There is no doubt that a mailbox can be the very first thing a new guest will see of your home. When giving directions we describe the way the driveway begins: the mailbox. Your personality is automatically assumed if your guest is seeing a unique mailbox. If you have an outgoing personality or special hobbies, there are some out of the ordinary wood mailboxes which will fit in with your home. There are also simple ways to turn the beginning of your driveway into a great first impression quite easily.

Wood mailboxes with unique themes or shapes are available to purchase in stores or on the web. Novelty wood mailboxes are great conversation starters because they are so unusual and come all shapes and designs from animals to people to vehicles.

Another way to show your personality and make the driveway more exciting is a customized wood mailbox. These wood mailboxes are often hand-painted with scenes or designs that fit your style and match the theme of the yard. These mailboxes are sand carved into the wood and then hand painted with waterproof paints. If you do not want a picture carved and painted on the box, you can purchase wood mailboxes which have your name and/or address hand-carved in different colors and fonts.

Wood mailboxes can also be purchased with nothing on them, giving you the option to paint them yourself. This option can be a used as a nice housewarming gift for a friend or it can be a great way to show your artistic talents to the neighbors. Letting your children paint and have some artistic influence on your home is also a creative option. Be sure to purchase a plain wood mailbox which has been sanded with a smooth surface to make painting easier. Primer should be applied and allowed to dry before painting and all paints should be water resistant to avoid damage from the rain.

Changing the post which it sits on is the easiest and cheapest option for changing the look of your wood mailbox. These posts can simply be a cedar beam painted to match your existing mailbox or theme of the home and garden. Changing and decorating the post gives you a lot of freedom to do what you want and takes away the stress of ruining an expensive product if you make a mistake. Cedar beams are easy to attach to the wood mailbox and you will only need the beam, waterproof paint, some cement, and a shovel to dig a hole in the ground.

A durable log or branch in laying in the yard can also be a creative wood mailbox post. This look is very organic and natural but this log cannot have spots that are rotting or breaking or your mailbox will not last very long outside. You will need to strip the bark on the branch and sand it until it is smooth and easy to paint or carve on.

Planting some flowers on or around your wood mailbox is a simple way to brighten up the look of your driveway. Some wood mailboxes are available with boxes attached to the back to hold flowers or wood rectangular boxes can be built or purchased to surround your wood mailbox post with a garden of beautiful plants.