Built In Or Built Out? Fireplace Wall Tutorial

Hello! I recently finished and posted my master bedroom makeover. In case you missed it, you can head over and see all the details HERE. My favorite part of this room, hands down, is the new fireplace wall. Actually, the whole room was inspired from this project. I saw something similar on Pinterest and I knew I want to recreate this built in, or more technically the built out. Remember the wall before?

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I'm not sure if this is a built in or built out, but either way I've got the full tutorial on how I turned this drab wall into an awesome feature wall!

I started by painting the wall and then installed the TV on the wall with an adjustable TV mount so that I could move the TV out and access the inside of the wall if I need to without un-installing anything. I hung the TV first and then built around it.

After picking out a fireplace that was the same width as the TV, I started to build the wall. I used 2×4 studs and made sure to frame where the fireplace would go. I made sure to buy a fireplace that was meant to be recessed into a wall. The heat is blown out into the room, not up through a chimney or into the wall. I connected the 2x4s using wood glue and pocket holes at all the joints.

When making the wall, I also wanted to make space for the logs. I knew they would need some extra support, so after I built the space I added a couple of extra vertical 2x4s underneath the log area. I forgot to take a picture, whoops!

Then it was time for drywall. My first time using drywall! Cutting and scoring it was a bit of work, but not too bad. I made sure to fill in the log area with drywall around the sides, but didn’t worry about the TV and fireplace area because I knew they would hide the inside.

After all the drywall was hung it was time for mud. Since the rest of the walls in the room are textured, and I didn’t want to take down all the texture, I added some texture to the built out so that it would blend into the rest of the room.

Then I added all the trim and painted everything. Then just install the fireplace and add the logs.

A little reflection of the bed (coming soon).

I hung and extension cord inside the wall so that I could access the electricity a little easier. I can also pull the fireplace out if I ever need to get to the actual outlet, that would just take a little more work. This is a little handier for now.