Dress Up an Unused Fireplace

Create a Birch Still Life in Your Fireplace

It calls to mind a dense forest, but really the stack is only one layer deep.

How to Do It

Buy birch at a garden center and have it cut to your specifications. You’ll need logs that are two inches longer than the fireplace opening. (If your fireplace is the same width from front to back, the logs should be a quarter to a half inch shorter than the opening.) You’ll also need a heavy, solid-bottom wooden crate. Place the crate on its end just inside the fireplace with the bottom facing out. This will help hold up the skinny stack of wood. Pile one log directly on top of another in the fireplace opening, adjusting the crate for support. The logs will fit together nicely if you take your time and experiment, trying them in different orders until you find the best arrangement.