Mailbox Posts

As you think about replacing your curbside mailbox with the idea of striking an exterior decor note, don't forget to look at mailbox posts at the same time. You've got many more options than the treated square wood post so typical of suburban developments. Nor do you need to stick with the generic, rounded-top rectangular USPS mailbox with a flag to raise to signal outgoing mail and a door at one end.

No matter what the architecture of your house and your personal style, the variety of styles in commercially manufactured posts is probably wide enough to accommodate both. The only USPS requirements are that Mailbox Posts are stable, secure, and strong enough to support the mailbox, and stand between 41 and 44 inches from the ground.

You'll find traditional mailbox posts made and styled in wood, cast aluminum, and wrought iron, to name a few. More recently, maintenance-free vinyl has become popular. Polyethylene resin is also used, most often in a natural limestone or other stone finish, and is hard to distinguish from the real thing. No matter the material, you'll find any number of variations within colonial, Victorian, rustic, and contemporary styles.

Mailbox Posts: A Few Design Ideas

Mailbox planters are more and more popular nowadays, and with good reason. A unique combination of post and planter, they add beauty and function to any landscape. Maybe you have a Victorian style house, either a brick row house in the city with a wrought-iron porch railing, or a clapboard farmhouse. A wrought-iron Victorian post with elaborate floral detailing complements both. Maybe you have a Craftsman-style bungalow in California. Consider repeating the square porch column motif at the end of the driveway.