Make Your Fireplace Safer With A DIY Solution

Fireplaces naturally draw attention, and while they bring warmth and charm to your home, they can also present safety concerns involving hard stone edges, sharp corners, or exposed fireboxes — particularly to a curious toddler, a hyper pet, an elderly family member, or someone with mobility or balance challenges brushing past. The most important areas to address for safety include raised hearth edges, stone or brick faces, and the opening of the firebox itself. These hard surfaces are often right at head, hand, or knee level, making them a concern for anyone who could use a little extra cushioning.

A DIY padded fireplace cover offers a simple way to make this area safer without permanently altering your home or overspending. Popular on TikTok, this solution repurposes everyday materials to create a soft barrier. Before getting started, gather your materials, including foam padding (such as play mats), fabric, duct tape, strong adhesive, scissors, and a measuring tape. Once everything is ready, you can move on to assembling and installing the padded fireplace cover.

This quick DIY fireplace project isn't complicated and won't take much time, but you'll feel pleasantly satisfied by the resourcefulness, patience, and creativity that went into the hack. You don't even need any special tools or skills for this important home improvement — just simple materials you might already have or can easily pick up at the store.

TikTok creator @simple.life.mama shares a budget-friendly way to create a padded fireplace cover using materials many people already have at home. In her video, she cuts foam play mats to fit over the firebox opening and hearth, then secures the pieces together with duct tape to create a cushioned base that blocks off hard surfaces. This approach can be adjusted to fit different fireplace sizes and layouts, and works especially well for raised hearths or stone finishes.

To finish the look, she wraps the foam with fabric using E6000 adhesive, pulling it tight and smoothing as she goes to prevent bunching. Trimming the corners slightly makes it easier to wrap edges neatly, and if wrinkles appear, a clothes steamer or wrinkle-release spray can help smooth the fabric without starting over. The result is a padded surface that looks intentional instead of improvised.

@simple.life.mama

Baby proofing our fireplace #babyproofing #babyproofinghacks #babyproofthewholehouse #babyproof #babyontheloose #momhacks #momlife #repurposing #babyproofed #budgetfriendly #momsover30 #momsoftiktok #sahmhacks #sahmlife

♬ original sound – melanie | mom•wife•lifestyle

While store-bought hearth pads are available, the cost can add up quickly. Choosing materials you already own or find secondhand keeps this project affordable, with some versions costing under $20 if you have the supplies on hand. For added durability in high-traffic homes, using interlocking foam play mats or extra adhesive along the seams can help reinforce the cover while keeping it lightweight and removable.

Making your home safer doesn't have to mean investing in expensive, specialty products. Smart DIY solutions that use items you already have or can find at a discount can be just as effective as name-brand alternatives when thoughtfully put together. One of the biggest advantages of this padded fireplace cover is how easily it can be customized to fit your space and your needs.

Choosing washable fabric allows you to remove and clean the cover when needed, while patterns or textures can help it blend seamlessly with your décor. For extra flexibility, the cover can also be designed to attach with Velcro straps, making it easy to remove when it's no longer necessary. If foam mats aren't available, alternatives like pool noodles for child-proofing sharp edges or upholstery foam sheets for stone surfaces can provide different levels of coverage.

You should never use your fireplace with a DIY hearth cover on it, even if you use heat-resistant fabric. Fireplace safety requires only using the approved materials on or near it, and you don't want to risk a mishap. You shouldn't light your fireplace unless there is about 3 feet of clearance, including any makeshift cover you create. With a little creativity and piecing things together, this TikTok home safety hack can make all the difference without breaking the bank or causing an eyesore in your home. You can use the same method in each room of your house, finding low-cost ways to babyproof your kitchen and other areas, making it safer for everyone.