DIY fireplace portal made of cardboard. Fireplace made from boxes - make your dream come true! Making a corner fireplace

In a city apartment, where, due to the lack of chimneys and reliable heat-insulating ceilings, it is impossible to install a fully functional wood-burning fireplace, it is possible to design its decorative model. When using inexpensive materials at hand, the work will not require extensive construction skills and expensive tools. You can build a fireplace made of cardboard with your own hands in a few hours, and it looks no worse than the real thing.

You can also involve children in the work; for them this activity will be not only interesting, but also educational.

There are several models depending on their location in the room:

• wall-mounted – located near the wall and protrudes its façade for some distance;
• built-in – mounted directly into the wall;
• corner - occupies a corner of the room;
• island - does not adhere to the wall and is most often installed in the center of the room.

False fireplaces made of cardboard are most often made into wall or corner fireplaces, because they are not intended for heating a house, but have a decorative function. This dummy can also be used as furniture: shelves can be installed in a niche, and the upper tabletop will act as a shelf for small items.

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According to their external design, there can be a huge number of types of false fireplaces: English, classic, rustic style, with a firebox in the shape of an arch or rectangular, with a dummy of a woodcutter or oven. When designing, it is important to consider that this detail is combined with the surrounding interior.

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The simplest option that children can make is a small dummy without a chimney with a rectangular portal and firebox. Outwardly, it will resemble a large letter P. In the future, this decorative device can be supplemented with other elements and make a more complex decor.

It is possible to assemble a model of a classic English fireplace from cardboard. It is distinguished by an open firebox in the shape of a trapezoid and a straight chimney that goes into the ceiling. Inside the combustion chamber, the walls are located at a slight angle of about 20°. English version decorated with decor that imitates the finishing of limestone, rubble or brick.

A model imitating a stove for a bathhouse or a rural style should have an arch-shaped firebox. Making a shaped hole out of cardboard is not difficult. And it is best to decorate the outside with cardboard or foam stucco in the form of bricks or cobblestones

Material and tool

Getting thick corrugated cardboard is not a problem; you can use containers from large household appliances: TVs, refrigerators, washing machines or other goods. The entire manufacturing process can be carried out at home right at the future location of the decorative hearth.

Corrugated cardboard The good thing is that, thanks to the internal stiffening ribs, it retains sufficient strength, while weighing very little, and can be cut with a simple stationery knife. But a cardboard fireplace, even with external finishing will not support much weight, so you should not place heavy objects on it. It is not protected from moisture and high temperature, therefore, the false fireplace should not be placed near heat sources, and only safe methods should be used to simulate fire.

To build the frame you will need the following tools:

• stationery knife;
• polymer glue;
• transparent tape;
• pencil;
• roulette;
• ruler.

Depending on the methods of decorative finishing of a cardboard false fireplace, the following materials and tools may be needed:

• paint or decorative putty;
• paint brush or spatula;
• paint baths or a container for mixing putty;
• corners, moldings, stucco, frames or profiles.

You can decorate such a fireplace using putty and subsequent painting, or glue ready-made stucco molding, polyurethane sheets, self-adhesive laminated paper with the texture of wood or natural stone onto the surface. Based on the chosen method, the appropriate set of items for finishing is selected.

Plan and calculations

Even simplest option cardboard fireplace requires a step-by-step work plan. It includes the following items:

• determining the shape, type and location of the fireplace;
• selection of materials for the frame and decorative finishing;
• creating a design drawing with dimensions;
• preparation of tools and materials;
• marking frame parts on cardboard;
• cutting elements, gluing them and installing them;
• external finishing.

The good thing about developing such a plan is that by performing all the steps step by step according to the existing scheme, you can gain some experience and next time start creating more complex design, for example, from polyurethane or plywood. Despite the frivolous work of gluing ordinary cardboard, you can make a detailed calculation of the dimensions of the firebox, portal and chimney, as for a real wood-burning fireplace. This is useful for gaining some experience in construction.

Frame

It is worth considering step-by-step instructions for creating the most common frame layouts: wall-mounted U-shaped and corner false fireplaces.

For a wall-mounted fireplace, you will need a wide cardboard box with a height and width of 1 - 1.4 m and a thickness of 0.2 - 0.25 m, for example from a large LCD TV. First of all, fold and cut lines are marked on the cardboard with a pencil. In the center on front side a rectangular symmetrical cutout is made - this will be the furnace portal. The back of the box remains untouched. For greater rigidity, the inner walls of the firebox are glued inside. All sides of the frame can be fixed plastic corners or moldings. The frame is placed on a foam or polyurethane base.

To finish the U-shaped version, it is best to use light ceiling panels white or self-adhesive laminated paper. Foam panels are attached with waterproof polymer glue, which dries in a matter of minutes. Another finishing method is to use water-based paint. In order for it to adhere firmly to the cardboard frame, you can first coat it with a primer or a very thin layer of liquid putty. After this, wait 1 - 1.5 hours for the primer mixture to dry completely and begin painting.

