16 beautiful DIY fireplace ideas using electric inserts, faux mantels, or updating existing fireplaces for all budgets and all skill levels.

DIY Porch Fireplace Planning

Since building the outdoor kitchen, we didn’t need the fridge here.

And since giving the backyard pool a makeover and building the DIY fire pit, who really needs a TV out here anyway? (Well, maybe some people do but not us since we’re not big into sports.)

So we installed a faux fireplace mantel/shelf to get by until we could do something more permanent: a DIY porch fireplace!

It only makes sense, right? What else would be better there than a beautiful outdoor fireplace.

16 Stunning DIY Fireplace Ideas for Any Room

I have been saving DIY electric fireplace ideas, fake fireplace ideas, and DIY fireplace makeover ideas with real working fire boxes for years now all for the sake of finding inspiration for this one spot on our back porch. And now we are finally planning to make it a reality!

Even though we plan to install a fireplace outdoors with a damp-rated box, these DIY fireplaces can be used in so many places indoors too: living rooms, family rooms, dining rooms, bedrooms, any living space that could use some cozy style with a dramatic focal point.

Most of these fireplace builds are linked to DIY tutorials so just click on the sources below each image to get more information about how to make it yourself.

This clean, modern fireplace surround can be built on top of a DIY electric fireplace like Chelsey Freng did or you can build it around an outdated fireplace for a streamlined look.

Angela Rose built this electric fireplace DIY project from scratch by building a frame around an electric insert and piecing together a modern surround painted to look like modern concrete.

Some DIYers opt to do a faux plaster look using lime wash paint, but if you want the real thing, Jenna Sue Design‘s tutorial skimming her DIY built-in electric fireplace with real Venetian plaster creates an elegant look.

Autumn Williams took a replica store-bought French style fireplace surround and made it look like an authentic antique fireplace using ceramic tile as a faux hearth and painting the interior black to look like a real fire box. It’s an easy DIY fireplace concept you can make with very little building skills.

Made by Carli wanted to add coziness and storage to her living room, so she built her own fireplace using a free thrifted mantel with pre-fabbed cabinets and bookcases built from scratch out of MDF for a high-end look on a low budget.

Cami and her husband from Tidbits & Company faked the look of an old world European cast stone mantel by building a mantel and surround in its curvy shape using pliable particle board and sheet rock. They sculpted it with joint compound to get the expensive, elegant look for way less than the real thing.

Erin Zubot Design framed out an electric fireplace insert with a black marble tile surround on the front to finish with an antique mantel for added character. That dramatic black adds a dose of dramatic elegance.

Angela Marie Made nestled her simple electric fireplace DIY between two windows in her living room and the final cost for all of the materials came to just $550!

Kimberly at Avalanche Design Co. built an electric fireplace with cabinets hidden in the sides for having important storage while keeping it disguised.

Oho Interiors partially built this gas fireplace themselves by using a Heat n Glo gas insert for a handsome navy blue focal wall. (Image: Tiffany Kokal)

Christina from Ellis and Hale built her own sleek, modern fireplace by skim coating it in joint compound to create a more DIY-friendly plaster look. Adding the simple wood mantel gives the white surface just a slight touch of rustic warmth.

Mrs. Jessica Darling took a simple DIY fireplace wall idea with an electric insert and added a traditional detail with elegant dental molding. The sage green/gray paint color is the perfect finishing touch.

Danielle from Our Nest On Powell built a sleek fireplace using Roman Clay as an eco-friendly plaster finish over drywall.

This porch fireplace flanked by white brick by Sherry H Designs, Ladisic Fine Homes, and Linda MacArthur Architect is a huge inspiration for our back porch fireplace project and one of the biggest reasons why I’m sharing it here. It’s not exactly a DIY but can we just have a moment to appreciate that curvy shape?! So good!

This outdoor white painted brick fireplace isn’t really a DIY either, but Brooke and Henry from Plank & Pillow show how to mount a TV to one. The positioning and shape of the fireplace gives me so much inspiration for our own covered back porch setup.

So that’s where we are! Tons of inspiration and a million beautiful fireplace ideas to choose from, but I think I’m starting to get some clarity on the style and function we’re aiming for over here.

Which one do you think we’ll choose as our main inspiration? Or which one would YOU choose?