Architecture Blog

It’s been four years and that little boy is now 15 years old! Time goes WAY too fast! 

Last year he started asking to change that space into more of a modern game room…a little more fitting for him. I obliged and we’ve slowly but surely been transforming it. 

We had a plan in mind…and now that the Depp trial is over I’m finally tackling projects again. 😂 We finished up the fireplace wall the other day and are TICKLED with how cool it looks. 

Here’s the process I used to create this modern 3D fireplace wall! 

I showed him an inspiration photo from the reviews of these panels and he was sold! This electric fireplace is wall mounted, unlike our other one that was inserted into the wall. I wanted to build a faux wall behind it, but it couldn’t be so thick that it blocked the vents or heat source on the top. 

I also grabbed some 2’x4′ OSB panels from Home Depot. If you plan out the 1×2 frame just right, this part isn’t necessary. But the backing makes it much easier to install the 3D panels:

Plus, we were adding LED lighting behind the edges of the wall, so I didn’t want those shining through between the plastic panels. That will make more sense in a minute!

Once the frame was covered with the OSB, it was time to install the plastic panels! These are SO cool and I’m already trying to figure out where else I can add them. They have a TON of different designs available. 

I used waaaay too much tape on the first one, and then quickly realized I hardly had to use any for these to stick to the wall. I only added small strips to each corner and side. 

You can see above that there’s not much surface space to attach the tape, but it worked great. 

So the measurements…if you aren’t adding lighting behind your faux wall, or you’re just placing them right on the wall, it will be easy! 

Because we were attaching strip lights around the back, I knew I wanted the backing behind the 3D panels to go past the 1×2 frame a bit. I decided on a size about an inch wider and taller than the size of the frame on the wall. The half inch overhang on each side was the perfect amount of space to stick the LED lights to the back around the edges. 

My measurements weren’t perfect, so I had a bit of the OSB showing on one side. I could’ve painted it white and we wouldn’t have noticed it, but I wanted to make it look a little more finished: 

You can see that OSB peeking out there on the side — I found these plastic trim pieces that slid right over the OSB and the edge of the panels to cover that on both sides: 

I found these plastic pieces at the end of the trim aisle at Lowe’s. There were a few options available. I used small pieces of the mounting tape to secure any loose spots. 

It matched the 3D panels perfectly, so there was no need to paint! Those were only $3 each and I only added them to each side, not the top and bottom. 

After all the decorative panels were installed, I had an awkward space right above the fireplace that needed to be filled in. I could have cut the panels down to fit, but they don’t cut especially clean. 

Instead I had a scrap piece of trim that fit perfectly: 

I forgot to paint the OSB backing white before starting to stick the panels on…I was a little too excited. As I hung them, we noticed that very slight dark line between them: 

My plan was to add a thin line of white caulk between each one, but by the time it was done we realized there was no need. It didn’t bother us at all. 

The contrast is SO good!!

We kept calling my husband in every few minutes to look at the progress after each line of panels was hung. 😉 What a fun project!:

Of course, the best part for any teenage boy (OK…and his Mom) is the cool lighting:

We have more to add to this wall, but the cool vibe has gone up quite a bit already!: 

There are so many possibilities with these 3D panels!