Domesticated Nomad: mailbox

Thursday, August 18, 2011

Curb Appeal

We have a cute little ranch house, not my preferred architectural style, but I'm embracing it.

The curb appeal needed some assistance though.

This was taken in the spring so not all the hostas and lilies are in yet.

The cream color wasn't offensive, but it just kind of washed out. I'm not so much a fan of the brown trim and door either. The numbers were really tiny and a very old style.

One annoyance was that while I didn't like the original mailbox, I loved that it was on the house. We move in and then the post office says we have to move it down to ground level, but near the porch. It's hard to make that look good!

Here's a couple pictures of the transition. We painted, but still needed to do more planting.

I didn't blur the 0 to give you an idea of the style of numbers.

So here it is now:

I repainted it a green with gray undertones. It just pairs with the brick color better. The door went black, the numbers are bigger and more modern, and I added some decorative touches.

I found a great mailbox that is designed for this type of placement. I lucked out because they are typically special order and pretty pricey, but this was marked down because someone returned it.

I also scored lots of mature plants from my master gardener neighbor. She was changing things up in her yard and offered not only to give me 3 roses, 2 shrubs and 2 hollies, but also gave advice as to where to put them. I'm so lucky. :)

We plan to repaint the soffits a charcoal gray so that there is no more brown, but it's not that noticeable right now and we are running out of steam for outdoor projects right now. I'd love some window boxes and to change the front walkway. In my dreams I add a small pergola to the front porch, but that's just a dream for now.

For now, I kick back in that chair, watch the kids play, and enjoy my not-bland house.