classic rectangular wall-mounted types of fireplaces:
- With a high portal
- With a portal-arch
- With a square portal
A wall-mounted fireplace will require a free wall section of 1.5 meters.In addition to the classic structures of regular shapes, there are more complex and non-standard forms:
- Angular
- Mini fireplace
- Island fireplace
The corner structure is suitable for an apartment where all the walls are already occupied by furniture. If the dimensions of the room do not allow you to install a fireplace at all, then you can make a mini-version out of one box. It can be made both wall-mounted and island. The latter option can be placed on a coffee table or directly on the floor.
The higher the structure, the more boxes it will need. In addition, if you plan to use this product as furniture, in order to put heavy objects on its top, then it is necessary to choose the most dense boxes and it is desirable to strengthen them with foam from the inside. To do this, you just need to order the Styrofoam and then fill the boxes with it.
Approximate calculation of the load: the upper shelf of a structure made of empty boxes can withstand a weight of up to 4 kg. If you plan to put heavier items, then the boxes must be strengthened.
Classic fireplace
Step-by-step instructions for how to make a decorative fireplace are simple. To make it, you need one large box and 4 smaller ones of the same size. A large box, for example, from under a TV or washing machine, is placed in the center. Previously, you need to cut out the front part in it, this will be an imitation of the combustion chamber. The other four smaller ones are glued on the sides.
Another option - if the box is very large, then it will be enough for a fireplace and one. To do this, it must be installed horizontally. Wrap the sides from the front side in regular rectangles that will imitate the side walls. The structure is ready.
For greater beauty, you can pick up small boxes of the same size 15 cm high and make a pedestal out of them. You can also arrange a protruding top shelf.
Advice. When working with cardboard, you must first mark all the folds with a ruler, then check the dimensions again and then fold. In order for all the folds to be clear and even, you must first carry out the folding procedure with them - that is, draw along the ruler with the blunt end of the scissors along the inside of the fold. After that, the cardboard will bend easily and without creases.
Mini fireplace from one box
A small fireplace from one box is the easiest to make. This requires a flat box of any size. On one flat side, you need to bend the sides and roll up the vertical side posts from them. After that, it remains only to decorate and install.
You can also make an island mini-fireplace. This requires two boxes of the same size. From each you need to make a separate structure, which is then glued together with the back sides. This double-sided option can be placed on a coffee table or in another place where a view from several sides is expected.
Arch-cut fireplace
A building with an arch looks more romantic and colorful in the interior. It is not difficult to make such an arch. To do this, the upper side of the large central box does not need to be completely torn off, but an arch must be cut out in it. After that, the board must be glued to the walls of the box so that it does not rise.
The arch can be built for both a large and a desktop mini-fireplace. It can even be cut for a corner fireplace.
Corner fireplace made of cardboard sheets with a chimney
A corner fireplace is more convenient for installation in small apartments. It can also be placed in a hallway or children's room. To do this, you need to cut one of the sides of the box so that the other two connect and fold into a triangle.
It will be almost impossible to make a pedestal and an upper shelf for such a structure, so these elements will have to be abandoned.
For such a product, a chimney made from a small box will be more effective. To do this, you need to pick up two narrow vertical boxes, which are folded in the form of an angle. The same can be done from cardboard. Then the chimney must be connected with one side to the fireplace, and the other to the wall.
Fireplace decor made of cardboard
After the frame is assembled, only a pleasant activity remains - this is the decor. Here you can show all your imagination. The classic version is imitation of brickwork. To do this, you can use wallpaper with a brick pattern or foam. The most colorful option is the use of foam. To do this, you need to cut narrow strips with a thickness of 1-1.5 cm from it. After that, create a stencil from cardboard, the size of a brick, and cut the required number of parts from foam plastic into it. For greater effect, longitudinal stripes can be applied on the front side, which will imitate the pattern of fired clay.