A corner decorative fireplace made from a cardboard box is made in the shape of a prism with a triangular base. The corners of the frame are tightly glued with tape or polymer glue, a hole in the shape of an arch is cut out in the front part, the top can be decorated with a decorative tabletop made of lightweight material, such as PVC or laminated plywood. Inside the firebox, for beauty, you should make false walls from the same cardboard.

The decor of a corner cardboard fireplace can be done in the same ways as the previous option: painting or appliqué. In a niche you can place beautiful souvenirs or a toy fire, the creation of which will be described in the next section.

Portal

Fireplace portal– the part where wood burning occurs. In the case of imitation using cardboard, there are several ideas on how to make its appearance as realistic as possible and similar to a real fireplace. First, you should install a fake firewood grill inside. Since in this version it is metal, you need to look for lightweight materials that are visually similar to metals. These may be plastic or wooden parts, covered with shiny mastic or foil. You can use black paint.

Next, we simulate a flame in the firebox of such an imaginary hearth. There are several ways to create the illusion of a bright, flickering fire. The simplest and safest technique is based on using New Year's garland. First, artificial firewood is made from dry branches. They are covered with cotton wool and foil. Next, a bunch of such firewood is placed in a circle of stones in the niche of the fireplace, and a garland folded into a ball must be inserted into its center. When connected to the network, a mesmerizing flicker is created inside the fireplace, similar to the smoldering of real firewood.

A garland or individual bulbs can be placed in raw salt crystals. They create a beautiful shimmering effect and also have a beneficial effect on the body. Just take into account that the design of the cardboard fireplace can withstand the weight of the salt lamps.

Some people place a flat display on the floor at the base of the firebox, onto which a picture of a live fire is transmitted. This method is beautiful but not practical - use an expensive monitor for only one image. But it is quite suitable for one-time use, for example, on New Year or other holiday.

A simpler and cheaper method of simulating a flame is using a hand-drawn picture, embossing, appliqué or a three-dimensional hologram. This technique can be constantly changed, creating new original images.

You can make a decorative fireplace from a variety of materials. Carefully assembled cardboard products, finished decorative plaster or painted acrylic paint, will be externally indistinguishable from a real fireplace. Their only drawback is that they are too light, so such products should be firmly attached to the wall or floor.

Materials and tools

Main stages of production

Fireplace diagrams

Important! In order for the product to be strong enough, each workpiece must have one or even two copies. The parts glued in pairs will give the structure reliability and strength. You can place any accessories on such a fireplace without fear of collapsing the structure.

Gluing blanks

1. It is better to cut cardboard with a stationery knife or an ordinary sharp knife. To get a perfectly straight cut, the ruler should not be removed from the line while cutting.

Cardboard cutting

2. It is better to fasten cardboard blanks together with double-sided tape or window paper and glue. The seams must be taped both from the outside and inside . For the strength of the frame, it is possible to provide inside the structure corners from bent strips of cardboard, glued with PVA.

Cardboard corners for gluing internal corners

Important! To fasten workpieces, use only paper based tape. When finishing a false fireplace made of cardboard, the putty from the acrylic tape will crumble, and the foam or polystyrene foam moldings that imitate stucco will not stick firmly.

3. The basis should be slightly larger than the fireplace in both width and length (5-10 cm). To strengthen it, stiffening ribs (several strips of cardboard) are inserted into it, and only then such a box is closed with a sheet of cardboard.

Fireplace base

4. Mantel assembled from a separate box and installed on top of the structure.
5. The simplest fireplace You can also assemble it from several strong cardboard boxes connected together with PVA glue.

Fireplace glued from one or several boxes and corner fireplace

6. You can glue the boxes together using liquid nails.

Bonding with liquid nails

Important! PVA glues regular cardboard well. It is better to hide glossy surfaces inside the structure or sand them with sandpaper before gluing. The glue slightly softens the corrugation, but after complete drying it regains its strength.

7. Since the joints of corrugated board will have a slightly loose structure, the corners should be putty.
8. To get perfectly even corners, you can attach plastic or metal corners for slopes, which are available in any hardware store. They are glued using putty. If the false fireplace will be painted in the future, you can level the putty surface using slightly damp sandpaper.

PVC slope corners

Finishing a false fireplace made of cardboard

Important! To prevent loose cardboard from absorbing paint and glue, it is first primed.

1. You can lay out the brickwork using strips of cardboard, gluing it to the surface, while leaving gaps for the seams. A wall made from such a “brick” is painted with acrylic paint in the desired color or puttied. You can imitate masonry between the seams using toilet paper or napkins soaked in adhesive solution(papier-mâché technique).

"Bricks" from strips of cardboard

2. You can imitate stucco molding from polystyrene foam molding used for finishing ceilings.

Finishing with stucco molding

3. More original finish The fireplace portal can be obtained using geometric or curved parts cut out of cardboard, followed by coating decorative putty. Using them you can simulate how stucco, so wood carving.

