Stacked Log Tutorial
I have loved the look of a fully stacked fireplace for years now. (& have even suggested it to a few clients with no bites…) Knowing full & well the hubs would never let me stack a real fireplace (that we don’t even have) I just put this idea in the ole vault for future use.
Not being in the market for a fireplace mantle at all, I stopped by my favorite Antique Market, Dupre’s, I spotted a vintage fireplace surround. It was hiding deep in a booth & I quite literally climbed over items to get to it. It appeared to be in great condition, with a great scale & classic lines. After I saw the price, I knew we needed a faux fireplace in our new Library/Dining Room. My husband looked at me like I had three heads when I let him in on our latest purchase… he has since come around π
I had the mantel… now I needed logs & branches. Oh the logs & branches!! You need so many more than you think you will need. At least that was the case for us. Not only you need logs/branches, they must meet a few important criteria:
- No fresh cut branches. They must be at least a month old to have allowed for the drying process. New limbs are moist & a bit spongy. Once they have dried out they will begin to crack a little, but this is okay. Dried branches also have fewer tenants… Next point…
- No BUGS! When cutting into your branches, inspect them carefully for any indication of inhabitants. Obviously you don’t want those brought into your home.
Luckily, we had some great candidates that fell a few months ago that I wouldn’t let the hubs get rid of. I just knew they would be great for a project.
We took the branches, determined the thickness that we needed & got to cutting.
We found our miter saw was the quickest way to cut these babies down. We also used a little tape to let us know how big our cuts needed to be.
A chainsaw was used for the larger log. Luckily, one log provided plenty of the larger rounds.
Not intentionally, but just because life got in the way, the majority of our cut logs sat outside “drying” for a few weeks. I think this step also aided in our lack of bugs. But to ensure we got rid of any dwellers, we sprayed all of the wood pieces down with bleach & water & let them dry. This also brightened the wood.
Then I got to gluing… starting with a piece of MDF cut to the height of our opening & just a little wider I started putting together one giant puzzle. Making sure to spread each type & size around as much as possible.
I used Liquid nails for the large logs & hot glue for the smaller branches. After they were all attached, we reinforced the logs with our nail gun. Straight through the front of the logs. You can’t even see any of the brads.
We then slid the HEAVY panel into place.
I love the warmth & texture it brings into the room. I can only imagine how great stockings are going to look in front of it! (We are very excited about having a place to hang stockings this year!)
xo- K
Oh. My. God. Cannot handle the awesomeness in this post
That is FANTASTIC! Now I must figure out how to make that happen in my house….
I absolutely love it!
i bow down to your amazing abilities!!
Love. Pinned. We have a fireplace we don't use. I would so love to use this treatment to cover our big black box opening. Of course I have a hubs to convince.
I love this look! Yours is beautiful! I do have a question about how it's held in place though. Is the board essentially self-standing, resting on the base row of logs?
Kim @ Sand & Sisal
Thanks Kim! It is sandwiched between the baseboard (in the faux fireplace) & the mantle surround itself. We were planning on screwing it in, but it wasn't necessary once installed. Bonus!
Despite the fact that I see this project ending in me gluing my hand to the wall and shooting my dog with a nail gun, I really want to try it. I love it!
So cool! My family had discussed the idea of attaching the logs to a removable piece, used like a screen cut to fit, especially since we have a working fireplace. Store it away for the winter, and put it back in place through the summer! I'll have to give this project another go sometime in the future…
That looks awesome Kristin! Adds so much texture and style to the room. Love the new profile pics too!
How awesome! It's beautiful and I love the logs… such a cool and rustic look. SO much texture, too!
KILL-er! adding it to my vault for the 'someday' I have my own house!
Wow!! This is so gorgeous, Kristin! I love the combination of large and small logs to create the almost polka-dot pattern!
Gorgeous! I love the composition of the small and large logs…love it girl π
This is amazing! Thanks for the post!
Girl, I can feel the warmth down here in South Kakalaki!!! (SC) LOVE IT! Great new profile pic too!
That looks awesome! I wish I had a fireplace to do this.
I made a frame the same way. When you have a bee in your bonnet, you gotta go cut some logs on a miter saw and buy some liquid nails to appease it. Very very nice Ms. Kristin.
