When you overhear people talking about renovating the outside of their home, your mind probably starts thinking about siding, decks, and bigger projects that constitute more of an overhaul to really give your house a facelift that passers by will notice from the street. When we renovated our home, however, there were also several smaller details that took a lot less time and money but really made a big difference in making our house look presentable and even friendly. As weird as it might sound, our absolute favourite detail to make over was the mailbox! Sure, you can buy cute or novelty mailboxes from the store and put one of those up for a nice, clean look… but making your own is a lot more fun!
Check out these 15 awesome DIY tutorials that will help you make a welcoming mailbox that shows the neighbourhood a little bit of your personality and style before they’ve even stopped by for an afternoon visit.
1. Paint and vinyl monogram mailbox
Are you quite fine with the idea of a regular classic mailbox but you’d rather make it a little more eye catching than the default silver metal it came in from the store? Then grab a few standard crafting supplies and you’ll have just about everything you need to make this simple customized box from Lolly Jane! They’ve used paint and stick vinyl to add a monogram, and clear box number to make sure their mail goes to the right place, and a cute coloured pattern just for kicks.
2. DIY ombre mailbox
Perhaps your house is the kind of bright and cheerful place that involves a lot of colour and maybe even follows a scheme in its exterior décor? Then you might choose to customize yourself a mailbox that follows suit! We love the way Embrace My Space painted this mailbox to have a cute ombre effect that gives you a full colour range, going from the darkest colour in your scheme to the lightest one.
3. Mailbox garden
Are you a firm believer in getting the whole look and really going all out if you’re going to invest time and money in a project? Then perhaps the part of the home you want to spruce up isn’t solely the mailbox itself, but the way in which the box is actually display! BHG gets where you’re coming from and suggests surrounding your box, no matter how it looks, with an actual garden all of its own. They’ll even show you how to build a nice stone flower bed border to keep your garden neat looking and contained.
4. DIY mini house mailbox
Is your house the kind of adorable place that almost looks more like a cottage than a year round home? In that case, you might feel like you’re working with a particular aesthetic that you’d like to stick with. It would look kind of funny to have an adorable “white picket fence” visual happening throughout the property and then stick an ultra modern looking bright metal mailbox out front, sticking out like a sore thumb. Instead, try following the instructions on Four Generations to make yourself a cute wooden box that looks like a miniature version of your pleasant home!
5. Hand painted house mailbox
Are you in love with the idea of making yourself a little mailbox that looks just like a home, but you’re also a talented painter who likes to put your skills to good use at every opportunity you get? In that case, you might prefer this tutorial from Pretty Handy Girl instead! They’ll give you an idea of how they did this adorable design and you can either recreate that or customize that basic concept to make a version all your own.
6. Super modern mailbox
Is your home brand new and built to exemplify the height of modern architecture? Well, it won’t make much sense for you to have a cute wooden cottage box sitting outside then, if you ask us. Instead, try making yourself a modern semi-industrial looking mail slot that actually suits the linear aesthetic and materials involve in your home itself! This streamlined metal design from Modfrugal is a bit more of a challenge than some of the other designs we’ve outlined for you, but it’s entirely doable if you’re willing to spend the time and put in the effort to get the perfect look.
7. Wooden pallet mailbox
Pallet DIY projects are sweeping the nation right now and we can’t blame everyone for being obsessed! Besides being a great way repurpose something that might otherwise go to waste, wooden pallet décor is also an awesome way to add a bit of an upcycled rustic chic feeling to your home, even if you’re just including it in the simple details. Little Things, for example, suggests making a mailbox stand out of wooden pallets and staining the boards to get the finish you like best.
8. Modpodge mailbox with cool interior
Have you always been a fan of bright colour blocking and kitchy patterns, so much so that you’d be quite happy for just about anyone to see what your décor tastes are like before they’ve even stepped through your front door? In that case, we think you’ll be a pretty big fan of this brightly painted mailbox with an awesome interior. This tutorial from Modpodge Rocks shows you how to stick patterned paper, wallpaper, or fabric to the inner walls of your mailbox in order to really make your mail delivery person’s morning every time they open it to pop a letter in! You might not choose lobsters for yours like they have in the picture, but really any bright colour or pattern will jazz the regular old process of checking the mail up at least a little bit.
9. Easy cereal mailbox
Perhaps when we said “mailbox”, your mind went to a place that’s a little bit more literal? After all, sometimes mailboxes are actually necessary indoors! If you work in an office environment or even work from home, chances are good that you’ll still have mail to sort through and, while you might not have a delivery person that comes and puts it there the way they would in your street mailbox, it’s still nice to have somewhere organized to put the things you have to mail out or the correspondence that you still have to go through that day. We love Everyday Dishes‘ simple suggestion of making a cute, decorative little desktop mailbox from an empty cereal box.
10. Mid-century wall mounted mailbox
Have you always loved the precise look of the average family home mailbox from the mid-century because that’s the kind of aesthetic your grandparents’ house had when you were growing up? We can totally understand how even something as simple as a mailbox can add a bit of enjoyable nostalgia to your day! That’s why we thought this quick and easy mailbox tutorial from Dream Green DIY was such a great fit for our list.
11. DIY wooden pallet letter box
Okay, we know we already showed you one wooden pallet mailbox idea on this list, but there are just so many cool designs out there made from pallets that we just can’t help showing you another, since they’re completely different! Where the previous one showed you how to add a pallet stand to a box that already existed from a store, this one shows you how to make a completely independent tall mailbox from scratch using reclaimed pallet wood. Get the full instructions for making your own on On a Crafty Adventure.
12. Kids paper mailbox
Now that you’ve been scrolling through awesome mailbox designs all morning, have your kids taken note of what you’re looking at and started playing mailman? Well, here’s a great crafting project to keep them busy with this afternoon so that they can play the game ever better! We love this little paper mailbox idea from Love, Luck, Kisses & Cake, especially since it comes complete with a “you’ve got mail” flag that actually slides up and down.
Have you made another kind of DIY mailbox design to place outside your house but you don’t see one similar here on our list? Tell us all about how you did yours or link us to pictures of your work in the comments section!
