Out With the Sad Mailbox In With the New Mailbox

Goodbye, sad mailbox. Hello, new mailbox that is the best-looking one on the block.

Not that it’s a competition. It’s not. But if it were…

Our old mailbox was competing for the worst one on the block.

Here it is after it made its acquaintance with a snowplow. There was no coming back from this. That door never opened or closed well after that unfortunate encounter. Who needs dry junk mail anyway?

We’ve been working on reducing our curb appall and maximizing our curb appeal by restoring the low stone walls that run along the front of our property facing the road.

It seemed natural to include a new mailbox in this curb appeal quest.

We also took this opportunity to move the mailbox location about six feet to the left, and we placed it directly in front of our giant elm tree.

The primary reason for placing it in front of the tree is that it makes use of and gives intention to an awkward gap in the stone wall we are reconstructing. Of course, we created that gap in the stone wall so that the tree can grow freely, but it does look a little weird.

The secondary reason for placing the new mailbox in front of the elm tree is that maybe the snowplow will think twice about taking on the tree? I’m pushing this theory even though I know a pretty mailbox just makes it a more attractive target.

Surprisingly, we didn’t encounter any huge roots when digging this hole for the mailbox.

Plus, in an instant upgrade, we installed the mailbox post in concrete per the instructions.

Guess what our old mailbox post was NOT installed in? That might explain why it was leaning and why Handy Husband lifted it out of the ground as easily as picking up a stick.

Using the mailbox post as a coffee cup holder is not an approved use for the post, but it was handy while it lasted, which was the amount of time it took for the concrete to dry, after which we installed the mailbox.

Should we ever want a different mailbox, we can reuse this metal post and mount.

Here’s a side-by-side comparison of the old and new mailboxes.

Don’t let this picture fool you. The old mailbox was worse than this picture makes it look, but this photo shows you how far we moved the new mailbox, and the difference in style between the two.

Style, as in the old one had none. The new one has it in spades.

While I love the details of the mailbox post and the oil-rubbed bronze color, it is the part I CAN’T show you that might be the best.

The address numbers!

I can’t show you them because that would be doxxing myself on the internet. Full disclosure, I removed the numbers in Photoshop. I’ve done that for years, and I do the same for our neighbors’ mailboxes.

Just imagine me exclaiming to Handy Husband not once but multiple times, “These are the sexiest numbers I’ve ever seen.” To which he replied, “Yes, yes, I know. You’ve said.”

If you could see the address numbers in person, I know you’d agree with me. They make the mailbox.

No flat stickers for this new mailbox. I ordered adhesive 3-D numbers. These are bronze in color, and they look so classy in real life.

Maybe you don’t need an entirely new mailbox, just new mailbox numbers.

Handy Husband and I have been driving around, noticing mailboxes after we installed our new one. We both commented on how this one small detail – whether or not your mailbox is super sad-looking like ours used to be – really does make an impression. You might not consciously register it, but it does speak to your overall perception of the rest of the house.

And because I wanted to extend the good mojo of this mailbox, the first piece of mail that went into the box was a happy letter to a friend. I thought of it like a blessing of sorts. Maybe that’s a silly thing, but it can’t hurt, right?

How’s your mailbox situation? Has it had an encounter with the snowplow, too? You can comment here on this blog post, email me here, or reach out via direct message on Instagram or Facebook. Comments are like happy mail from a friend. They totally make my day!