“Our boring living room was begging for a focal point,” admits New Jersey resident Jessica St. Clair, writing to fauxpanels.com with details of her fireplace makeover project. “It was your faux panels that helped bring my vision to life!”

Jessica’s room lacked a focal point until she added stone veneer panels

The before and after photos reveal Jessica’s dilemma: Although beautifully decorated, with stunning terracotta walls and contrasting furniture, her room lacked a definitive focus point.

Her answer was a timeless addition that has helped bring focus to rooms for centuries: An electric fireplace.

Jessica chose a beautiful all-electric model built into a dark wood surround mantel; which gave the instant impression of a real log fire with fixture. The secret to completing that look, though, was the use of our stone veneer panels.

“With a quick rearrange of furniture and the addition of the electric fireplace, beautifully set off by a tall faux river rock chimney, our living room now boasts character and style.”

Jessica created the faux rock wall with a single column of Oxford Large River Stone veneer panels with Standard Ends. Using wooden caps on either end, she gave the instant appearance of a real stone chimney rising from wooden mantel to ceiling; and unlike using real stone, it was a breeze to install.

“The material arrived promptly, was easy to use, and made our weekend project a great experience!”

Our Oxford River Rock panels instantly gave a chimney look to a modern home

Proof once again that our faux panels often offer design possibilities that real stone and brick wouldn’t, Jessica finished off her chimney design with the addition of classical American five pointed stars and a flat-screen TV; mounted straight through the panels onto the wall behind. Jessica also had the option of mounting pictures on the panels. Learn how to do that here.

How does she feel about the results?

“I’m so pleased with the last project,” she admits. “I’m already looking forward to the next. I will be sure to shop fauxpanels.com again! Thanks for a great product and offering so many fantastic styles to choose from!”

If the results are as impressive as her fireplace makeover, we hope Jessica will be sending us pictures of whatever she gets up to next, too.

Mike and Chris' fireplace was set against an angled wall; making it ideal for a unique decorative stone panel treatment

“Our fireplace is on an angled wall all by itself,” wrote Mike Grace, when he sent in before and after pictures of his recent faux panel design project, “so we thought it lent itself naturally to a unique treatment.”

“We originally thought about simply painting it a different color, but then decided brick or stone would have a much greater visual impact.”

The problem, of course, was that brick and stone are not the easiest or most affordable materials to work with; especially inside.

“Since we were working on an inside wall, we were concerned about the weight of installing natural stone. This would have required more work and more money.”

This is why the Graces eventually considered other options: “We chose your decorative stone panels for several reasons, but the most important was simply ease-of-use.”

Unlike using real stone, which would have to be painstakingly hand laid and mortared, the Wellington Dry Stack panels that Michael and Chris chose could be installed on their interior wall with nothing more than trim head screws.

“We also liked the huge variety of finishes and colors there are to choose from with faux stone panels,” Mike admits — explaining that he and Chris bought samples to agree on texture and color before installation.

“The samples we were able to order ahead of time really helped us make the decision – and they’re why we’re still very happy about it!”

Installation of the fireplace surround was straightforward:

“We laid three or four of the panels out on the floor first, to make sure we liked the look before we hung it on the wall. Then we installed them using screws, just like the installation instructions recommend.”

Mike has some great tips for other people considering using decorative stone panels:

The combination of decorative stone and a faux wood mantel is breathtaking

“Make sure to put the installation screws in an inconspicuous location so they won’t be noticeable.”

The texture of the Wellington Dry Stack makes it easy to hide the screws beneath the crags and nooks of the panel; but you can touch them up with caulk if they’re too visible.

“Also, it helps to stagger each row of panels so you don’t have a telltale joint that’s really noticeable.” A final tip? “Purchase the matching paint. We used it to touch-up the outside edges where we had to cut the panels to fit our fireplace.”

The end results are really amazing – including the use of a faux wood mantel to complete the project. Mike and Chris are thrilled:

“Friends and family have told us that it has totally transformed our room and it looks much more intimate and cozy.”

Do you agree? Let us know – and also send in your own pictures if you’ve used our faux stone panels or artificial rock panels to finish off your own fireplace project.

Now as an adult I live in a modern house built in the 1980’s that does indeed have a fireplace, but the only thing that surrounds it is a bunch of flat, ugly black metal. Not so inspiring. So how can I reclaim a little bit of that pre-Revolutionary New England charm without breaking my piggy bank? Fireplaces can act as the centerpiece of your home – I really want an inviting place for family and guests to gather and enjoy each other’s company.

Fireplace Before Photo

A recent customer, Bill Nalli from Moravia, New York, sent in these photos from his project using the Regency Stacked Stone faux panels. He’s surrounded a plain black fireplace just like mine with the panels, reinvigorating his entire sitting/television room. He wrote in that he installed the panels all by himself and had fun doing it!

Fireplace After Photo

Whether I go with a more traditional brick panel or try out the stacked stone, Mr. Nalli has given me hope that I can turn my own blah fireplace into something beautiful my kids can remember fondly when they’re grown up – and I won’t have to spend their college funds to get it.