Easy Makeover Idea: Vintage Post Office Boxes

My husband has this thing with buying vintage stuff on Craiglist.

He has bought all sorts of crazy stuff on there- like an old turnstile from the stadium at the University of Alabama, a few rows of movie theater seating from the Alabama Theatre, a Coke machine from the 1940s and a 5 foot tall popcorn dispenser from the 1950s.

He’s even bought a few one-armed bandit vintage slot machines that weigh about 40-leven tons each, but maybe I shouldn’t mention that publicly since I’m not sure how legal it is to buy slot machines on Craigslist.

Back in 2013 I wrote a hilarious post about all the people he has encountered in his Adventures in Craigslisting. That Drag Queen from the Miss Apollo pageant still takes the cake.

Anyway, the point is that he still has a bit of a Craigslist addiction, and like any addiction, he kinda tries to hide it from me. He doesn’t tell me when he buys these things. Stuff just magically appears out of thin air.  I never know what kind of treasures I will find when I venture down into the basement and start peeking underneath moving blankets.

But I am not complaining. Because check out this latest purchase….

EDIT: My husband just read this post and informed me that this post office box actually came not from Craigslist but from Sue at The Blu Building– our local antique dealer!  Thanks, Sue! 😀

One day a few weeks ago I spied this bank of vintage post office boxes gleaming from the corner of the garage and I said to myself “I LOVE THIS MAN OF MINE.” and then I promptly stole his vintage post office boxes to use for myself.

I did text him first to ask if he has some plans for them, which he answered yes, of course. But until he gets around to creating his project in the basement, I call dibs.

Sooooooo… say hello to my new fall foyer vignette.

Here is what I created from this beautiful golden bank of post office boxes!

Vintage Post Office Boxes on a table

Our foyer needed a makeover for fall, so I did some quick rearranging.

Fall Foyer Decor with old post office boxes

There is not a single screw or nail involved in this project, just a little heavy lifting. I used my little kidney-shaped wooden side table as a base and sat the post office boxes on top, then decorated around it.

vintage mailboxes on a side table

The top and sides of the mailboxes are a putty-colored metal that left a lot to be desired, so I covered them up with a table runner to hide all the ugly rust spots.

Fall decor - red mustard box, copper candlestick and old post office boxes

I added a few of my favorite fall decor up top, and it instantly looked like it was custom made for that spot in my foyer.

PS- that “Feast” sign is one of my free printables that you can download right here if you want one for yourself!

Underneath it all, I tossed some white pumpkins into my old green telephone toolbox and added a bucket full of pyracantha clippings that I spotted in the carpool line at my son’s school.

white pumpkins in a green box with pyracantha berries

Yes, I am that embarrassing mom who starts hacking down limbs off the trees in the school parking lot. Some people are addicted to Craigslist. Others are addicted to stealing bright colored seasonal foliage off the side of the road. We all have our vices.

But it wasn’t stealing, because I went into the office to ask for scissors to cut off some branches, so they did give me permission first.

Note to self: toss a pair of hedge clippers in my trunk ASAP.

Now I have pyracantha berries in huge arrangements all over my house and I have zero regrets about being that embarrassing mom.

Because guess what?? It’s fall home tour week, and this blogger can use as many free fall foliage clippings that she can get her hands on!

Fall Home Tours Starting soon!

Come back tomorrow to take my full fall home tour, along with 20+ other farmhouse style home decor bloggers all this week. Here’s a little teaser trailer video to show you what’s in store for ya…





See y’all back here in the morning with lots more fall decorating ideas from my home tour!

Credit – Beth Bryan