How To Put A Fireplace Anywhere! 20+ DIY Electric Fireplace Ideas, Mantels And Surrounds That Wow

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You can put a fireplace ANYWHERE you want – and it can be pretty cheap and easy. The key is considering a DIY Electric Fireplace! Don’t be turned off by memories of electric fireplaces of the past – they have come so far and many are really quite beautiful.

Three years ago, you might remember, we built this DIY fireplace with electric insert in our basement and it turned out exactly how we dreamed. No other type of fireplace could have worked in the spot we wanted it – and every other type would have been much more expensive.

After some back and forth, we surprised ourselves by deciding on another DIY electric fireplace in our living room upstairs! For the last 15 years, we had planned a gas one – until we further realized some benefits of electric that made it the perfect choice.

Plus we found this fabulous electric fireplace insert – it’s so good in person! We knew we could make something gorgeous with it…coming soon! It turned out beautifully.

If you’re looking to make a DIY electric fireplace the inserts have so many benefits!

They can go on any wall, as long as you have an outlet.
- You aren’t limited to exterior walls. If you can dream it you can do it.
They aren’t as deep as gas or woodburning
- This was huge for us. Our living room is not huge. By choosing electric the depth of our fireplace could be less than 11 inches! Gas would have been double, which would have cut down on our seating options in the room
They’re affordable.
- At the most, a very high-quality electric fireplace will cost you a few hundred dollars. A gas insert is a few thousand.
You can enjoy the ambiance of (faux) flames, with or without heat.
- This was a major decision-maker for us. We enjoyed a gas fireplace in a cabin we rented in the winter – however, the flames were only visible when the heat was needed.
- If we had a fireplace with lots of heat in our living room, it would affect our entire house. Our furnace would turn off and our rooms upstairs would be much less comfortable.
You can make your own DIY electric fireplace
- You can make it exactly how you want without having to hire gas technicians to install or make changes.

How much does it cost to build an electric fireplace?

It’s probably cliche to say this, but there likely is an option for every budget. In both of our builds, the single biggest cost has been the actual electric insert – they can range from a couple of hundred dollars to over a thousand.

After that, the cost is pretty minimal – framing a box, drywall or shiplap, a mantle – all those things are pretty affordable in the small quantities you will need and DIY friendly.

How do you build an electric fireplace?

Start with masking tape. No, seriously. Tape off the dimensions, and shape and try different sizes of masking tape electric inserts. It might cost you a bit of tape, but it will save you time and money and make the final build so much easier.

Once you’re happy with the shape and size, you can build a DIY fireplace box, frame it out in wood, cover it with the finish of your choice, plug in the insert and fire it up.

How do you build a faux fireplace with electric insert?

The ‘Faux’ in faux fireplace is the part that frees you up to build anywhere and out of a great variety of materials.

When you use an electric insert, the heat comes out of a specific location and generally is fanned directly into the room. Unlike gas and wood burners, you don’t need to concern yourself with using non-combustible materials like steel and stone.

Many of the options shown here, including our own, are built entirely out of wood, covered with materials like shiplap or wallboard and have mantels you can set at any height you like. None of that would be possible with gas or wood-burning fireplaces.

Note: Check your electric insert carefully – some do have areas that heat up and need clearance from the building materials. Even then, the requirements are typically much less than gas or wood.

How do you make a faux fireplace?

If you don’t like the idea of an electric insert (or maybe any heat at all), you can still enjoy the architectural interest a faux fireplace adds to a room. You will find lots of options below for entirely faux fireplaces – no heat required.

The steps are very similar to building an electric insert fireplace but without the need to size the opening for anything other than your aesthetic preferences. Candles and gel flame options abound too, so you could still add a visual flame element at some point without adding heat or a need to vent outside.