The finished workpieces must be glued to the fireplace. They can glue the entire structure or only parts of it. The bricks around the arch and at the bottom of the product will look colorful. The rest of the area can be painted with ordinary water-based paint.
If you intend to paint over the product, then it must first be primed with plaster. One small package is enough for this.
Another element of the decor can be a false piece of foam made of foam. Simple elements in the form of geometric stripes can be made by yourself. Ornate monograms or sockets will be easier to buy.
Firewood effect
To make the structure look more realistic, you should light a fire in it. Of course, the fire and wood will not be real, but just as decorative. Fire can be simulated in the following ways:
- Using a photograph and a poster with fire
- With an imitation fire lamp made of fabric
- With LED candles, which are installed behind the wood
- With the help of a Christmas garland
Artificial firewood is easy to find. Large interior stores sell artificial porcelain or paper firewood. You can also make them yourself. You will also need cardboard for this. It needs to be rolled into a semicircular cylinder. You need 3-7 pieces to make such blanks. Then they need to be pasted over with wallpaper imitating wood or painted.
Decorative grille
Another important and picturesque element of the fireplace is the decorative grill. There are also many options for making a lattice:
- From the garden fence. One section of the grate is enough for this.
- Made of cardboard.A lattice is cut out of cardboard using a stencil and installed in the portal.
- From a hard cable. The pieces of cable should be bent into an S shape and inserted into the bottom of the fireplace.
Before installing the lattice in the structure, it must be painted. Any paint in metallic or golden colors is suitable for this. You can use two colors at once: first, paint the entire lattice with dark paint, and then apply golden strokes. This will make the product look old and add extra beauty to the product.
Christmas fireplace
How to make a New Year's fireplace out of boxes is worth telling separately, since this type of fireplace requires a separate decor and additional creative ideas. The frame of such a fireplace during manufacturing makes sense to strengthen from the inside with pieces of foam, putting them inside. Strengthening the New Year's fireplace should be due to the fact that it has more decorative elements and more items are installed on it.
In addition, before installation, you should consider the issue of connecting electricity. If you think about it after installing it, then you may find that there is no outlet nearby and you will have to stretch the extension cord. Wires lying on the floor will not add romance to the interior. If you think about this in advance, then they can be hidden behind furniture and behind a fireplace.
It is also better to think over the decor of the New Year's fireplace in advance. This may require additional parts and fasteners.
Fireplace lighting and coloring
The New Year's fireplace has many decorative elements, so it would be more harmonious to paint it with ordinary paint in an even color. Brickwork is best done as styrofoam decorative elements only around the arch and along the edges.
A completely brick fireplace and a lot of decor will look overwhelmed.
Advice. Before lighting and decorating the fire in the fireplace, it is important to think about how gifts will be given. If you plan to put them in the fireplace or hang a boot with gifts there, then it is better not to stick the photo of the fire on the back wall of the portal.
It is better to decorate the fire in the New Year's fireplace with a garland with yellow lights or LED candles. It makes sense to install candles behind the wood, so that only the light from them is visible.
Other ways to decorate
After the New Year's fireplace is installed, you should start decorating it. Options for Christmas decorations:
- LED candles on the top shelf
- Artificial or natural spruce branches
- Tinsel
- Garlands
- Boots for gifts
- Fir paws wreath
- Photo frames
- Hourglass
Important! Candles with natural hot fire should not be installed on the upper shelf of the fireplace and next to it, as this is a fire hazard.
Before installing decorative elements on the fireplace, you need to think over the whole composition. It can be symmetrical about the center or asymmetrical.
Where can I put a fireplace
A fireplace made of cardboard boxes with your own hands, due to its mobility and lightness, can be installed in any room. It makes sense to install a large wall-mounted fireplace in the living room. A separate product can be built in the nursery. Children will have fun playing with their own fireplace and wait for fabulous creatures to emerge from it.
The mini-fireplace can be placed on the festive table or in the seating area on the balcony. There are practically no restrictions on the installation of this product.
VIDEO: Decorative fireplace from the TV box.