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Shiplap Fireplace with Built-Ins

My fireplace gets a custom makeover --- shiplap style!!!

It seems like it's been forever in the waiting, but the moment is finally here! It truly turned out better than it looked in my mind and I feel like a little kid who just got the coolest toy ever. I can't stop staring at my newly created space and I hope you like it too!!!


When we planned the layout of our family room we knew that we wanted the fireplace to be the  focal point, but we just weren't sure what that meant and how we wanted to translate "focal point" into craftsmanship. So we sat on it (which is VERY difficult for us to do) and really pondered how we wanted it all to look. 

Our fireplace comes out almost two feet, which is very deep. Typically, a fireplace is partially or completely recessed and you can tell by the exterior configuration of a home that a fireplace lies in that area. However, our bilco door placement into the basement was somewhat limited, so we had to choose the space directly behind the fireplace, leaving no option for recessing it. At first this seemed upsetting, but now it's probably the single best thing that could've happened to our family room. Why do I say that? Because it afforded us the opportunity to create chunky built-in bookshelves and to get creative with the fireplace area.

Below is the finished product of this week long project and it came out PERFECT! Have a look...(I'll go over the process in more detail below)
A F T E R






The Process

So - we started with hiring a master carpenter. I'm a big fan of DIY projects, but this was not one of them! Knowing when to call in a professional is key (in my opinion) to interior design projects. My carpenter's name is Mike and he is A-M-A-Z-I-N-G...feel free to reach out to me for his contact information if you are local to the upstate New York region. 

Mike and I talked in length about my vision. I didn't have a drawing, just inspirational photos and Pinterest pins.
Mike started with the built-in shelves, which were assembled in the freezing cold garage (we had sub-zero temps this past week...poor guy) and then brought them inside to install.
Next it was on to refacing the front of the fireplace. Again - assembled outside and then nailed into the unit indoors.
He then built out a faux fireplace tower and wrapped it in shiplap. I really wanted it to draw the eye up to our nine foot ceilings (which it totally does) and also have a coastal feel. Although we are no where near the coast, we vacation in Wellfleet at the Cape every summer and it is our favorite place to be. I thought that this might give us that feeling of coastal happiness year round (and so far it is doing just that).
Last minute design change idea --- we wanted to add an additional detail molding toward the top of the fireplace face and I'm so glad we did...
Here it is before painting...(FYI we used Sherwin Williams Dover White paint in a semigloss finish)
The unexpected WOW factor was this piece of reclaimed wood that Mike happened to have in his yard for six years now. He thought about it and figured he would bring it down to see how it looked. Turned out it fit perfect and as Mike says it was "a design gift from God". I couldn't agree more Mike!!!

Details

Styling the fireplace mantel and shelves was a mix of old and new. Some things I already had (you may notice them from previous blog posts) and have been in other rooms. Other things are new and were from Homegoods/TJ Maxx. I tried to mix some elements and give it a clean, fresh and modern feel.




Mike was able to use some scrap materials and build me this little box to help with our cable/solar/router/dvd units (UGH!)




I hope you like how it turned out. We are just so happy and it ended up providing us with a ton of storage space. You can check out my shiplap inspirations Pinterest board below and see the amazing ways that others are using this awesome yet simple material. Thanks for stopping by ~ xo Laura


15 comments

  1. This is beautiful! I want to do something similar to my fireplace, but I have a slanted vault ceiling. I am not sure how the cut boards would look. I love the dark mantel contrasted with all of the white. You did a wonderful job!

    Emily- Our house now a home

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  2. OMG it's beautiful!!!! And I love that added reclaimed wood touch. Perfect!! :) Now I want to go redo my fireplace.

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    1. Thanks Shelby --- it really makes my whole room look and feel different --- I'm loving it too! Thanks for your sweet words! xoxo

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  3. what a gorgeous, gorgeous fireplace! you did a wonderful job. I love that it's deep, it gives you a nice-sized mantel to decorate :-)

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    1. Thanks you so much Cynthia :) --- I agree on the depth of the fireplace --- it's great!

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  5. Where did you get your shiplap at?
    Thanks!

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  6. Love this!!! We are looking to redo our fireplace with built ins...can you send me your contractor info...thank you:)

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  7. you just inspired our fireplace creation, I want those candle holders, where did you get them?

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  8. Hi Laura. How wide are the planks? My husband brought home 8 inch and it looks too high.

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  9. Love your fireplace, Laura! Small world... I worked with your husband at QMS. Our fireplace has been on our makeover list forever. We're inspired by yours. Please send contact info for your carpenter and approx cost for this project. Give Carmen my best! Thanks! Michelle Sullivan

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