$20 Cottage Fireplace Makeover

This easy $20 Cottage Fireplace Makeover transforms any room by creating a beautiful focal point! There is something about the light of a fire that makes everyone want to linger and just enjoy time together. Since making over this Cottage style fireplace, our family has naturally been drawn to have many warm evenings by this cozy fire and we hope that this DIY creates the same impact for your home! Enjoy!

Creating a Home from Scratch

As a stay at home mom on a budget, I take a significant amount of pride in using what we have or finding opportunities to use free materials to create beauty. Since our home is where our family spends most of our time, I try my best to make it a space where people are welcomed and feel free to relax. So when we moved I immediately found myself staring at the perfect place for a beautiful, crackling fire could live. If your like me and slightly shun faux/electric fireplace because you find most of them a bit underwhelming then please know you are not alone! Let me tell you, when your fireplace has this kind of character, then all you will be thinking about is the perfect coffee and cookie recipe to enjoy while basking in your resourcefulness and DIY spirit!

Let’s get to DIYing this Cottage Fireplace Makeover!

About a month of Facebook Marketplace stalking had taken place before I finally got to trying this DIY. There were so many electric fireplaces for sale under $50 or being given away for free! Plenty of vintage mantels that would look perfectly Cottagecore with an electric stove fireplace inside or you could add stone like I have done. This fireplace makeover took me just a weekend and I am amazed at the impact such a simple DIY can have! Fueled the DIY fire 🙂 and now I cant wait to see what we can make next!

Supplies

• Stones
• White Tile & Stone Mortar
• 80 and 220 grit sandpaper
• Sander
• Respirator
• 5 gallon bucket to mix Mortar
• Mixer drill attachment
• Wire drill attachment
• Drill
• Sawzall
• Minwax English Chestnut Stain
• Putty knife
• Sponge

We have invested in these tools and materials over the past few years because we have become DIY addicts! If you also often feel the creative pull, I would start building up a small tool stash. If that isn’t a possibility right now there are plenty of things on this list that could be borrowed or done by hand!

Finding a fireplace for this CottageFireplace Makeover

Between Facebook Marketplace and Craigslist, there were many options to choose from that were free or under $50. I specifically dreamt of stumbling across a free option that was real wood. I ended up finding just that on Facebook Marketplace a short drive away. The problem was that the word FREE brings stampedes of people! Just a word of advise, if you see a great option then don’t hesitate! Your home needs this gorgeous DIY Cottage Fireplace!

Sanding/Stripping Paint

First, start with sanding all the paint off the portion that is going to be the “mantle” , it is always best practice to wear a respirator while dealing with dust and paint particles! The 80 grit sandpaper will tear off the paint pretty quick and you can start seeing your project come to life already!

Giving your Cottage Fireplace Makeover a bit of character!

Next, the fun of adding character to your Cottage Fireplace Makeover! This is where the sawzall makes quick work of adding the distressed barn wood look. Focus on where the mantle would be the most damaged if it was actually vintage. This is usually at any ridges, corners or edges.

The wire attachment will be your best friend. Spend a good amount of time going over the mantle, varying the depth and direction of your distressing. Focus also on where you used the sawzall, this will open up the cuts made and make them look “worn in”.

Now that the mantle is all chewed up and looking substantially aged, its time for the 80 grit sandpaper again. Really dig in on edges and round down the sawzall cuts even more.

Finally, finish with a light sanding using 220 grit sandpaper and your favorite stain! Minwax English Chestnut was used here.

Adding Stone to your $20 Cottage Fireplace Makeover

Lets finish this beauty up!

An online option for a flat stone is linked above, but we happened to find some on a walk!

There is usually some stone on Facebook Marketplace and Craigslist for free or very cheap, people getting rid of their extra from a project or even some from their yard that they want cleaned up!

Mixing Mortar

Use a 5 gallon bucket and a mixer drill attachment for preparing your mortar. A ratio of one part water to three parts mortar will give you a thick pancake batter like constancy.

Placing Stones on your $20 Cottage Fireplace Makeover

Cover the back of each stone in the mortar mix and place where desired. We wanted our fireplace to be mostly white with rocks sparsely peaking through, so we only needed about 15 rocks total ranging from 5 to 8 inches. Let the Mortar set overnight to adhere.

Finishing touches!

The best part, finishing the mortar! Mix your last batch of mortar to a pancake batter like consistency again, smear into all spaces between the rocks using a putty knife. Slightly over fill so that the mortar hides the edges of the rocks, this creates a softer and more seamless look on your $20 Cottage Fireplace Makeover!

Wait two hours after all the mortar has been applied, the mortar should have harden slightly and now you can go over with a very wet sponge to smooth the surface.

All that is left is to enjoy!

Please feel free to grab your favorite drink, light the fire and bask in your accomplishment! This $20 Cottage Fireplace Makeover has such an impact and is the definition of cozy! Imagine the garlands you could create draping across the beautiful distressed wood or your favorite vintage vessels all lined up on display!

Cheers to you and your family!

This community of “I could make that, how hard could it be really?” sort of people has been such a gift!

Please comment below on any projects you have done, what went well and maybe something that could have gone better 🙂 We are all learning from one another and DIY experiences are so much better when our stories are shared! Thank you for all advise and helpful tips!