"Stucco molding" made of cardboard

4. To prevent the false fireplace from collecting too much dust, after finishing it can be varnished.

Imitation of stone finishing made of foam plastic

2. We cut out indentations along the boundaries of the arch to imitate masonry. We draw the recesses of the stone laying on the rest of the workpiece.

3. We use a knife to process the rest of the surface, imitating stones of different sizes. Using an iron brush, we create uneven surfaces on the stones.

4. Now we paint them with a brush, while for the recesses we use darker paint, and paint the stones themselves in a darker color. bright hues. The top of the stones can be slightly “powdered” with light paint and sand. The finishing for the fireplace portal is ready.

5. You can also imitate brickwork using polystyrene foam. To do this, each brick is cut out with a knife and glued to the base with a small gap between adjacent bricks. Next, the base is painted in any color. The seams between such “bricks” are filled with putty diluted with a darker color.

Imitation foam bricks

Fireplace made of cardboard, finished with “brick”

Many people want to make the interior of their house or apartment original and impressive. Today on the Internet you can find a great variety of truly original and interesting ideas, ideas. Among them, not the least popular decoration is the fireplace. However, not everyone has the opportunity to install a wood-burning stove with a chimney indoors. That is why, as an alternative, you can make a decorative fireplace from boxes. A fireplace made from boxes is one of the most budget-friendly and attractive solutions.

Yes, you can make a fireplace out of boxes with your own hands. To do this, you will need packaging from various household appliances and electronics, which you can always find on hand at home. So how do you do this? Read further in the article!

Selection of materials

Before making a fireplace, we need to select suitable materials for the manufacture of such a decorative design. In order to assemble a false fireplace with your own hands, we will need to acquire:

1. In boxes. There can be many different shapes and sizes, or just one or several large ones. Boxes can be not only different sizes, but also forms;
2. Wallpaper or plain paper. If you are going to use wallpaper to decorate the portal, one tube will be enough for you;
3. To glue boxes, wallpaper, paper together, you will need to buy an adhesive base - it can be silicate or PVA glue;
4. Scotch tape (regular, masking and double-sided);
5. Paint brushes, sponges and rags;
6. For basic work we will need a stationery knife and a simple pencil. Additionally, you can get a ruler and scissors, a tape measure and a building level;
7. If you are going to equip the fireplace portal with a shelf or tabletop, you will need a sheet of plasterboard or plywood.

It is also worth purchasing in advance necessary materials for decorating a fireplace portal. This can be wallpaper on which a print is applied that imitates a classic brick surface fireplace A fireplace made of cardboard can be decorated with self-adhesive film, the surface of which imitates natural minerals, such as marble, sandstone or granite. Classic volumetric patterns represented by various columns, plaster elements, baseboards, and foam decor look beautiful and stylish. The surface can also be painted with simple paint from a can or bucket.

If you want the final result to be a rougher and more uneven surface, it is recommended to use liquid wallpaper, which has a corrugated structure and a rather uneven surface. All kinds of acrylic compositions are very popular. This paint is practically odorless, dries quickly and has interesting shades and tones (gold, silver, bronze, sparkles, mother-of-pearl).

Getting to know the varieties

A fireplace, the portal of which has a purely decorative function, may have more advanced functionality and a number of additional features. Such a false fireplace will be an excellent addition and decoration to the electric fireplace firebox. Electric fireplace will be an excellent alternative wood stove and can be installed even in an apartment.

Since cardboard and boxes are classified as flammable, it is unsafe to install a biofireplace or gas fireplace in it. For the same reasons, it is strictly forbidden to install a fireplace with a water circuit.

Installation of such fireplaces is impossible not only because of the strong heating of the housing, but also because of the rather large mass. It is also not recommended to install open fireboxes and an electric fireplace with a heating function.

The best option is a modern electric fireplace with 3D with the effect of a burning flame and high-quality sound visualization and lighting.

You can make a false fireplace with your own hands in one of the following styles:

• The category of modern fireplaces includes fireboxes in the Art Nouveau style. The direction is distinguished by its originality of shapes and sizes. It is possible to have and use contrasting shades, bright, catchy and cold tones;
• A false fireplace in a high-tech style will look stylish and original. To create the necessary image, you can decorate the portal in one fairly calm and muted shade (black, gray, white, silver, metallic). Complete the look with a mirror or glass decor;
• The classic style is always appropriate and will be relevant even in ten years. A classic fireplace is a wealth of patterns, ornaments, voluminous decor, and expensive decoration. It is fashionable to complement the frame with columns, candlesticks, and shelves;
• Rustic style or country motifs will make the fireplace and atmosphere in the room as cozy and homely as possible. Natural and environmentally friendly materials are always used for finishing in this direction. However, for a false fireplace you can use photo wallpaper with a pattern and texture of stone. Decorate combustion chamber maybe firewood.

