Here’s a fun timelapse video of us building the fireplace surround. There aren’t a lot of photos online (a few dozen maybe?) of freestanding fireplaces with nice big mantels and hearths surrounding them, so we had to be creative while respecting the necessary clearances for combustibles.
We used Rockwool insulation, steel studs and concrete board to ensure that the closest surfaces to the stove were extra safe.
We’ve also since added a few neat features to the surround to manage airflow and keep kids entertained (any guesses?!), so we’ll cover that in a future post!
Also, one final word: shiplap!

A few photos of the process: Chip helping cut the shiplap panels from 5/8″ MDF, cutting the two corbels from 6×6 douglas fir scraps, and using an axe for a legit axe-hewn look on the 8″x10″ mantel piece (also a leftover doug fir piece from the house build).