Office Fireplace & Built-ins

Back in March of 2019, I decided to start one of my most difficult projects to date.

To build a fireplace and built-in shelves in my husband’s office. Not only was this project going to be something I have never done before, but I also started working on these plans with a 2 month old baby! How hard could this be? LOLOLOLOLO!

What a hot mess this room was! It was a “catch-all” for everything in the house!

Stacks of paper everywhere… this is not a good working office!

The first thing I did, was look for inspiration on what I wanted the fireplace and built-ins to look like. I knew I wanted an art deco look to the mantel. The second thing I did, was measure the office. I took those measurements and put them into a drawing using Illustrator. I sketched out the idea for the mantel, but at this point, I really did not know how I was going to physically build it. There were no tutorials online for what I was looking to do.

This was the inspiration I needed to start this project!

So, I sat on this idea for 3 months before getting the courage to start. I knew how to build the frame for fireplace. I found how to do that from one of my favorite accounts Chris Loves Julia – this was not exactly what I needed to do, but it gave me a good idea. Their fireplace was more flush to the wall. Mine needed to stick out roughly 12″ from the wall so that I could have a legitimate mantel. Using a Kreg Pocket Hole jig, and 2×4’s I was able to build the frame that the fireplace would sit in and that the mantel would attach to. Before I finished the frame, I moved it into the office to see if it was the right size and scale for the room. See photo below.

On the left is the front of the mantel face frame only. On the right is the entire frame built out, ready to screw into the studs in the wall. I centered the frame and used wood deck screws and screwed it into the studs in the wall.

The top image is what the mantel would look like without the 1×2’s attached. The bottom two images represent what the sides and top of the mantel would look like once you attached them….this is the side view.

Not sure if you’ll understand my drawing, but in order to build the mantel, I had to stack 1×2’s to get the desired look I was going for. I am sure there might have been an easier way that used less material, but this worked. Each side used up 15 pine boards. I attached them with wood glue and finishing nails. Each layer I glued and nailed, let it dried, and then repeated the steps. I assembled the left side, the right side, and the top all separately. I did not attach the sides to make one piece, I waited to attach them to the mantel frame individually instead.

In order to attach the mantel pieces (left, right and top pieces) to the frame, I bought 1/4″ thick cement board from Lowe’s. I applied that to the face of the frame using wood screws. From there, the cement board gave me a flat surface to attach the mantel pieces to. Using LIQUID NAILS, I carefully glued the left and right side to the cement board. I used clamps and a level to make sure it was secure and level. I waited to attach the top piece last.

I ran out of cement board and had to make another trip to Lowe’s to buy more. But I was able to attach the right and left sides using LIQUID NAILS. In this photo, the top of the mantel has not been glued on, but is just sitting there waiting to be glued.

Here I am gluing the top part of the mantel to the cement board. After attaching the top portion, the fireplace was done and ready for me to move onto the built-ins.

I completed the fireplace portion in July. It wasn’t till November that I got the courage and the time to start on the built-ins. I figured, I could start with one side, and see how far I can get so that is what I did. I started with the left drawer base first. Again, using the Kreg Pocket Hole Jig, wood glue, and 3/4″ Maple plywood from Lowe’s I was able to easily build out the drawer box. This was the easiest part of the build, lol!

Here is a technical drawing of my plans for the drawer box.

It’s kind of funny. As soon as I got this right drawer box in place, I thought to myself… “wow, I can do this, we are almost finished!” Again, so laughable!!!!

Then next step was getting the left drawer box made, which was easier doing it a second time. After I got both boxes installed, I used deck screws to screw into the studs I found in the wall. I then had to make the face frames to make it look like an actual cabinet. I used 1×2’s, wood glue and finishing nails to attach the frame to the cabinet box.

I ripped down some 1×2’s to half the thickness and used those pieces to trim out the side of the box to look like a shaker style face-frame.

After both boxes were installed, I had some 1×4 primed board in the garage and I knew that would be perfect for the base of the cabinet. So, I used some brad nails and attached the primed board to the base of each cabinet using my miter saw to make the cuts. I had some marble laying around in the garage from my master bath renovation and so I called a local stone guy and had him cut it to the size I needed for both drawer box and for the mantel. I used LIQUID NAILS to attach it to the wood, making sure it was level.

This would have looked great just as is, but I wanted shelves too!

