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Stylist and interior decorator Chad Burton created a fireplace feature for his condo using a $50 secondhand mantel and handmade ceramic tiles. He mounted the tiled panel on plywood with heavy-duty Velcro so it could be removed if he and his husband move.
Stylist and interior decorator Chad Burton made a fireplace feature for his condo using a $50 Facebook Marketplace mantel and ceramic tiles he sculpted himself, according to an Apartment Therapy before-and-after report. The project turns a narrow wall between two living-room openings into a personal design feature, while its removable plywood backing lets Burton keep the tiles if he moves.
Burton and his husband, Burger, bought the mantel after moving into the condo. The brown mantel fit between two rectangular openings leading from the living room to the kitchen and hallway. Burton first changed the openings into matching arches and painted the walls a brownish red, using Benjamin Moore’s Coral Bells. He said the mantel was heavy enough that he hired a courier to deliver it and asked friends to help carry and position it.
Burton spent more than a year looking for an iron insert. While he searched, he placed a plywood arch in the center of the mantel, but told Apartment Therapy that the temporary solution never felt finished. Because he had been taking ceramics classes, he decided to make a tile panel instead. The tiles include sculpted figures, astrological signs and other symbols with personal meaning to him and his husband.
He glazed the tiles and completed an initial bisque firing; his ceramics instructor, Julie Moon, fired them again. Burton mounted and grouted the tiles onto plywood, then attached the panel to the wall using heavy-duty Velcro. A brass tile edge from The Home Depot finishes the installation. The report describes the project as a decorative fireplace feature; it does not identify a working firebox or say that the tiled panel is rated for heat.
A Removable, Personal Fireplace Feature
The project shows how a secondhand architectural piece and a crafted insert can give an existing room a focal point without permanently fixing the handmade tiles to the wall. Burton’s approach keeps the decorative panel separate from the mantel and wall: he says he can remove it and take it with him if he and Burger move. That portability is a practical consideration for homeowners who want a custom feature but may later change their space.
The report also illustrates a trade-off in handmade work. Burton said the kiln firing caused shrinkage that complicated the tile measurements. He added black-and-white square tiles around the edge to fill the resulting gap, and some glazes came out with different levels of shine because the tiles were fired at different temperatures. Those details are Burton’s account of his project, not a general assessment of how every DIY fireplace installation will perform.
The source gives the mantel’s purchase price as $50, but does not provide a full project budget. It also does not report a tested installation method for use near a live fire. Readers considering a similar project should distinguish a decorative fireplace surround from a heat-exposed installation and check the requirements for their own fireplace before using combustible backing or adhesive.
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From Temporary Plywood to Ceramic
When Burton and Burger moved into the condo, the living room had a small section of wall between two rectangular thresholds. Burton said he wanted to make the entrances into equal-sized arches. After reshaping them and painting the room, he found the mantel on Facebook Marketplace, where its size suited the gap.
The mantel did not initially have the insert Burton wanted. He searched for an iron insert for over a year and used a plywood arch in the meantime. His ceramics classes offered another route: rather than continue waiting for an insert, he designed a tiled center featuring imagery meaningful to the couple. Apartment Therapy reports that the piece was mounted on plywood and attached with heavy-duty Velcro, rather than installed as a permanent tile surface.
The report is a home makeover account, not a technical guide or inspection. It supplies no measurements, full materials list, total cost, permit information or details about the condo’s fireplace system. Its description supports the project’s appearance and Burton’s stated design choices, but not conclusions about fire safety or code compliance.
“I was hunting for an iron insert for over a year.”
— Chad Burton, speaking to Apartment Therapy
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Cost and Fire Use Remain Unreported
Apartment Therapy identifies the mantel’s price as $50, but does not state the total cost of the project or itemize the price of the clay, glazes, firing, plywood, tile edging, delivery or other materials. The report also gives no dimensions for the mantel or tile panel, and does not say how long the work took overall.
It is not clear whether the condo had an operational fireplace behind the feature, or whether Burton’s installation is intended only for decoration. The source does not say that the plywood-backed tiles, Velcro or surrounding materials were tested or approved for heat exposure. It also does not describe permits, building-code checks or a safety inspection. Burton’s account of the design should not be taken as confirmation that the setup is suitable for use with a live fire.
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No Further Project Plans Reported
The Apartment Therapy report does not announce additional work, a planned iron insert or a future installation milestone. Burton says the tile panel can be removed if he and Burger move, but the source does not say whether they plan to sell the condo or take the panel down.
For now, the reported project is complete as a decorative feature. Any decision to use the fireplace with a live flame would require information the article does not provide, including whether the installation meets applicable manufacturer guidance and local safety requirements.
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Key Questions
How much did the mantel cost?
Burton found the mantel on Facebook Marketplace for $50. Apartment Therapy does not give the total cost of the fireplace project.
Did Burton make every tile himself?
The report says Burton sculpted and glazed the ceramic tiles for the center panel. His ceramics instructor, Julie Moon, carried out a later firing after Burton’s preliminary bisque firing.
Is the fireplace operational?
The report does not say whether the fireplace is functional. It describes a decorative tile panel and does not confirm that the materials are suitable for heat exposure or use with a live fire.
Can the tile panel be removed?
Burton mounted the grouted tiles on plywood and attached the panel to the wall with heavy-duty Velcro. He said he wanted to be able to take the tiles with him if he and his husband move.
What made the tile project challenging?
Burton said he had to plan for the tiles’ shrinkage during kiln firing. He added black-and-white square tiles around the edge to account for the measurements, and said differences in firing temperatures left some glazes shinier than others.
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