A cozy fireplace can certainly keep any living room feeling toasty warm during wintertime.
However, once summer rolls in, that fireplace will likely sit dormant, unused for months on end.
Instructables DIY-er mikeasauras recently decided that he wanted to find a way to keep his fireplace feeling useful all summer long.
He chose to build an insert panel, designed to look like a faux stack of firewood.
To give the panel added dimension and boost its believability as a stack of wooden logs, this DIY-er chose all sorts of differently shaped branches for his design.
He sliced his wood into pucks, and glued them onto a matte black plywood board.
Positioned in place, this DIY-er's faux fireplace insert amped up his living room's look and feel. It also provided protection from drafty gusts of wind his open fireplace had previously let stream through the house.
Keep scrolling to learn how this DIY-er built his awesome fireplace insert.
As springtime sprung this year, Instructables DIY-er mikeasaurus stared at his fireplace.
While he had certainly used this cozy hearth all winter long, as the weather improved, he grew nervous that his fireplace would lose all sense of purpose.
He couldn't let that happen.
So, this DIY-er decided he'd build a decorative insert, to keep his fireplace looking festive during the summer months.
This DIY-er's project started with very dry, wooden tree branches.
He gathered branches of all different sizes, to give his design variation.
He sliced the branches into wooden pucks, trying to keep each piece around 2 to 3 inches thick.
Again, he allowed for slight variation from puck to puck, to give the insert realistic irregularity.
He then sanded and sealed each wooden puck with Danish oil.
After he gave each puck the opportunity to soak up as much gorgeous oil as it could, he wiped off the excess, and let his pucks dry.
As the pucks dried, this DIY-er got to work constructing the insert's backboard.
He spray-painted a sheet of plywood matte black.
Once the paint dried, this DIY-er began gluing each wooden puck in place.
He started with the largest pucks of the bunch, then worked his way down to the smaller pieces, filling gaps along the way.
Once he filled the entire board, he left the wood glue to dry.
After a thorough dry, he pushed his insert in place, and suddenly his fireplace developed a newfound sense of summertime purpose!
Not only does this insert look awesome, but it also protects this DIY-er's living room from drafty gusts of wind.
At a glance, this insert really makes this fireplace look like its stacked to the brim with wooden logs!
Additionally, once winter returns, this DIY-er will easily be able to swap this cool insert out for his regular fire grille and build himself a warm, real fire.
When this DIY-er felt like he wasn't making the most of his fireplace during the summer months, he built this awesome decorative insert that, now, makes his whole living room pop.
What do you think of this fireplace insert? How do you decorate your fireplace for summertime? Tell us your design ideas in the comments.
Please SHARE this awesome DIY project with other decorators in your community!