DIY step-by-step assembly

As it turns out, you can make a fireplace with your own hands quite quickly and on a budget. To do this, you will need to use the following step-by-step guide:

1. First of all, decide on the room and the specific location in which the structure will be installed. A false fireplace can be island, corner or wall-mounted. The smallest are the corner portals. Also, with the help of a fireplace you can hide some wall defects;
2. Using building level, first apply all the necessary marks to the floor and walls and carry out a control check;
3. The quality of the pre-drawn drawing and sketch of the fireplace plays an important role. Make it as detailed as possible, indicate the dimensions and features of the firebox, portal and each decorative element;
4. The base can be either several separate boxes glued together, or one large box from under an LCD TV. Double-sided tape is used to glue several boxes together;
5. We remove unnecessary decor and things that interfere with work from the room. Apply the marks indicated in the drawing to the box using a pencil;
6. The basis of any false fireplace is a podium, which is responsible for the stability of the structure. The podium must first be strengthened. For this purpose, its sides are supplemented with special cardboard inserts. The ribs must be installed in a perpendicular position to the podium and secured with tape. Each rib has a height equal to the side edge of the pedestal. Also, the sides of the pedestal can be strengthened using several layers of cardboard, which are secured with tape. To ensure that the structure is as stable as possible. The podium is made wider and larger than the portal itself by 80-100 millimeters.

Do-it-yourself portal for a false fireplace

A fireplace in an apartment consisting of cardboard or boxes can be made as frame type, and have a back wall. Fireplace instructions or step-by-step assembly guide:

1. If you want to assemble a frame frame, you need to prepare cardboard, which will become the front of your fireplace. We make marks in the area where the hearth will be located and make an incision in the upper part. For this we need a stationery knife. It is also necessary to cut the central part of the portal. We bend the cut sections, they will become the sides of the combustion compartment. A rectangular strip is cut out, the width of which will be equal to the sides of the frame, and the length will be equal to the width of the combustion compartment. After this, we fix the ceiling part with tape and strengthen the inner part frame panels, consisting of 2-3 layers of glued cardboard. The frame is installed and secured to the podium using glue;
2. A portal with a back wall is easier to implement. It can be formed from just one big box. Incisions are made in it, the upper and combustion parts are formed and folded. Next, the portal is installed and secured to the pedestal.

You can complement a false fireplace and make it more functional with the help of a mantelpiece. It can be assembled from one sheet of drywall or plywood. Also, a fairly high-quality shelf is obtained by gluing 2-3 layers of cardboard together. To secure the shelf to the frame, use double-sided tape.

Before you begin cladding the portal, you need to prepare the surface. For this purpose, the cardboard is pre-painted water-based paint, acrylic from a spray can or puttied. This is necessary to obtain a uniform shade and get rid of contrasting spots. As an alternative, you can cover the surface of the portal with several layers of white paper, the so-called papier mache.

For surface cladding, you can use photo wallpaper simulating brickwork, marble, or granite. The rough surface formed by applying liquid wallpaper looks advantageous. You can simply paint the frame or apply self-adhesive film.

The firebox can also be decorated at your discretion: with firewood, garlands. Above the fireplace you can place a mirror, a clock, a picture. On the shelf there are various candlesticks, candles, figurines, photo frames.

Corner false fireplace

You can also make a corner false fireplace with your own hands. To do this, you will need the following step-by-step guide:

• We find the most advantageous angle for placing the fireplace in a room with good visibility;
• We make a podium from one large box. We cut the sides and shape them in such a way that they perfectly match the shape of the selected corner in the room. For fastening we use masking tape;
• To strengthen the structure, we equip the sidewalls with stiffening ribs. To do this, we do it on the sides small sizes using a utility knife. Optimal distance between cuts is 10-15 centimeters. The marks will connect on the inside and bend the cardboard. Next, all excess and remnants of cardboard are removed and gluing is performed;
• A size for the firebox is made in the center of the portal. Recommended shape: square or rectangle. The top may have a slight rounding of the pores, similar to the arch principle. The lower part is not cut off, but folded inward to form a firebox. Secure with masking tape and trim off all excess;
• On next stage it is necessary to form the side walls of the portal. To do this, take two cardboard sheets, the height and length of which are equal to the dimensions of the combustion compartment. We cut them to shape and secure them with masking tape. Top part the fireplace is also formed from one cardboard sheet;
• We equip the mantelpiece portal from two sheets of cardboard connected to each other with PVA glue;
• After the glue has dried well, we line the frame with the selected materials.

As an addition, you can make decorative firewood for the fireplace with your own hands. To do this, take cardboard and remove the first smooth layer. We determine the length and thickness of the logs so that they look harmonious with the fireplace insert. To form firewood, you need to cut a strip, which rolls up and can be supplemented with small knots. To form logs, after rolling, it is necessary to glue the edges of the workpiece well with PVA glue and additionally secure it with thread. For small branches, it is enough to cut out a small and very thin strip of cardboard, glue it, dry it and stick it to the main log. Next, the surface is painted with white paint and, after drying, repainted suitable color. To make birch logs, the original color can be left white and after the paint has dried, apply a few strokes or stripes with black paint.

