Katie Hatfield Knight

When you welcome a newborn into your life it changes, but when you have a toddler it goes CRAZY! The art of baby proofing is something that we had to learn a lot sooner than we expected since our little fella was curious by nature.

We quickly realized the fireplace in our living room has become an issue. Leo wanted to put things in there, and take the sand out. There was no glass panes or doors to close it, so we did what we knew to do and started to shop around for places that would install them.

After getting a few quotes, we realized we didn’t want to spend $1,000 on something that we only needed temporarily. I decided to try to DIY it and began researching. I was inspired by a few different ideas, so I combined them to make it work for me.

This simple DIY only needs a few things from your local craft store and about a half an hour of your time.

Supplies:

• Black foam board – I bought the tri-fold kind, that way I could cut to my dimensions and use what was left to help support the back
• 8 packs of wood discs – this was just how many I needed and I had some left over! Based on your dimensions you will be able to figure out how many you need!
• Strong magnets
• Hot glue gun/hot glue

Directions:

1. Measure the dimensions that you want to cover & cut the foam board to size. Use the extra pieces to add support to your cover.
2. Begin to lay out your wood discs. DO NOT GLUE THEM YET. Work then around like a puzzle finding the aesthetic that you like.
3. Once you’ve found the look – begin glueing. I started in the middle and worked my way out on both sides, but I think anyway would work.
4. Once the wood pieces are secure, flip the frame over. I used 8 magnets total. I put one in each corner and then one in the center of each side.
5. Hang your new fireplace cover and enjoy!

This simple and cheap DIY has changed the look of my fireplace so much, and is a great conversation starter! I’m so glad I saved the money and made this myself.

Now, I’m contemplating painting my mantle black and the tile white. What’s your thoughts?