Tile Fireplace Cover

I'm very happy with the finished fireplace cover. It's heavy and won't tip over easily, the braces mean that it won't fall flat and break any of the decorative pieces. It's removable, so I can still use my fireplace. Here it is!

Mosaic and Tile Fireplace Cover

My fireplace is on a full wall of brown bricks and was very dark. I finally had the courage to paint the bricks white, and loved it. But against the white bricks the fireplace opening was a big black hole. What to do? I decided to make a fireplace cover using tiles and a mosaic design. I had 3/4" plywood sheets cut to the size I wanted, then glued and screwed the two layers together to make it strong and flat. I found metal shelf braces to hold it upright. I used wood door trim to make a decorative trim along the bottom.

It took a long time to come up with all the pieces for the front design. I had some white tiles and glass gems, stained glass pieces too. I found other things on ebay, Etsy, at Goodwill and yard sales. I attached an 8" x 12" stained glass piece with mirror braces so it can be removed and something else inserted. Here are a couple of the designs I tried.