Inspiration and Ideas for Our Farmhouse Fireplace Project

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If you’ve been here for some time… You may remember this amazing antique fireplace mantle we bought a little while back! I had and still have big plans for this mantle. For a variety of reasons I haven’t made much progress on the mantle up to this point. We cut down the legs and brought it into our living area where it has remained untouched. And since a couple of you have asked about the mantle lately, I thought I’d share a little more of the process with y’all as we go. So today’s blog post is a deep dive into some of my inspiration and ideas for our farmhouse fireplace project!

You guys this mantle is what dreams are made of! At least my dreams!! I blogged all about the mantle shortly after we bought it in this post! It was salvaged from an 1800’s estate in Fuquay Varina, NC. It’s perfectly chippy and weathered in such a way that only a couple hundred years time can do. And I’ve been daydreaming and searching high and low for inspiration all over Pinterest and Instagram! I just want to make sure I get it right the first time around. I don’t want to look back and say oh man, I wish we had done this or that! So we never actually installed the mantle… But it’s made a few cameo appearances here and there like in the photos of the spring / summer tablescape I put together!

Well lately I’ve been in full planning mode! I am itching to make some progress on this project!! And I’ve gathered so many photos of beautiful fireplaces and mantlepieces as I work to solidify plans for our chippy mantle piece here at the farmhouse! I hope you enjoy looking through all the inspiration & ideas for our farmhouse fireplace project! And I hope you enjoy hearing about some of my ideas and getting a fun little peek behind the scenes as I continue planning out the details of this project. So without further ado… here are a few images I love and found inspiring! Feel free to click any of the photos below or the links directly above them to view the respective blogs / accounts where I found the images.

Fireplaces with Built-ins

One thing I know I want to incorporate is some type of built-ins that flank the fireplace on each side. I love the functionality and additional storage this would add to our living room. Perfect for hiding the electronic components of our tv!

Lizzy Designs DIY Fireplace Built-ins

These beautiful built-ins caught my eye because of the black background you see behind the white shelving! It immediately reminded me of the dark wood shiplap in our living room, and it gave me an idea of how to brighten up our space without completely covering the wood by adding white shelving and leaving the wood exposed behind the shelves. This one photo had my wheels seriously turning! Liz’s account is new to me but you can find her over on IG @lizzydesigns_.

Glass Cabinet Built-ins by Plain and Posh

Ok I know, this isn’t a fireplace… but these glass cabinet built-ins absolutely captivated me and they were too beautiful not to include. Designed by Stephanie Frees of Plain and Posh, the glass cabinets in this bar area with that beautiful wood shining through gave me major design inspiration for our space! You can find her IG account here @plainandposh.

Rustic Fireplace & Farmhouse Feature Wall Combos

Our living room has a large feature wall of original shiplap from the old house. I like the idea of centering a white fireplace on the wood feature wall for contrast and to break up some of the wood because it can feel a little dark at times.

Tiphanie’s White Fireplace & Woodgrain Wall

Y’all I literally gasped when I came across Tiphanie’s beautiful stone fireplace!! It is centered on one of the most pretty wood walls I’ve seen on Instagram, and seeing the white on wood detail in her space has given me so much confidence in my idea to go white with our mantle! You can find her IG account here @prairiefarmhouseliving.

Barnwood Paneling as featured in House & Home

I just love the contrast between this white mantle and the paneling on the walls in this beautiful dining space! It very much reminds me of our shiplap!! And it’s very “White and Woodgrain” if you ask me. 🙂

Fireplaces with Frame TV’s Mounted Above The Mantle

For a long time I wasn’t sold on the idea of mounting our TV above the fireplace… and then I discovered Samsung’s Frame TV! But don’t just take my word for it… take a peak for yourself to see just how beautiful they can be!

Erica Mueller Home’s Frame TV

Y’all if I didn’t know that this was a tv, I honestly would never have guessed! It is that beautiful. This is the Samsung Frame TV with a Deco TV Frame in Tuscan Gold. Yes it’s a little pricey, but I would argue that it’s a total gamechanger when it comes to design and making your TV blend in with your home’s decor! You can find Erica’s IG account @ericamuellerhome.

TV or Art in Sierra’s Living Room

I came across this stunning photo while perusing Deco TV Frames’ IG account @decotvframes. And I mean honestly, if you didn’t know this was a tv… would you even question it? I know I wouldn’t! The photo is from Deco TV Frames account, but it features Sierra’s living room. You can see more of this space on Sierra’s IG account here @withlovesierra.

White Fireplaces with Electric Inserts

Our original plan was to have a fireplace in the living room with a gas log insert. But during construction we cut this project and now I am so glad we did. It allowed me the time to find the perfect antique mantle for this space. So lately, I have been looking at electric inserts as an alternative to gas logs.

Liz Marie Galvan’s DIY Fireplace & Electric Insert

Liz’s husband Jose built this beautiful fireplace and added an electric insert for the ultimate cozy sitting area! If you are not already a huge fan and follower of Liz, I would be shocked… but just in case, you can find here IG account here @lizmariegalvan.

Deb and Danelle’s Reclaimed Mantle & Electric Insert

I watched Deb & Danelle’s Instagram stories when they built this fireplace and I was just in awe! It even has a hidden storage area for all the electronic components!! Also, here’s another Samsung Frame TV and a Deco TV Frame to boot! You probably already are, but if not be sure to go follow Deb and Danelle on IG @debanddanelle.

Y’all seeing all these gorgeous photos together has me so excited to finalize my plans for our chippy antique mantlepiece! And I hope that seeing my thought process and all the inspiration and ideas for our farmhouse fireplace project has been inspiring to you too! I literally cannot wait to sit down and map out all my ideas, and I will definitely be sharing more as we go…

We’ve made a ton of progress since this post was first written! Want to see our DIY fireplace project unfold from start to finish? Take a look back at where it all started, and where we are today… (This post you’re currently reading would be part 2 in this series of posts!)

• The Swoon-Worthy 1800’s Mantle That Started It All… (Part 1)
• Gathering Inspiration & Ideas for a Farmhouse Fireplace (Part 2)
• My Original Visions & Plans for a DIY Fireplace Project (Part 3)
• DIY Fireplace Project Updates & Our Samsung Frame TV (Part 4)
• How to Build a DIY Fireplace for an Electric Insert – (Part 5)

Recently over on Instagram I’ve been sharing accounts that are beautiful and inspiring to me… All under the hashtag #homewiththecarolinagirls. It’s been such a fun way to discover and share new accounts to follow on that platform… and that’s actually part of the inspiration behind today’s post. I’ve been wanting to share more of these types of posts here on the blog as well! I want to take you behind the scenes on all the project planning and inspo-gathering that I’m already doing, but that you guys haven’t been seeing! I’m thinking maybe monthly/every other month, I’ll bring y’all along and fill you in on whatever new project I’m dreaming up. Let me know your thoughts on this and if it’s something you’d like to see more of! Thanks for stopping by the blog today, and as always, thanks so much for following along…

Love, Brittany