Before we start this, I just have to say how touched I was by all of your sweet, sweet comments on my whole sappy dreams coming true post yesterday. Y’all seriously floored me and I’m still going through responding to each of you. All I can say is wow. I’m so blessed to have you as not only readers, but friends.
Ok, that’s all the sappiness I can do for one day. Onto the mailbox makeover.
Disclosure: This post is sponsored by Thompson’s, but ya’ll know how I roll, all opinions are 100% mine. This post contains affiliate links for your shopping convenience. Click here to read my full disclosure policy.
Does anyone else tend to sometimes forget about their outdoor decor? (Ooo, she’s rhyming this morning.)
I do. I don’t forget about my porch, but things like my mailbox that aren’t as close to my actual living space, often get overlooked. I tend to focus on decorating inside. Needless to say, my mailbox was looking rough.
Grunt Labor had put some stain on the mailbox post a couple years ago when we first moved in our beloved foreclosure. It hadn’t been touched since.
See what I mean? Now, those mums are the bee’s knees, Grunt Labor is an excellent gardener, but the mailbox needed a facelift.
I started by giving the post a quick wipe-down to remove any spiderwebs and grossness. I also removed the actual mailbox. I gave the post a coat of Thompson’s Exterior Wood Stain in Traditional Brown.
This was my first rodeo with a spray stain. It worked just like a regular canned stain, except of course its a spray. But, just like with regular stain, you can wipe off any excess stain you don’t want depending on how dark you want the stain. I wanted my post pretty brown, so I didn’t wipe off any stain and I gave it two coats.
Just after the first and second coats, this is what the post looked like:
Don’t worry about that unevenness look, it all soaks in and evens out in the end. If you do have any runs though, you will want to wipe those away.
While the post was drying, I decided to give the numbers a facelift as well with a coat of green spray paint and I cleaned the bird poo off the mailbox itself. I’m sure my postman is grateful.
In under an hour the post was dry and I had the numbers and mailbox reattached.
Sorry, I have no idea how I managed to get that crooked of a picture.I’ve got high hopes that this will hold up its beauty for a while now! Have you used spray stains before?
Update: You have to see how I used this spray stain to update my lattice in under an hour! Huge change, y’all!
More outdoor projects you might want to see:
Staining Pressure Treated Wood – No Waiting Required – fastest way to stain a deck!
12 Outdoor Furniture Makeovers – easy makeovers to refresh that tired outdoor furniture!
13 Fantastic Outdoor Projects – everything from furniture to curb appeal!
You know you don’t wanna miss any of this crazy.
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Love the mailbox makeover. Also Google was being terrible and wouldn’t let me leave a comment on your post yesterday, but I am so thrilled for you. Such a great post and I think you deserve every accalade you can get. Congratulations!!!! Dreams really do come true and I am thrilled yours did. Hugs, Marty
Thanks, Marty! And you are so darn sweet! I don’t know if I really deserve it, but I am so excited over it!! Thank you so much, friend!
Lovely transformation! Love the pop of color!
Thanks, Selene! I thought it needed a little color as well!
Less than an hour is music to my ears! For some reason, my projects always end up being more like 5 or 6 or 7 hours. I’m seriously screwed for whenever I have kids. There’s no way I can keep up this pace! Ha ha. Oh wait – – I can come to Jenna’s blog for quick and easy DIY inspiration like this! Love the dramatic transformation – – and all thanks to some spray stain and green spray paint. Magical!
Oh, Lauren, you will be able to do anything even when you have kids – you are super woman! Honestly, I do most of my projects when the kid is in preschool two days a week, the rest of the week, I edit photos or write posts. You always have spectacular projects and can easily tell that you put your heart into everything! That’s why I love you!
How fun! Love that pop of color. It’s awesome how a simple change can make such a big impact!
Thanks, Erin! I love the pop of green as well!
I love it! I have some of that spray stain, as well, and was wondering how it looked when applied. My husband and I bought a foreclosure this summer and we have a fence in the back where some boards were replaced, but not stained like the others…we want to replace the fence sooner than later with something in better shape, but I thought about giving the naked boards a quick spray just so the difference wouldn’t be so stark. Oh, and I ADORE the green numbers! 🙂
I think that stain would work perfectly for those fence boards, Brooke. You can easily wipe some of it off when you are spraying if its too dark, so that you could match it up as best as possible!
Thanks for linking up to Take-A-Look Tuesday over at Sugar Bee Crafts – you were featured today!
–Mandy, SugarBeeCrafts.com
Thanks so much, Mandy!
In an hour? That’s awesome! Stain in a spray? That’s amazing! Love your DIYs, girl 😉
Hugs,
Jamie
An hour! And stain in a spray! Its like the heavens parted and sent down gifts! hahaha!
Love the makeover on the mailbox! Very cute! I want to redo ours, but haven’t quite decided what exactly I want to do.
Thanks, girl! It was easy!
It looks like it was!
So cheerful!
Thanks, Jennifer!
How did you spray paint the numbers? Were they aluminum?
Hi! The numbers were just metal ones that came from Home Depot, I believe. I used a green Rust-Oleum Spray paint on them.
Looks great! The mailbox is often overlooked, but it is really the first piece of curb appeal for your yard and home. My own mailbox could use a little TLC. Thanks for the inspiration.
Thanks, Carol!
I love the updated look! So simple and such a awesome change!
Thanks, Danielle!
I love this idea! We moved into a new house recently that desperately needs a mailbox makeover. I’m going to have to look into doing this. I especially love what you did with the numbers (and that you gave it new life without replacing everything – great way to repurpose!!)
Thanks, Jen! It was a really simple makeover with big impact!