Let’s be honest. Winter arrives, you want to hang stockings, and your living room has all the chimney of a shoebox.
Every cozy photo on Pinterest has a fireplace, and you have a blank wall.
Here’s the good news: you don’t need a chimney. You need a mantel, something that reads as a firebox, and a bit of stubbornness.
I have spent a lot of time looking at electric fireplaces, and the surround is the part where people get creative. Some of the best ones I’ve seen were built from salvage, cardboard, or a stack of birch logs.
The one at the top of this page belongs to Reddit user u/dumbledore_gandalf: a carved mantel against a plain wall, faux brick, candles and a gilt mirror. I’m still thinking about it.
Each idea below carries two labels: the effort it takes, and whether it puts out real heat or is purely for looks. Pick your lane.
1. The Salvaged Mantel With a Past
An old mantel from a salvage yard or a marketplace listing is the fastest route to a fireplace that looks like it was always there. Stand it against a blank wall, fix it to a stud at the top, and you’re done.
Anchor it to a stud so it can’t tip, which is the same advice Consumer Reports gives for tall furniture. Stockings are light until they’re filled.
Effort: an afternoon | Decor only
2. The Peel-and-Stick Brick Comeback
Faux brick panels stick straight to the wall inside the mantel opening, and suddenly you have a firebox. Add a strip of black paint or board at the floor and it reads as a hearth.
PeonyQueen Peel and Stick Brick Wallpaper
Self-adhesive vinyl with a 3D brick print. It is wallpaper, not foam panels, so it suits a firebox you only look at.
- One roll is 17.3 x 78.8 inches, about 9.45 square feet
- PVC vinyl, listed as waterproof and removable
- Check the colour on the listing before you order
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Effort: an afternoon | Decor only
3. The Candle Choir
A dozen flameless pillar candles in mixed heights, on a timer, is the fastest way to get a glow out of an empty firebox. Set them once and they do the show every evening.
Vinkor Flameless Pillar Candles
Battery operated LED pillars in real wax, sold as a set. This is the glow for any wood, MDF or cardboard firebox.
- Real wax pillars with LED flames
- Battery operated, no open flame
- Set sizes and heights are on the listing
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Effort: an afternoon | Decor only
4. The Birch Log Stack
Logs cut to the depth of the opening and stacked end-out, so you see the pale rounds facing the room. That’s it.
That’s the whole trick.
Wilson Decorative White Birch Logs
Natural white birch logs sold for decor, so you are not hunting for a tree. Measure your opening before you pick a bundle size.
- Natural bark birch
- Sold as a bundle for display
- Lengths and counts are on the listing
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Effort: an afternoon | Decor only
5. The Floating Mantel Minimalist
A thick shelf on a heavy bracket screwed into studs, and nothing else. I’m all for maximalist surrounds, but honestly, this is all you need for stockings and a garland.
60 Inch Pine Floating Mantel Shelf
A chunky pine shelf that reads as a mantel on its own. Screw the bracket into studs before you hang anything from it.
- 60 inches long, 6 inches thick
- Pine wood
- Other lengths on the listing
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Effort: an afternoon | Decor only
6. The TV Playing Yule Logs: Main Character Energy
Photo: u/requiem1394 on Reddit
Reddit user u/requiem1394 built a mantel frame round the TV for the holidays, with a garland along the top, stockings hung either side, and a fireplace video playing on the screen. It’s a fireplace, emotionally speaking.
Effort: an afternoon | Decor only
7. The Cardboard Fireplace: For the Kids (And Let’s Be Honest, For You)
Flattened boxes taped into a surround, painted brick, paper flames. The kids get a fireplace, and you get an afternoon project made from boxes you already have.
Flameless lights only, and keep it away from heaters. Cardboard and warmth are not friends.
Effort: an afternoon | Decor only
Before You Add Real Heat: The Safety Bit
If your surround stays decorative, you can skip this. If you’re putting an electric unit inside a build, read this part twice, because how electric fireplaces work matters when you’re boxing one into wood.
- Clearances differ by model. Some manuals allow zero clearance at the sides and back, others ask for several inches, and most set a minimum gap above the unit to a mantel. The only safe rule: follow the installation manual for your exact unit.
- “Cool to the touch” glass is a comfort claim, not a clearance rating. Wood or MDF belongs outside the clearances the manual gives, unless the manual says the unit is zero clearance.
- Manuals call for a grounded 120 volt, 15 amp outlet, and say to plug the unit straight into the wall, not into an extension cord or power strip.
