Chunky shiplap
DIY fireplace
Encase Floating Shelf Mantels
Sideline Fury Smart Electric Fireplace

Tips for an Electric Fireplace Accent Wall in a Small Space

Touchstone Sideline Fury Smart Electric Fireplace and Encase Floating Shelf Mantel decorated for Christmas photo credit @thehouseforhosting

With the best slim-depth electric fireplace and floating shelf mantel combination, you can easily maximize the space in any room. DIY enthusiast Hailey Shepard @thehouseforhosting shares her small living room transformation featuring the Touchstone Sideline Fury® Smart Electric Fireplace and Encase Unfinished Floating Shelf Mantel.

Touchstone Sideline Fury Smart Electric Fireplace in slim depth wall by @thehouseforhosting

Space-Efficient Size & TV-Friendly Design

For her shiplap fireplace accent wall, Hailey chose the 50-inch wide Sideline Fury® Smart Electric Fireplace for its slim depth and sleek firebox.

Hailey shares, “We opted for this design due to its slim depth feature, which was perfect for our home because our living room is rather small, and we did not want to sacrifice space for beauty...This electric fireplace is sleek and slim, offering a realistic flame display with 10 different color and brightness levels, and has glass crystals creating a beautiful modern look.”

The Sideline Fury® electric fireplace collection is specially designed to seamlessly complement popular TV sizes. If you are building a media wall, check out Touchstone’s Sideline Fury® collection, and choose the size that best fits your TV dimensions.

Step 1: Building the Slim Frame

Hailey hired framers to build the skeleton of her wall (you don’t have to “DIY” your whole project—you can always hire out some steps of the process if you need help). Thanks to the Sideline Fury’s slimmer depth, the framers were able to use 2×6’s instead of 2x4’s.

“This saved space in the living room, allowing the fireplace to extend out 6 inches from the wall rather than 8 inches, and in a small home that makes a huge difference,” Hailey explains.

Touchstone Sideline Fury Electric Fireplace accent wall framing and drywall by @thehouseforhosting

Step 2: Adding an Outlet & Drywall

An electrician installed standard 120v AC outlets for the fireplace and TV. A plug-in Touchstone® electric fireplace is easy and affordable to add - no need for gas venting or a chimney. Simply drywall the fireplace frame.

Touchstone Sideline Fury Smart Electric Fireplace installation into a chunky shiplap wall by @thehouseforhosting

Step 3: Making a Chunky Shiplap Look

In her blog, Hailey shares her cost-saving faux shiplap trick: Buy a full sheet of 4x8ft plywood and have it cut into smaller boards. For this Touchstone electric fireplace DIY project, Hailey uses 16-inch-wide x 8-ft-long boards to create her desired chunky shiplap look.

Touchstone Encase Floating Shelf Mantel installation by @thehouseforhosting

Step 4: The Mantel

Hailey uses the easy-to-install Touchstone Encase® 72 Floating Shelf Mantel for just the right fit. The 72-inch length is the perfect topper for the 50-inch Sideline Fury Smart Electric Fireplace.

Hailey shares, “These mantels are preassembled and do not require finishing unless you opt for the unfinished design like me...I chose this design so I could stain it the exact color I wanted. The unfinished mantel can even be painted if you chose to do so! Installing the mantel was super easy, requiring minimal tools and time!”

Closeup of Touchstone Sideline Fury Smart Electric Fireplace and Encase Mantel and room view with accent wall to ceiling by @thehouseforhosting

Space Saving Transformation

“I am BEYOND excited for how this DIY electric fireplace turned out and how much cozier my living room feels now! I can’t sing praises enough to Touchstone Home Products and all of the options they offer for fireplaces, allowing for such a simple and practical solution for our home project!”

For full details of Hailey’s DIY fireplace wall project, check out her blog post: The House For Hosting.

For more step-by-step Sideline Fury® fireplace accent wall installation, watch The House For Hosting channel's YouTube video.