For painting you can use acrylic, oil or gouache.

Anyone can make such a decorative fireplace from cardboard boxes. At the same time, the design and design of a false portal can be very diverse. The advantages of a false fireplace made from boxes include mobility, light weight and environmental friendliness.

In this video you will learn in more detail how to assemble a fireplace with your own hands from boxes or cardboard for an apartment or house. The video shows a Christmas fireplace for the New Year:

What kind of New Year is it without a light? Candles on the table, garlands on the Christmas tree are good, but a festive atmosphere will fill the house if there is a fireplace in the banquet hall. A real fireplace is a complicated thing, but building it in an ordinary apartment building simply no technical capabilities. However, to install a fireplace for the New Year, there is no need to start construction works and in private households.

Old packaging boxes or sheet packaging cardboard will help out. In general, you can build a fireplace out of boxes with your own hands, following two methods: one-time hastily, nervously looking at the hands of the clock and sniffing to see if anything is burning in the kitchen, or slowly a day or two in advance. In the latter case, it is quite possible to obtain a false fireplace (see figure on the right), which is in no way inferior to a plasterboard one and is just as durable, but many times simpler and cheaper. How? Now we'll see.

To the chimes

The simplest New Year's fireplace made from boxes can also be festively decorated. And no less durable. The difference between it and a more complex one, which will take a couple of evenings, is essentially aesthetic. The simplest fireplace will look in an atmosphere of fun, when everyone is “on edge” in the morning, and then warms up even more. A fireplace that is made in detail will retain its appearance in everyday situations. Although both are relative, because The durability of both fireplaces is the same. Here the author’s imagination and finishing methods are more important, see for example. video:

Video: example of making a New Year's fireplace from boxes

A master class on making a festive fireplace; their boxes fit into 4 pictures, see fig. below. The stage of covering with paper is eliminated if the components of the base of the box are glued together, as described below, and the fireplace is covered with self-adhesive tape (see below), or painted to resemble an old brick, or wild stone with imitation of masonry joints (also see below).

How to glue boxes

To fig. There seems to be nothing to add above - it’s so simple to make a fireplace out of boxes for the New Year. And after a glass or two, guests will be delighted with it. But so that you don’t want to remove the creation of your own hands the next morning faster than the Christmas tree, and, perhaps, want to leave it as a permanent decoration of the room, you need to know some little tricks. They will not complicate the work or delay it.

The first of them is to quickly glue the boxes not with household tape, but with masking tape (on the left in the figure), it is sold in construction stores. The adhesive layer of masking tape is approximately the same, but the base is paper. Any paint or self-adhesive coating fits perfectly on masking tape. Also, the masking tape is very thin: it will not show through under a layer of paint (unless the fireplace is being made under real fire, see below), the painted surface will be smooth. In addition, masking tape is cheaper than household tape and, even more so, technical tape.

However, until the next New Year, a decorative fireplace glued together masking tape, is unlikely to be worthy - the paper base will become limp from atmospheric moisture. A fireplace made from boxes glued together with a clerical adhesive pencil will also be disposable - the seams will dry out. If there are three large boxes that allow you to assemble the base of the fireplace according to the power diagram in the center in Fig. (the transverse volumetric beam rests on the columns), then it is better to glue them together with household PVA; This glue, unlike technical and construction PVA, dries in 5-10 minutes. Hot glue dries instantly glue gun, but it is much more expensive. A fireplace glued together with PVA or fusible glue according to the diagram in the center in Fig. It will withstand it if an average-sized guest who has been playing around sits on it instead of a bowl of dumplings. And the base of a decorative fireplace made of many small boxes (on the right in the figure), glued together with the same adhesives, will simply last for many years and will accept a finish that allows you to leave the fireplace as a permanent element of the interior.

Self-adhesive for fireplace

One of the best ways decoration of the New Year's fireplace from boxes - gluing with self-adhesive finishing materials; simply self-adhesive. But, let the reader know, suitable for this purpose, 3 types go on sale:

• Self-adhesive wallpaper is thick, expensive, and sticks tightly to any surface. They are produced with a glossy, matte and sculptured surface, textured like wood, stone, etc. The elasticity of self-adhesive wallpaper allows it to be used to outline corners and curved surfaces with a fairly large radius of curvature (from approximately 300 mm), but they will not cover small bends and folds.
• Furniture self-adhesive film on a plastic base - sticks well to wood and wood materials, incl. to cardboard. Cheaper than self-adhesive wallpaper, thin, and ironed with a dry rag swab, it fits low, small folds. Under stone, wood, etc. textured, but not sculptured. Matte still does not reflect very much like polished imitated materials.
• The same, on a paper basis - the cheapest. It does not stretch at all, therefore it is only suitable for covering objects of simple shape, the surfaces of which consist of planes. Plus – matte resp. the texture is very similar to sanded wood or polished stone. Accepts varnishing with nitro or acrylic varnish.

