The decorative fireplace from old furniture created by the hands is great way to diversify interior in the house. Besides, it will help to use old unnecessary furniture rationally.
To create decorative fireplace the hands not really difficult, but it is all the same necessary to have at least brief experience of work with joiner's tools. If all of you have decided to diversify the interior, then before getting to work, it is necessary to stock up with tools and materials. For creation of fireplace it will be required to you:
- old cabinet;
- grinder or abrasive paper;
- electrofret saw or hacksaw;
- screw driver or hand drill and set of screw-drivers;
- veneer sheet;
- paint;
- putty;
- self-tapping screws;
- decorative elements;
First of all it is necessary to draw the sketch of your future fireplace and to make its drawing. It is not obligatory to follow all drawing rules at all, it is possible to draw and by hand. The most important that on the drawing all sizes have been specified, and you understood that you as a result want to receive.
When the sketch is ready, it is possible to start dismantling of old cabinet. Depending on the sizes of future product and the cabinet, old furniture can or be sorted on separate boards from which the fireplace will gather subsequently, or just to remove doors, having left the cabinet body intact. In the latter case work much more will become simpler as you should not make fireplace framework.
Elements for future fireplace should be sawn according to the drawing. Here the most important precisely to mark all elements. The concept "by eye" in this case will not work as in the course of collecting if parts are sawn incorrectly, they will not gather in whole and they should be cut anew. By the way, if the fireplace gathers from old cabinet, then it is necessary to buy in addition the sheet chipboard or to offer one more piece of old furniture.
After all elements it is sawed, it is possible to start assembly of design. As it has been told above, there are two options – to assemble the body independently or to use the body from old cabinet.
Let's consider both options. In the first case it is necessary to saw bars for fastening of back wall and side edges. When fastening back wall to bars from its sides it is necessary to leave gap that fireplace to attach sidewalls end-to-end. Walls are fastened to bars by means of self-tapping screws. By the way, that hats of self-tapping screws did not stick out, it is necessary to make in boards the screw driver or drill of the slot under them. Subsequently, at decorative finishing, these places will be puttied and fastenings it will not be visible.
When the body is ready, it is possible to start finishing of face side of design. The face side will consist of five parts:
- front top beam;
- two side panels;
- lower beam;
- fire chambers.
First of all it is necessary to issue fire chamber. For this purpose on back wall four bars cut by the size of future opening fasten. Internal walls of furnace opening fasten to these bars on self-tapping screws. Then to the body of fireplace other parts of face side fasten. After front part of design is collected, it is possible to establish into place body cover. That your fireplace looked absolutely as real, the cover can be made centimeters 5-10 longer and more widely, than the body. And it is possible to be spent and get the real chimney shelf in hardware store.
If you collect fireplace on the basis of the body from old cabinet, then it will be necessary to issue only front part. Front part is made out as well as in the first option. In spite of the fact that the body of old cabinet already has upper part, it is also possible to attach upward board of slightly big sizes or the ready chimney shelf.
The basis of fireplace is collected, but so far it is only wood structure. And true piece of art and decoration of interior it will be made by decorative finishing. Finishing of fireplace includes such stages as:
- preparation for finishing;
- painting;
- decorative registration.
Before starting decorative works, it is necessary to prepare your product. If the design gathered from the polished parts, they need to be processed the grinder. Otherwise hard putty and paint will badly lay down. Putty needs to allow to dry out 2-3 hours, depending on grade of the used material, and then to process product by means of the grinder or abrasive paper. After that the most interesting part of works – decorative finishing begins.
It is necessary to choose decorative finishing according to your flavoring preferences. Besides, the fireplace has to correspond to style of interior. There is mass of ways to issue decorative fireplace:
- pasting by self-adhesive film with the drawing "under stone" or "under brick";
- pasting by special panels in the form of stone;
- finishing by decorative brick;
- painting and finishing by decorative elements.
