We get a lot of magazines and packages, and the small mailbox that came with the house wasn’t going to cut it. As I’ve shared before, we don’t really have much of an overhang on our porch to keep things out of the rain, so a big mailbox is a necessity. So we hung a new mailbox as soon as we moved in three years ago, and I painted it red. It can fit multiple magazines and those big priority mail envelopes. It’s pretty great.
Before
But I’m tiring of the red as an accent color, as I mentioned in my exterior update. I was ready for a change. But rather than replace the mailbox altogether, I decided (as per usual) that it would be way cheaper to just update it. Mailboxes are expensive! Seriously, I’ll wait while you go investigate the prices of wall-mounted mailboxes. You’ll find just the basic ones start around $40-50. I think I snagged this one for about $25 off of ebay because it has a slight, barely noticeable bend in the lid. Can’t see it? Well, like I said, it is barely noticeable.
I also wanted to give it some personality and after much fruitless internet searching, I finally found this small piece of ironwork at Hobby Lobby. The size was pretty perfect for the size of my mailbox and it was on sale for only $2.50 (regular price $4.99 with 50% off). In case you’re in search of something similar, this kind of thing is in the “Wall Decor” section of HL.
First, I spray painted the mailbox black. I didn’t want any of the red peeking out from underneath the applique. Once that was good and dry, it was time to attach it to the mailbox. I was originally going to use screws, given that there are screw holes in the ironwork, but really, why drill through metal when glue works just as well?
I half measured, half eyeballed where to put the applique and marked the placement with a pencil. Then I used a healthy dose of E-6000 epoxy glue to secure it to the surface and let it dry flat overnight.
I followed up with another coat of glossy black spray paint for a unified look and ended up using nearly the whole can of spray paint. I may have a bit of a lead finger, though. I don’t really know when to stop.
Overall, it looks so much more sophisticated, especially for less than $10. And the black definitely de-emphasizes the mailbox. We’ve never had our mail stolen, but why give passers-by any ideas, right?