They cover a fireplace from boxes with self-adhesive tape in the same way as furniture, but with some features arising from the shape of the product and its material - cardboard. Step-by-step instruction for decorating a New Year's fireplace made of cardboard self-adhesive films is as follows (see figure):

Step 1

We place the workpiece flat with the front (face) up; in Fig. for clarity, the process is shown as if you look at a lying fireplace from its bottom side. We lay the pieces of self-adhesive “dry” without removing the protective film. We adjust the patterns/textures of the pieces and cut them to size with scissors with an allowance of 30-40 mm for the folds at adjacent corners. For wall wings (see below) we give at least 15 cm.

Step 2

We remove the piece from the top lintel of the portal. We press down the pieces on the sidewalls (columns) no closer than 12-20 cm to the inner edges with weights. The best option is to put a long ruler and put on it the same iron that Toropyzhka swallowed from Dunno and His Friends. Well, who doesn’t remember: “Toropyzhka was hungry, he swallowed a cold iron.” Now we lift the inner edge of the piece onto any of the sidewalls and peel it along it protective film 10-12 cm deep.

Step 3

Holding the peeled edge of the protective film by both corners at once, we turn it in and back and pull it quietly. The self-adhesive will lie on its own on the surface being pasted. If you have never done this kind of work before, it is better to practice on a couple of small scraps, because... Do not touch the adhesive layer of the self-adhesive with your fingers.

Note: if the starting edge of self-adhesive wallpaper or plastic furniture self-adhesive does not immediately lie entirely on the base, it can be smoothed from the middle to the corners without strong pressure with a rag swab. The self-adhesive paper must be glued so that the starting edge immediately fits as desired.

Step 4

When at least 10 cm of self-adhesive lies on the surface to be pasted, remove the weight; It remains on the other side for now! Carefully pull out the protective film from under the self-adhesive, folding it over, until the coating lies on the façade (top in the figure, since the workpiece lies flat) and side sides of the column. We do not remove the protective film from the wall wing! Just cut off the excess!

Step 5

We glue the other sidewall in a similar way; then - the façade lintel and shelf. Before pasting the shelf, we cut the corners of the sidewall covering allowances at 45 degrees and press them (without touching the adhesive layer!) to the base of the shelf.

Note: All work according to steps 1-5 must be done in less than 20 minutes, because... This is exactly how long the adhesive layer of self-adhesive retains its properties in contact with air.

Step 6

What about the wings? It all depends on whether the fireplace will be a permanent piece of furniture or not. If yes, then you need to cover it with self-adhesive wallpaper. Then, having installed the fireplace in place (perhaps after finishing the shelf, hearth and firebox, see below), the protective film is pulled out from under the wings, which will stick to the wall. This will greatly enhance the visual “realness” of the fireplace, see the inset on the right in Fig.

If the fireplace is temporary, then the protective film is not pulled out from under the wings, only its tails are cut off exactly to size: having been on a wall or, say, a door quarter, the adhesive layer of self-adhesive will leave indelible marks on them. For the same reason, there is no need to attach fireplace trim wings. double-sided tape. We need to use the method that, in the old days of general shortages, craftsmen attached to concrete walls wooden skirting boards, baguette and telephone wiring - “noodles”:

1. We buy 3-4 dozen steel straight (not safety!) pins with a bent eye (not with a bead!) thinner. Old-time shabashki especially valued “hair” pins with a thickness of 0.2-0.3 mm;
2. We start attaching the wing from the far side top corner, holding it so that the wing does not slip. If you work alone, the self-adhesive can be pressed against the wall with the butt of your fist (where your little finger is);
3. The pin is taken with tweezers and placed with the tip on the film. At the same time, if you are working alone, use the butt of your fist to pull the corner of the wing up - to the side so that the wing lies flat on the wall;
4. With small frequent and very weak blows of a hammer no heavier than 50 g, the pin is driven through the film into the wall, as far as it will fit;
5. Remove the tweezers;
6. Holding the film close to the pin with your fingers on both sides, take it by the eye with pliers and break it with a sharp tilt. The pin will bend a little before it breaks. The bend will hold the film;
7. Fasten the wing in the same way from the corner down in increments of 5-10 cm, and then from the corner to the side of the fireplace;
8. The other wing is attached in the same way;
9. When the time comes to remove the fireplace, the wings of its casing are simply torn off from the fragments of pins. You need to pull smoothly, then all the debris will remain in the wall. They are carefully pulled out with pliers. If there is wallpaper on the wall, then that’s it – no traces will be visible. If the wall is plastered, small holes from pins are rubbed with a piece of leather or foam rubber.