This is so awesome. I love it!!! Unfortunately we use our fireplace so I guess it wouldn't work in my house, but I wish I had somewhere else to put a mantle so that I could do this too. Great job!!
Love the contrast between rustic and polished. Really a great balance.
I'd love to see this in an exterior context as a feature wall in a patio or garden space. Of course all the between spaces will be great for beneficial insects, too! A double gift.
I am SO in love with this…and a little jealous! Looks great!
Wow Kristin, this looks amazing! We never use our fireplace so I would love to do this….if I had the time and patience π we need to get together so I can see some of theses awesome DIY projects in person.
This is amazing and so gorgeous!!! When I saw the first pic, I thought it was stock photo from a magazine!!! So very cool.
I should have known this was you before I came over – beautiful and so perfectly our style!
That is AMAZING!! This is your first time to link up? Way to knock it outta the park! WOW!
Thanks Beth! Just the first time linking up a mantle… we just picked this one up a few weeks ago. I have had mantle envy for sometime now π
Love this! I was just thinking I needed to figure out how to do this for the fake fireplace we just put in!
This is so AMAZING!!! I want to do it so bad but don't think I have the time or patience. Seriously gorgeous!
Wow. I am super impressed with this. Such a great job. The logs are so cool…like something you would see in a magazine. I am visiting from Centsational Girl. I would love for you to come and link up to my Fall into Fall party that opens tonight at 8pm EST. Hope to see you there.
Love this! Totally gorgeous! xo Kristin
I love it. What an ingenious idea.
Gorgeous! Thanks for the tutorial!
that is amazing! this totally looks like a real fireplace, and i loooove this look with the logs. oh, the decorating possibilities!!
This is so far beyond fantastic! I absolutely love it and wish so much that I had it in my own home.
Angela
Oh, my goodness! What a labor of love; it looks amazing. I'm glad you mentioned how you prevented bringing in any insect friends with your logs – that's why I always hesitate to bring in branches/logs from my yard!
Stopping by from Centsational Girl's mantel party! π
Wow, I am blown away at how amazing this looks. I wish wish wish we had room to put one somewhere in this house so I could be a big old copycat.
I LOVE THIS!
that is so much work, but so very very worth the beautiful result … just gorgeous!!
Wow! This is one of the coolest project i've ever seen done. I just loooove it!! It looks amazing.
Julie
Wow, that looks amazing! I'm dying to find a place for this in my house now.
Looks very nice, but seriously, why so scared of bugs? They're not dangerous, you know… and most of them will have gotten away long before you start cutting it.
Sorry, but all that bleach and water thing just seemed a bit silly to me. I live in the country side and bugs are just a part of life. The kind of bugs that would have lived in there would not be the kind of bugs that could hurt you or your house.
I am fine with bugs, I just prefer they stay outside. π Plus, the bleach & water also helped to clean off any excess dirt & residue that remained on the branches from sitting out in the ground for months..
I did have another blogger tell me that she attempted this project (before mine) & had to take it down a week later because too many bugs were crawling out… I'd rather take 30 minutes to spray it down & be safe rather than sorry.
This is fabulous! What a great idea! It is beautiful!
Love, love, love it! I've been pinning images like this for the last year, now I just need to find a fireplace this will work with! We actively use ours in the winter, so I'm trying to convince my sister to do it:)
Jessica
I have desperately been wanting to do this and convincing my husband has been difficult. Though if we do your method, I can have a mantle in the bedroom and a working fireplace in the living room! Score!
I found this post via Hi Sugarplum, and I am blown away! We have the oddest fireplace that is begging for something. (Built in the '50s with a faux log set connected to a gas line, so there is no moving it…) I am looking forward to trying this!
Thank you so much for sharing this, and spelling it out so easily! It looks fantastic! I want to do it, and my husband thinks IM crazy! Happy Holidays to you, enjoy decorating your mantle for Christmas!
xo Nancy
Powellbrowerhome.com
I love your finished project. How long did it take to glue the logs in place?
Wow! Just found your blog and was excited to see this post :), I had never seen your stacked log fireplace before but we thought up and tackled something similar over in our living room (http://www.pepperdesignblog.com/2013/02/27/pinterest-challenge-faux-log-stack-fireplace-facade/) and I had to share! Great minds think alike ;).