- Real candles need at least 12 inches of clearance from anything that can burn, according to the NFPA. Inside a wood, MDF or cardboard firebox that is impossible, so use flameless LED candles.
- Screw a mantel or freestanding surround into wall studs, not drywall anchors alone.
- If a surround would cover a wall outlet, ask your local building department before boxing it in.
8. The Plywood Box Surround: Proper Joinery Energy
Photo: u/BilboT3aBagginz on Reddit
Reddit user u/BilboT3aBagginz built a white surround with pilasters and a mantel shelf for a relative’s apartment, and the workshop photo shows it freshly painted and looking very un-cardboard. A box surround is just two legs, a header and a shelf, trimmed with moulding.
Effort: a weekend | Decor only
9. The Same Box, But It Actually Heats the Room
Build the same surround, but size the opening to the insert’s dimensions from its manual. This is the first idea here that gives real heat, which changes the whole conversation.
I keep a shortlist of the electric fireplaces that look most real if you want a unit worth building around.
Giantex 28.5 Inch Electric Fireplace Insert
A mid-size insert to build a surround round. Size your opening and clearances from its manual, not from this page.
- 28.5 inches wide; recessed, wall mounted or freestanding
- Three flame colours and five brightness levels
- Flame runs with the heat off
- Remote control included
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Effort: a weekend | Real heat
10. The Corner Comeback
Photo: u/Marsmoonman on Reddit
Reddit user u/Marsmoonman built a corner surround, painted dusky pink, around a 1950s fireplace insert, under a wall-mounted TV. A corner unit uses dead space and needs no wall centred on the room, which is a gift in awkward living rooms.
Effort: a weekend | Decor or real heat
11. The Bookcase Built-In Imposter
A surround flanked by two tall bookcases reads as a built-in, and nobody has to know the bookcases came flat-packed. Flat-pack bookcases plus trim are the usual shortcut, and it’s a good one.
Effort: a proper build | Decor or real heat
12. The Shiplap Bump-Out: The Forever Home Version
A framed false chimney breast, clad in shiplap or tile, with a linear electric unit recessed into it and a wood mantel above. This is the one that gets mistaken for original architecture.
For a recessed unit, electric fireplace wall ideas will help you plan the wall itself. If the flame effect matters most to you, MagikFlame is the one I’d look at first.
For a long, low recessed unit, this is the style I mean:
50 Inch Recessed Linear Electric Fireplace
The long, low style for a shiplap or tile bump-out. The listing says it fits 2×4 and 2×6 stud walls.
- 50 inches wide, 3.86 inches deep
- Recessed or wall mounted
- Follow the manual for clearances and wiring
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Effort: a proper build | Real heat
Which One Should You Build?
Renters, stick with ideas 1, 3 or 5. A salvaged mantel, a stack of candles or a floating shelf gives you the stockings without losing the deposit.
If you have one free weekend, build idea 8, or go for idea 9 if you want heat out of the deal.
And if this is the forever home, idea 12 is the one worth the proper build. A false chimney breast with a recessed unit is as close to real as it gets without a flue.
FAQ
How do you make a fake fireplace for Christmas stockings?
A salvaged mantel fixed to wall studs is the quickest route, or a floating mantel shelf on a heavy bracket. Either gives you the mantel line stockings need.
For holding them up, stocking holders work better than tape.
HMASYO Cast Iron Stocking Holders, Set of 4
Weighted holders that sit on the shelf, so there are no nails in a new mantel.
- Set of 4, cast iron
- Low-profile weighted base
- Sets of 2 and 6 on the listing
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Can you put an electric fireplace in a surround you build yourself?
Yes. Size the opening to the insert’s dimensions from its manual, keep combustible material outside the stated clearances, and plug it straight into a grounded wall outlet.
Is it safe to put candles in a fake fireplace?
Real candles are a poor fit. NFPA guidance keeps candles at least 12 inches from anything that can burn, which is impossible inside a wood or cardboard firebox.
Use flameless LED candles instead.
Can an electric fireplace go in a wooden or MDF surround?
Yes, if the material stays outside the clearances in the installation manual. Some units are rated zero clearance and others are not, so the manual for your exact model is the only rule that counts.
If a surround would cover a wall outlet, check with your local building department first.
How do you stop a freestanding mantel tipping over?
Fix it to wall studs at the top, not to drywall anchors alone. That’s the same advice Consumer Reports gives for tall furniture: anchor to a stud so it can’t tip.
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