What to do with bubbles?

It is difficult for a novice master to lay self-adhesive without bubbles. How can we be here? On a cardboard fireplace, the first 5-10 minutes are nothing. The shrinking self-adhesive will squeeze the air out of the bubbles through the cardboard and they will collapse. And those that remain after 10 minutes of exposure are pierced with a sewing needle. After 10-20 minutes they will subside too. In case some remains (which is very unlikely), after piercing it is ironed with a credit card or something similar.

Fireplace from one box

If you have only one box, but large enough in plan and not very thick, for example, from under a TV, then you can already use it to make a fireplace for the New Year. Its diagram and approximate dimensions are given in Fig. below. To form internal space The fireboxes, cardboard wings cut into the face, are bent inward. To imitate an arched vault, several cuts are made and the resulting petals are folded inward. Then the inside of the firebox is covered with self-adhesive brick-like wallpaper or thick paper and painted. You can also make a corner cardboard fireplace from just one TV box (on the right in the figure).

Stone finish

There is plenty of self-adhesive material to look like stone on sale, but you can decorate a cardboard fireplace to look like it cheaper. And if the New Year's fireplace made from boxes has a real light (see below), then the method described below is the only possible one.

First of all, the seams between the boxes are rubbed with toothpaste. Then the fireplace is painted to match the selected stone using watercolors or gouache. Very good result Painting with red paint on boxes that are not covered with paper and not otherwise bleached gives the result - it turns out very similar to an old brick, because The colorful surface of watercolor and gouache is matte.

For “complete naturalness,” all that remains is to imitate masonry joints. To do this, they are first cut on the cardboard (on the left in the figure), cutting through only its top layer. The cuts can be broken or curved if the masonry is imitated with wild stone. It doesn’t matter whether they go along or across the inner corrugation of the cardboard.

Then the incisions are evenly pressed through with some hard round stick - from lollipops, the end of a knitting needle, etc. After this, any black pigment (ground black watercolor, soot, crushed pencil lead, etc.) is added to ordinary PVA while stirring until the tone of hardened cement is obtained. The mixture is drawn into a medical syringe without a needle, and guiding it with a cannula (nose) at an angle along the pressed grooves, smoothly pressing on the piston. Even if your hand trembles, the sausage of the mixture will still fall exactly into the cut. The simulated seams will dry within a day.

Light bulbs and firewood

A fireplace with a dark, cold firebox only wastes space. On New Year's Eve - even more so. You can give it a natural look, without the risk of starting a real fire (see below), by painting the inside of the firebox with pink-crimson or light-crimson watercolor or gouache - they will give soft play light without unnatural glare.

The next step is to lay a non-reflective red (mostly) and yellow fabric instead of the hearth. Then a flashing garland of red and yellow lights is placed in the firebox. It is best if the garland regulator provides a slow blinking of the bulbs with a smooth change in their brightness. Then the imitation of the reflections of the fire in the firebox will turn out to be very natural, on the left in Fig.

Now let's try to imitate smoldering firewood to cover the light bulbs. There is no particular point in putting real branches or their imitation (in the center) into the firebox: what is this, a burning bush? Twigs thrown into the firebox also don’t solve the problem, even if there are real candles burning there, on the right.

The best way to imitate firewood in a fireplace is to wind newspaper tubes; By the way, they are also suitable for many other crafts. The tubes are painted in a gray-brown-crimson color (literally, in streaks), bent, broken and glued together in artistic disorder so that it looks like a pile of brushwood the width of the firebox. And even better - that it looked like it only from the outside, and at the back there was a cavity with fairly thin walls. The garland is placed in it. Shining through a newspaper painted to match the colors of dying firewood, it will give such a play of reflections that an ignorant guest will really think that there are coals smoldering there.

Like real

What is the structural difference between a decorative fireplace made of cardboard, intended for permanent decoration of a room, and a temporary holiday one? What allows you to contemplate it with pleasure, being in a bad mood on an ordinary gray day? The answer is simple - a shelf and under. It is these details that give the fireplace its permanent aesthetic significance.

You can also make a shelf under the fireplace from cardboard boxes, but, alas, they won’t last long - the thin parts glued from cardboard will soon warp due to changes in temperature and humidity. The solution is to glue the PVA shelf and under the fireplace in the form of 3-layer pies made of cardboard covers with foam boards between them.

How to make a festive fireplace from cardboard and polystyrene foam is shown in the figure:

decorative false fireplace made of cardboard and foam

Packaging cardboard from boxes is quite suitable for it, but you only need to glue it with PVA - it is this glue that will ensure the stability of shape and evenness of the surfaces of the cardboard-foam cake; it is not without reason that second-hand book dealers already safely use it for the restoration of old books instead of bone glue. Hollow columns for the same purpose, before finishing, are impregnated inside and outside with a water-polymer emulsion or the same PVA diluted to the consistency of whey.

