Boom! Sometimes the game of life doles out a PAY card. It was 3am when I was roused from my sweet dreams by a resounding CRASH!!! Shaking Burt like a squirrel foraging for acorns in an oak tree I ran to the front window. A white SUV momentarily hesitated in front of our house and then sped away. The next morning we clearly saw the light of day. Our mailbox post had a chunk of wood knocked out of it and a tiny dent in the metal box itself. This was a decisive moment to either sulk and live with it or grasp an opportunity to create something better. Of course, you guessed it; couldn’t wait to Google “coastal mailboxes.” Many were adorable… but wow!… so pricey. A new $100-200 mailbox was not in the budget. 

So glad I decided to give it a try myself. Following is the process and end result. You too can have an adorable coastal theme mailbox for a small fraction of the cost with little effort. The best part? You will be the only one on the block showcasing your original creation!

Here’s what you’ll need:

• Metal mailbox (used is okay)
• Mailbox post (we just kept existing one)
• 3-4 round pilings of various heights
• Coarse, thick rope (Home Depot)
• Paint- 2 colors and a metallic (outdoor proof)
• Paintbrush
• Clear varnish spray (optional)

Here’s what we did:

1. Dug pilings just a few inches into the ground around mailbox’s original secure post camouflaging most of it. See pic.
2. Wrapped pilings with rope and staple gunned to piling.
3. Could add nautical netting…starfish.. Be creative!

Mailbox:

1. Remove mailbox and clean and dry if using existing metal box.
2. Paint lines straight across lengthwise in various shades and lengths, buffing and softly blurring gently with cloth. The idea is to create an aged “watery” effect. I chose a bluish green (same as our shutters), a soft blue, and a golden color to mimic a copper patina. Use the metallic sparingly.
3. Can spray paint clear Rustoleum varnish when dry. I opted to just let it “age”…Will see how it holds.up.
4. Reattach and voila! Get ready for compliments! 

Tips

1. It’s okay to let some of the original mailbox color show through. Ours was brown and I incorporated it as another color.
2. You could mount box directly on piling(dug in) and use it as the post. Ours was pretty sturdy yet so kept it and chose to forego the extra work of pulling old post out and digging and setting new piling deep into ground.
3. We got the pilings for free! Called around and a local piling company let us pick from their salvage yard. Check lumber companies, too.

TIME: < 2 hours
COST: < $20.00