Your mailbox may not be something you give much thought to but it does play a pretty important role – keeping your mail and parcels safe and dry until you choose to retrieve them. It also gives both visitors and passers by their first impression of who lives at a property – and a mailbox which is broken, rusty or generally neglected probably isn’t going to give a very favorable impression.
So if your mailbox has seen better days, or you simply want to give it a makeover, going down the custom mailbox route is a good idea. You can do this by working with a professional company who will create a bespoke mailbox based on your preferences for materials, color, and decoration, or take on the challenge of making your own.
There are advantages and disadvantages for both routes, so deciding which is best really comes down to which is most practical for you as an individual.
Professional custom mailboxes
There are two routed to choose between here. The most straightforward is to opt for a company which uses an online program to guide you through the process of picking everything from basic style to materials used, ultimately producing a mailbox which you have customized, but is not going to be completely original; after all every customer is using the same menus to design theirs!
This type of design tends to be decorated with the basics, either your house number or house number and street name. Regardless of the limitations this is an easy way to be sure you get a great mailbox by doing nothing more than choosing a few details and making a payment.
Another option is to pay for a mailbox designer to create a completely unique mailbox. You can be confident of a great result, tailored to meet your exact specs, for minimal effort on your part. If you like the idea of a bespoke design but have a limited budget sourcing a professional artist to paint a standard mailbox is a good compromise, or you could look into bespoke mailbox covers which can incorporate your photographs or other visual materials.
DIY custom mailboxes
There are lots of websites packed with ideas and images for ways to customize your mailbox, and plenty of helpful video tutorials which can help too. There are even some which walk you through the entire process.
A DIY custom mailbox can be cheaper than paying for a professional design, presuming you have access to the materials and tools needed to make it, and of course both the knowledge, skills and confidence to see the job through to the end.
There are some easier options of your budget, timescale or personal choice makes it more sensible to customize your current mailbox. These include a lick of paint, (try a metallic version for extra impact), or DIY decals which can also be designed especially for you if you prefer.
Or you can look around for a mailbox kit that provides all the basics and the instructions on how to put it together, before decorating as you see fit. Even though you aren’t making them completely from scratch, you can still create the best custom mailbox for your home.