I was now in a position to make the upper shelves. I didn’t want to make these prior to getting my marble tops on. Using the same technique as I did with the drawer bases, I used wood glue and a pocket hole Krig jig to attach the three sides. The drawer bases are 18″ deep, but I did not want the shelves to be that deep. I decided to make them the same depth as the mantel which is 12″ deep.

In order to install the uppers, I needed to remove the existing crown moulding. That was always part of the plan because I did not like the style of the crown to begin with.

I don’t always get help, but when I do, I take advantage! Scott had to help me remove the existing trim.

After both upper cabinets were installed, it was time to install the shelves!

I decided I wanted the first shelve to be level with the mantel for a cleaner look. I attached 1/4″ x 2″ pine boards to the back of the shelf and sides using wood glue and finishing nails to act as my supports for each shelf.

This was not planned, but I set the height of the first shelf level with the fireplace mantel… I figured if the next two were a different height, that would be ok. BUT…. each shelf is the exact same height! Luck!

After getting each shelf in, I attached 1×2 pine boards to the face with finishing nails to complete the look.

We are looking really good at this point. OMG – we are almost finished. LOLOLOL… not quite.

Here is a closer look at the 1×2 trim. I also trimmed out the outside of the shelf with 1/4″ x 3″ pine boards to give it a shaker cabinet look.

After both sides were up and trimmed out, I decided to tackle the crown moulding. I was inspired by one of my favorite designers, Nicole Cohen to do my own custom crown. In order to accomplish the look I was going for, I had to buy three separate pieces of base moulding to create the look.

I used primed 1×4 and and attached it to the side of the wall first. Then I took 1×6″ primed board and attached that to the ceiling, butting it up to the 1×4″ that is was attached to the wall. Then, I took another 1×4″ board and set it on top of the 1×6″ on the ceiling. I cut small test pieces first and attached them above the fireplace to see if I liked the look before committing!

Once I got the trim over the door, I was in love!!

The blue stripe is the paint the previous owners had in this room! OMG. Electric.

Since I had to keep the shelves open at the top, I wanted the trim to go seamlessly into the shelves and make it look like it is attached.

I didn’t like that the shelf walls looked bare. I felt there needed to be some weight to balance out the heaviness of the base of the built-in. So, I wrapped the shelf wall in crown also. I think this balanced out the look.

I really wanted to step out of my comfort zone and go with something that wasn’t white when it came to painting the built-in. To help me make my decision, I ordered these stick on samples from Samplize! I am so glad I ordered samples from Samplize. This really helped me visualize what green paint was going to look like in this room.

When it came to the drawers, I knew I did not want to attempt to make these. For a couple of reasons, but mostly time and materials. I looked high and low and could not find any drawer fronts that I liked and that would go with the style of the built-in. So, I ended up drawing the design out and giving it to a local cabinet maker and had the drawers and the drawer face made. The fronts had to made with a special machine, so I wouldn’t have been able to make them myself anyway. Oooooh, they turned out so good!!!

So glad I had the drawers made! I would not have been able to make these!!

Here is what the built-ins looked like before paint!

I also decided to trim out the surrounding windows for a more finished look.

I really debated keeping the built-ins white after seeing them primed!

At the end of the day, I decided on a HGTV Home by Sherwin Williams color called Shade Grown. I bought a sample and painted a scrap piece of wood to make sure. Check the lighting, etc. I love this color so much. It goes so well with the Carrera marble.

HGTV Home by Sherwin Williams available at Lowe’s COLOR: SHADE GROWN

Once I saw the paint on the drawer fronts, I knew I had made the right decision! I also made the right decision to have a professional paint these out since I chose lacquer and not water based paint. I also had the painter spray all the trim work I had done and spray the ceiling. I went with Polar Bear in Flat from Behr on the walls, and Ultra Pure White Semi-Gloss on trim.

It only took two months for the marble to be cut, but I eventually got it! I had 4 pieces cut so that when I installed, it would look like slab.

I applied liquid nail to the backside of the marble.

I installed Roman Shades from Select Blinds. I chose Classic White Linen.

Almost a year of work and I still need to find art for above the fireplace but I do not want to rush that. I have some ideas, but I want to be sure before I put holes in my freshly painted wall. I am also still looking for the perfect hardware for the drawers.

I hope you enjoyed following this project!

xoxo,

Dasia