How to Beautify Your Mailbox for Added Curb Appeal

Removable decals add a decorative touch to mailboxes.

A home's curb appeal extends from the front door to the mailbox. Mailboxes often are unintentionally neglected and taken for granted, becoming detrimental to a property's curb appeal. With a little planning, organization and elbow grease, you can transform your mailbox into a curb-appealing focal point. Budget-friendly mailbox makeovers require minimum supplies and result in a substantial improvement that your neighbors and passersby will notice.

Things You'll Need

• Garden gloves
• Plastic gloves
• Wire brush
• Bucket
• Household cleaner
• Sandpaper
• Spray paint primer for metal surfaces
• Spray paint for metal surfaces (in your color choice)
• Decorative mailbox decals (house numbers, pictures or your last name)
• Assorted perennial flowers
• Large pot (approximately 15 in. diameter with drainage hole in bottom)
• Potting soil/fertilizer mixture
• Small gravel rock
• Garden spade

Instructions

1. Put on plastic gloves and fill a bucket with a recommended mixture of household cleaner and water.

2. Scrub the mailbox and post with a wire brush and bucket solution, cleaning off dirt, grime and rust. Sand any remaining rusty spots with sandpaper, and rinse the entire mailbox and post with a garden hose.

3. Spray a coat of paint primer on the mailbox and post, following product instructions, and allow them to dry thoroughly.

4. Apply one coat of spray paint to the primed mailbox and post, following product directions. Allow to dry and apply a second coat of paint.

5. Remove the plastic gloves and put on garden gloves. Pour about 3 in. of gravel into the bottom of the planter. Fill the large flowerpot with potting soil/fertilizer to approximately 4 in. from the top rim.

6. Remove the flowers from the plastic containers by gently shaking them. Place the flowers into the pot approximately 2 in. apart.

7. Pour additional potting soil/fertilizer around the potting flowers and gently pat the soil around them with a garden spade, stabilizing the flowers. Sprinkle water on the flowers until thoroughly wet.

8. Position the completed flowerpot next to the mailbox post.

9. Apply decorative decals of your choice to the dry mailbox, following application instructions.

Tips & Warnings

• If rain is in the forecast, do not begin this project because you need to allow time without moisture for the primer and paint to dry thoroughly.

References

• Landscape Solutions: Decorate Your Mailbox With Vines, Shrubs and Flowers
• US Inspect: Curb Appeal: Starting At the Mailbox
• Rustoleum: Surface Preparation Guide
• Shelter Pop; Five Great Ways to Give Your Mailbox a Makeover; Lisbeth Cheever-Gessaman