Can’t use your fireplace for real fires, but want it to look great? There are LOTS of fun things to do with inoperative fireplaces, and I’m going to share 7 of them with you here!!

Before we dive into our seven fun ways to make your fireplace look Fab, a quick side note. There are plenty of reasons why you may not want to use your fireplace for actual fires:

• It might not be safe. Some fireplaces are poorly designed and all that smoke just pours into your home. Or you may wonder how long it’s been since it was cleaned – don’t want to start a chimney fire if critters have been making nests in there!
• It might “occupied” lol. If cranes or other critters have set up their nest on your chimney, you might not want to disturb them (aww, that’s sweet of you!)
• Your landlord might not let you. 😩
• It might be hiking up your heating bills. Fireplaces are just big holes in your wall and can create quite a chill when not in use! (Even when you light a fire, they send up to 70% of the heat right up and out the chimney!)
• You (or a previous owner) may have had it permanently blocked.
• You don’t like the mess. Charcoal, smoke and soot, bits of wood… lighting a fire is messy!

Whatever your reason, your fireplace can still work for you even without a real fire in it! Whether you want to recreate the cozy feeling of fire with lights or candles or give your fireplace a completely new purpose, here are seven great ideas we’ve gathered to get you started!

1) Light It Up!

 

Pile up a bunch of Christmas or LED String Lights. The pile of lights can give you the cozy glow of a fire without the mess. You could even weave the lights among some cut branches or logs. If you don’t have an outlet nearby you could use some battery-operated LED lights instead.

If the interior of your fireplace looks shabby, consider giving it a coat of heat-resistant paint (or, if it’s truly decommissioned, regular ol’ wall paint will work, too)! If you have the option, try to use a matte finish paint – shiny brick and stone never looks very natural.

 

 

2) Pile It with Books!

Krista Janos over at Blue Eyed Yonder filled a fireplace in her space with books! I love the beautiful graphic texture that was created by showing the various shades of the page-edge side of the books and artfully placing them both horizontally and vertically. I could also see the books binding-side out and organized by color!

Heads up! You’ll also need a lot of books to fill your fireplace!! Krista used 87 books and was only halfway done! Consider stocking up from places like Goodwill or your local charity shop (especially if you’re going page-edges out). There are also prop shops that literally sell books by the foot for staging and set design!

 

3) Create a Gallery Space

 

 

Everyone puts art *over* their fireplace, but what about using the fireplace itself to showcase your art?

You could lean one piece of art in the opening or make a vignette with a piece of art and one or two sculptures or vintage pieces in various sizes. This can be a great way to cover over a fireplace that was blocked off with unsightly brick or taped-over with insulation and cardboard to keep out the cold!

 

 

 

 

4) Keep it Classic with Candles

Sarah over at Room for Tuesday has some wonderful tips for styling your fireplace with classic white candles. Just like Krista (above) found when she went to fill her fireplace with books, Sarah says you’ll probably need twice the number of candles that you think you will. Be sure to vary the size and height of both the candles and candlestick bases to give your candle landscape height and presence. Also, notice how her beautiful collection is elevated by all the textiles layered in front of the fireplace! It wouldn’t be nearly as cozy and inviting without all that yummy texture! And hey…. This way you get to have a fire in your fireplace!

 

5) Stack Up Some Logs

Artfully stacking cut logs in your fireplace is also a fun styling option! Depending on your choices it could add a rustic, eclectic, or modern/Scandinavian vibe to your room. Below are two fresh takes on the idea:

Here, Karen over at the Art of Doing Stuff used one of the paintings on her mantel as color inspiration and painted the ends of the rounds in her fireplace. What a fun and unexpected way to add color to your space!

 

 

 

 

While Karen used the cut logs to add color to her room, Jenna over at Jenna Burger Design kept it clean and simple with carefully curated and piled light-colored rounds. It’s an eye-catching focal point and …*bonus*…keeps the cold air from getting in! Like this look? Jenna has a great tutorial on how to create a stacked log fireplace screen!

 

 

6) Freshen it up with Plants

We’ve talked about using the fireplace to showcase candles, books, or art, but you can also use it to feature your personal Jungalow! Holly Becker at Decor8 wrote a lovely article about the book Plant Style: How to Greenify Your Space. The authors Alana and Jacqui have some wonderful tips on how to style with plants, including this great example using the fireplace mantle and hearth to display greenery! The plants really shine against the white brick fireplace, and all the variation in colors, shapes and sizes in the plants add texture, personality, and interest to the room! (Not to mention that plants are great for our mental health *and* indoor air quality!)

7) Double the Fun with a Reflection

 

 

If you’re going to close up the fireplace opening (or if it already is) why not use a mirror as the backer? Combine this idea with one of the other ideas we’ve shared here and you’ll not only double the texture and style of whatever you’ve placed in the fireplace opening, you’ll also eliminate the “black-hole” effect that a non-lit fireplace can have while closing up that big hole against drafts! I particularly love that they used *antique* mirror, layering even more texture into the space!

 

 

If this blog has you inspired and wanting to learn even more about fireplaces- we recently wrote a blog about how to convert your wood-burning fireplace into a gas fireplace…You can read more about it here! We also have an insightful article about corner fireplaces and their specific quirks on how to update them over here.

 

Beautiful or not, fireplaces are a natural focal point, so make sure yours is living up to its potential! If you still aren’t sure what to do with yours, reach out. We can help you brainstorm which ideas will go best with *your* home, *your* style, and *your* fireplace situation, and even guide you on fireplace tile updates, hearth materials, mantel styles, paint colors, and more! That’s what our Design Helplines (available no matter where you live!) are for! Ready to schedule *your* Design Helpline? Click here and choose a time that works for your schedule!

May your home always be happy!