How to Build a Phony Fireplace

A fireplace adds retro charm and warmth to a room, but not all homes are suited for this architectural feature. If you don’t care to install a fireplace or if your lease forbids it, you can still enjoy the visual charm of a fireplace by making a faux fireplace from cardboard boxes. A phony fireplace may add a fun decorative touch to the home during the holidays. You can also use the creation for other purposes, such as a prop for a play.

4 18-inch square cardboard boxes
Masking tape
Acrylic paint
Paper plate
Rectangular sponge
2 apparel boxes

Instructions

- 1
  Place one 18-inch square box on top of another. They should be lying on their sides, with their openings facing toward the left when you stand facing them.
- 2
  Close three flaps on each box, taping them into position with masking tape. Leave the two flaps that are situated farthest away from you loose.
- 3
  Tape the boxes together along the seams.
- 4
  Repeat steps 1 through 3 for two other 18-inch square boxes. You are creating the two sides of the fireplace hearth.
- 5
  Bring the two sides together, overlapping the loose flaps, and tape them together with masking tape. You should have a figure that looks like a staple when viewed from above, with the boxes forming the legs and the flaps forming the staple’s back.
- 6
  Mix equal amounts of red, brown and off-white acrylic paint on a paper plate.
- 7
  Press a rectangular sponge to the paint and use it to stamp the hearth with a brick pattern. Continue until the bricks are covered.
- 8
  Tape two apparel boxes together, end to end. Apparel boxes are flat rectangular boxes that are used to present clothing.
- 9
  Dab a small amount of dark gray paint onto a soft cloth and swab the apparel boxes, giving them a stonelike finish.
- 10
  Lay the apparel boxes on top of the hearth, centering them and taping them into place.

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