Out with the Old – In with the Older

It seems to me like there are a lot of home design and DIY bloggers out there who either do not work outside the home or else they are shop owners, website entrepreneurs or work in the design field in some capacity (furniture design, interior decorating, etc.). I am not running into a lot of tech sales women out there who blog about home design and decorating on the side? So I’m either a bit of a pioneer or else slightly schizophrenic in my interests.

My day job is in the technology industry.  I spend my weekdays either in my sunny home office doing virtual presentations, negotiating contracts or keeping up on the latest technology nuances in my field. When I’m not in my office I’m on a plane and in conference room helping industry leaders decide how to improve their technology processes. (Or I’m at a business dinner making new friends over a nice bottle of wine and a ribeye. Sales is a great field for we social butterflies of the world!)

But I don’t care who you are or what you do. At the end of the day (literally) all of us want to end our days in a home that rises up and embraces us. We want to snuggle on our couches with our families. We all have somewhere that we come home to and that space is important to us. (In regard to the “mommy wars” – the commonality between stay at home moms and work outside the home moms is that the word “home” is used in both descriptions. We all have homes – and our homes matter to all of us.)

I honestly think it’s completely normal to spend all day talking about technology best practice and all night Pinteresting my husband to death. (Love you, honey!) Doesn’t everyone do that? Huh. Well I do!

And so today’s blog post is our latest DIY project. I say “our” in a very flippant manner. For the only aspect of any DIY project requiring power tools is that I thought of it. Cowboy actually is the one who has to do the implementing. (He is a busy entrepreneur with a day job, too. How lovely it ‘twould be if he just spent all day building my dreams . . . but alas, life is about balance. And we have a lot to sift through, as you do as well. So take heart!)

Our home (The Lighthouse – named because of all the wonderful natural light that pours into it) came with a pretty standard black plastic mailbox. The former home owner had edged it with brick and planted some nice perennials around it. But nothing about it screamed, “I love old vintage crap!” – which is pretty much our family motto.

It all started with an innocent offhand comment to Cowboy (it always starts that way). “Honey, what do you think of building a new mailbox out of vintage pieces?” If he looks at me halfway receptively I then continue on with a sentence that usually starts with the cryptic phrase, “So I was thinking . . . “.

Thankfully, Cowboy and I are cut from the same rustic piece of barn wood. He was on board with the concept 100%.

A few months after kicking it around we had compiled the elements we would need and I simply waited for this project to get on his schedule. How thrilled was I when last week while at a business dinner the following picture came into my phone . . .

It had begun!

(I love how the old boring mailbox is lying in the driveway like a corpse on its way to the morgue.)

I excitedly showed my clients and colleagues the picture and would provide the visual updates over the course of the dinner. As I schmoozed over my rib eye, Cowboy was back home doing his out with the old in with the older thing. (We make a great team!)

The entire concept was pretty simple. Attach a rustic mailbox to a vintage porch post. And that is exactly what he did!

But there was a little twist to my design. I was really envisioning some kind of trellis that I could plant a flowering Clematis  vine next to that would climb around the mailbox in the summer. So when we found this old gate – I knew we had our trellis. Cowboy secured it to the back of the post. And when I got back from my business trip the next day I finished the edging (rocks from my parents’ farm) and planted some Celosia for a little fall color. (I tucked in a few tulip bulbs as well for spring color near the creeping Phlox.)

We’re both absolutely thrilled with how it turned out! All I have left to do is paint our house number on the side (I’m going to use a cursive font in white) and this little vintage guy will be done.

We absolutely love it! It is unique, creative – and us.

Design Tip

Look for little unexpected places to show your style. The mailbox is the perfect example! You don’t have to build your own  – but do choose one that gives both curb appeal and take the time to do some minimal landscaping around it.

Don’t have a mailbox area? Whatever your entry point to your home is, make it inviting. And make it yours. I am all for flowers or bushes if it works – but even a simply wreath on a condo or apartment door makes the entry point to your home inviting. (I lived in several apartments when I was just starting out, trust me – I now how to spruce up any living arrangement.) Remember, you are not just welcoming your guests – you are welcoming yourself. So take the time to tell yourself, “Welcome home!” in whatever capacity and style says it to you.

Thank you for stopping by my design blog! My next piece will be about my sun room/home office transformation. The painters are here and I am absolutely obsessing over this project – can’t wait to share it with all of you. Follow me on Instagram @audramehl for some sneak peeks of Cowboy’s muscle work on the windows and the current messy (but awesome!) situation.

Until next time . . .

Peace, Joy and Blessings, 

~Audra

“Then my people will live in a peaceful habitation, And in secure dwellings and in undisturbed resting places.” — Isaiah 32:18