Note: The design and approximate dimensions of a decorative fireplace made of cardboard and foam plastic are given in the following figure:

With real sparkle

Now let’s see how to make a fireplace from boxes with real flames dancing in the firebox. This in no way cancels out the imitation of burning wood in it and the reflections of fire in the firebox; on the contrary, all of it together will give the complete illusion of a real fireplace burning.

A way to supplement the above-described imitation of the reflections of a flame and unburnt wood with natural tongues of fire is known - these are candles in non-combustible bowls, see fig.:

It is, of course, impossible to load real fuel into a cardboard fireplace and set it on fire, especially since there is no chimney. But also with Certain precautions should be taken when using candles: organizational (may readers forgive us the inevitable formalism for the New Year) and technical.

Security measures

In fact, using an open fire in a living room is a serious violation of the rules fire safety. Moreover, it is nearby and festive table, and on it is strong alcohol, which burns very well, and a Christmas tree with paper decorations. But what can you do, New Year without a light is not the same New Year. Firefighters carefully prepare for it on their part; We will be ready too.

Organizational

The main way not to turn the New Year with a light in the fireplace into a nightmare and disaster is you, dear hosts. Make yourself a New Year's fireplace from boxes with real fire, only if you celebrate it culturally, without merchant revelry, and without losing your head. And if you have a New Year’s norm that someone, not having reached the Urals across time zones, is already sleeping with a mustache in a salad, someone is washing off their makeup with champagne, and someone is still trying and trying to get up from a bowl of dumplings - don’t. It is also not necessary if you are celebrating the New Year with preschool children.

Technical

The above-mentioned painting of the fireplace with watercolors or gouache is valuable not only in decorative terms - it creates a non-flammable layer on the cardboard, because The pigments of these paints are mineral. But this is not enough. You also need to make sure that the cardboard, if touched by a candle flame, does not catch fire for at least 10 minutes, and, preferably, extinguishes the dangerous candle.

Way to do wood materials fireproof has also been well known for some time and is widely used in timber construction. This is impregnation with fire retardant substances. Manufacturers of wood building materials use borax: when heated, it releases a large number of vapors of crystallization water, non-toxic and inexpensive. We need to saturate the cardboard in a higher concentration so that if a flame suddenly touches the impregnated surface, it will immediately be knocked down by a cloud of water vapor. To do this, make a stronger borax solution, approx. glass on the pan.

Dilute borax in glass (better) or enamel containers in hot water. After using the solution, pour it into the container clean water, boil it, pour out the boiling water, and wash the dishes twice cold water(glass can be washed once after boiling).

The blank boxes are impregnated with a borax solution from the inside and outside until they are glued into the fireplace blank. Impregnation is carried out with a cooled solution. To prevent the workpiece from warping, soak it with a moderately moistened brush several times with pauses of 5-10 minutes. Impregnation on one side is considered complete if the other side feels slightly moist to the touch. Then the workpiece is allowed to dry and the other side is impregnated in the same number of passes. After this, the workpiece is dried for a day.

Note: newspaper tubes to imitate brushwood in a fireplace are soaked in a borax solution for 3-5 minutes, then dried, painted, shaped and glued. If a durable decorative fireplace is made with impregnation with a water-polymer emulsion (see above), then its blanks are first impregnated with borax.

Finally

As you can see, a fireplace made from boxes for the New Year turned out to be not so simple. However, the game is worth the candle. For another example of what kind of holiday fireplace you can make from boxes with your own hands, see the video tutorial:

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Would you like to hang it on the fireplace according to a long-standing tradition, but it is not provided for in your apartment? No problem! We will tell and show how easy it is to make an incredible - decorative false fireplace from cardboard.

On the eve of the New Year, we are doing our best to create comfort and a festive mood in our home. For many, such New Year and Christmas comfort is associated with beautiful fireplaces, which we see every now and then in pictures on Instagram. But our city apartments are not equipped with such structures. But I really want a fireplace like this for myself so that I can hang Christmas stockings there and put gifts there. But don’t get upset ahead of time, because decorative fireplaces are no worse than real ones, and they can be made in a matter of hours.

A decorative false fireplace for the New Year can also be made from sheets of cardboard with wooden elements that will support the structure. Use decorative baguettes and baseboards to beautifully decorate your handcrafted fireplace.

“Flame” for a fireplace made of cardboard boxes

What is a fireplace without fire? And although in decorative fireplace You can’t make a real fire from boxes; you can use several interesting ideas to simulate a flame:

• draw a fire on a piece of cardboard, cut it out and place it at the back wall of the firebox;
• roll up a luminous garland and place it in the fireplace;
• Place real or cardboard logs in the fireplace and wrap them with LED garland.

Watch an online video on how to make a New Year's fireplace from boxes and polystyrene foam with your own hands

Now you know how to make a fireplace to create interesting subject interior All that remains is to decorate the fireplace as you wish, attach garlands to it, Christmas decorations and wait for the New Year and Christmas.