The easiest and economic way of registration of fireplace is pasting by self-adhesive film. By the way, it is possible to use also wall-paper and the corresponding drawing. Such finishing will manage cheap, but the result will be impressive.
In hardware stores now the huge choice of panels, as plastic, and on the basis of fibreboard, with any invoice. You can give to fireplace look brick, stone or even wooden. The color gamma of panels is provided in huge assortment so to choose what will be pleasant to you will be not difficult.
Also on sale there are artificial (decorative) stone or brick. Works with such material will demand financial, temporary and labor costs, but the result is worth it.
The most interesting way is painting and finishing by decorative elements. Color of paint is chosen depending on your interior and flavoring preferences. It is better to use water-based paint, acrylic or water emulsion as it has no smell and quickly dries. Besides, such paint costs far cheaper, than enamel or oil and to work with it much more simply. By the way, with such paint works can be performed also in cold season when product it is possible to leave to dry houses. It is necessary to coat product in two-three layers completely to paint over all elements. If desired, it is possible to experiment with color gamma, doing soft junctions from dark shades to light.
As all parts of fireplace wooden, after painting it it is necessary to grind. The fact is that when using water-based paint wood becomes rough that can place to further dressing of product.
As decorative finishing it is possible to apply anything: plaster stucco molding, the foam decorative elements, artificial stone. And if you are fond of creativity, then can create by means of special cliches and putty relief with own hand.
The most budgetary option is use of the foam decorative elements. However, it is necessary to apply them with extreme care as under the influence of the chemicals which are contained in paint and varnish substances and glue, polyfoam can just be dissolved.
Artificial stone it is not obligatory to decorate all visible parts of your product at all. They can lay out only small part of fireplace, having given it originality. The artificial stone is perfectly combined also with other types of decor.
The plaster stucco molding is on sale in hardware stores. It costs quite much, but the result is worth it. These decorative elements will not be dissolved under the influence of chemistry. Their lack that they rather heavy, and therefore glue should be chosen as very qualitative and quick-drying.
The body of any fireplace is fire chamber. The fire chamber can be issued in any style. If to you it is important that the fireplace looked, as real, then put decorative logs inside. It is also possible to make them independently or to get in shop. And it is possible to lay out fire chamber bottom sand, shells, pebbles or even to put mirror.
As in this case fireplace – only interior subject about any real fire in fire chamber and the speech cannot be. In order that the fireplace after all pleased look with the burning fire chamber, it is possible to use LED tape. Color of tape can be any, but it is better to give preference red, orange or yellow – towards the color of the burning fire. LED tape have to fire chamber perimeter. Before fixing tape, she needs to be collected in chain.
Well and, certainly, what fireplace without chimney grid? The grid can be got in shop, but to make it with own hands much more interestingly. To make chimney grid, it will be required to you:
- copper, steel or aluminum wire with a diameter of 3-5 mm;
- fine copper wire with a diameter of 0.4-0.5 mm;
- soldering iron;
- flat-nose pliers;
- round-nose pliers;
- acrylic paint
- pencil;
For a start it is necessary to draw the sketch of future chimney grid. Sketches can be found in the Internet, and it is possible to give vent to the imagination. If the chimney grid is symmetric, then it is enough to draw only its half.
Next stage the most interesting. From thick wire it is necessary to lay out all parts of future grid according to the drawing. It is the simplest to work with aluminum wire as it is soft and flexible. Its shortcoming is the fragility. It is the most difficult to make parts of steel wire as it has big rigidity. The most optimum metal for creation of chimney grid – copper.
When all main parts are laid out according to the sketch, it is necessary to fasten them. It is possible to fix them by means of the soldering iron, and it is possible to connect fine copper wire. The last option looks originally and interestingly. If the soldering iron was used, then places of soldering need to be smoothed out and polished. The ready chimney grid can be painted right color and to establish in fire chamber.