{Giveaway is Closed}
The winner is: #24 judiW
I finished up one more little project that I can’t wait to share with you this week. One more to check off the long list.
This month’s Lowes challenge was fixing up an outdoor space and I knew just what I wanted to tackle this time around. My mailbox is nothing great to look at. Old, peeling wood posts that are probably original to the house.
See, not exciting at all. Here’s my sad little mailbox. Bricks were around it originally in some sort of pattern, but it was long over grown and not very attractive. Definitely in need of a makeover, don’t you think? The original wood wasn’t even worth saving, so we bought new 4×4’s to cut the new post with, pressure treated lumber of course.
I picked up some supplies from Lowes and decided on this cute sign by Nite Bright to display my house numbers on the mailbox. It is the coolest little system, all packed in one package. It comes with numbers 0-9, several of them, that are plastic and they are sticky on the back. The sign has a little template and you can place your numbers in there to get them lined up properly and they are so cute. You can mount this on top of the mailbox or on the post. I opted for the post.
So, remember our mailbox post that I had to whack off the end of? Yep, it’s ready to go now. My dad got the old mailbox out and the new one in place, along with a pretty new white metal mailbox.
I picked up this cute little finial to go on top of the post. When you can add just one little thing to make a mailbox look even better, I say do it. Finials are perfect for that for just a couple of bucks. I used my drill to start a pilot hole and added the finial.
With the addition of a new white mailbox, this is so much cuter than before. Using the same stain from the back stairs to stain the post, it now gives my house instant curb appeal.
Here’s the cute little numbers sign that is now attached and can be seen from both directions and it lights up at night. And those cute little metal fencing pieces add so much charm too, don’t you think? I did blur my numbers to keep the stalkers away. 
You know, safety on the internet. In real life, the numbers are crisp and perfect.
Now, the mailbox is adorable! I love it so much better and now this actually feels homey to me. I’ll eventually add some pretty flowers around the box and it will be extra special then. It’s too hot to plant flowers, but I can’t wait til next spring and hopefully I’ll be tackling some more outdoor projects. Fencing from Lowes too.
So, that’s my spruce up to the mailbox this month. I’m so glad to get this finished and couldn’t wait to show it off. Charming, cottagey, it has such curb appeal now.
We also got some great cleaning products to try out this month from Lowes! All of these available in your local Lowe’s store.
Dawn Grill cleaner and Mr. Clean Magic Eraser and Outdoor Pro cleaner. My sister and brother-in-law’s grill was the perfect candidate to try it out. We had just grilled out for my dad’s birthday and the grill was plenty dirty.
The outside of a grill definitely gets dirty and we don’t always take the time to wipe it down after use.
There was plenty of baked on grease along the top edge. We didn’t clean the grates even though you can take them out and clean them. I kept trying to figure out what that pink is on the stainless grill and finally figured out it’s the red bottle reflected.
I sprayed down the grill and let it sit for about 15 minutes to soak off some of that baked on grease.
Then I wiped it down with a wet rag in warm water. See all the dirt coming off? I’d say it’s working pretty good!
The front looks much better now. Most of the baked on grease wiped off without a lot of effort.
And that side panel looks better too.
After cleaning, the grill looks nice and shiny now. All in all, these are good products to try out.
I am thrilled to be a Lowes Creative Ideas blogger and Lowes provided a giftcard for the outdoor mailbox project. All opinions and ideas are my own.
Thanks to Lowes for sending me some products to try out and they want to send a set to ONE of my readers too. Just leave a comment and tell me what is your favorite thing to grill out in the summer?
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Thanks for stopping by! I'm Rhoda, from Atlanta, GA and I love decorating and DIY projects. Decorating a home doesn't have to cost a fortune and I've spent years thrifting at antiques markets and yardsales, finding those treasures that make a home unique. I'm here to inspire and encourage other women to find their own inner creativity. Won't you join me? 
{ 81 comments… read them below or add one }
My husband is the griller and this summer we have really enjoyed grilling salmon but of course he loves to make his famous wings an Naan bread is a crowd favorite.
The mailbox looks nice. We planted Carolina Jasmine around ours a few years ago. It looks and smells beautiful when in bloom but, the down side, it needs CONSTANT trimming. I don’t think I’d plant it at the mailbox again. Your house is looking so lovely. Keep up the good work.
Lemon wedges!!!! Grilled lemon adds the most delicious zing to salads, steaks, fish and more. We grill several lemons’ worth to keep some on hand. My family also loves grilled pineapple, in salsas, as a side to main dishes, and for dessert.
Our family loves grilled tilapia and lemon wedges, so light and satisfying in these hot summer months. Congrats on the new house, you inspire us daily to get creative!
We love to grill portabella mushrooms and squash & zucchini.
You might want to try “lasagna gardening” on that spot around your mailbox. It saves a lot of time and really works! Basically, if in the Fall, you cover the area with several sheets of newspaper and then cover that with a few layers of mulch, you will have an easy no dig garden in the Spring.
http://organicgardening.about.com/od/startinganorganicgarden/a/lasagnagarden.htm
What a great little makeover! Love the crisp white! As for summer grilling, I’ll take a rib eye steak any day!
Hi Rhoda! Great mailbox makeover! Great give-away!
We love grilling shish kabobs!
I will take a steak please…..I love beef! I love what you have been doing with your new home! I am anxious to see it all completed!
My favorite thing to grill out is chicken but I’m soon going to venture out and grill some fruit and from what I hear that my soon be my new favorite.
I am so glad to learn about the grill cleaner. I am definitely going to try it.
Love your mailbox transformation! Some black-eyed Susans would look pretty in your little enclosed area around it.
Brenda
Great job on the mailbox Rhoda!
We grill EVERYTHING! Steaks, chicken, fish and veggies. One of our favorites is a grilled salsa…corn, avocado, and tomatoes! Mix all together after shaving the corn from th cob, taking ate avocado out of the peel and chopped, taking the skin off the tomatoes and chopping, add cilantro, salt, pepper and lime juice!
I love reading your blog with all your projects you tackle! This summer we have been grilling fish with a lot of lemons.
I love to grill pineapple and chicken! Your mailbox looks great. Love the clean white with black contrast, Rhoda. Things are looking good at your “new” house!
Like the curb appeal you added. Maven’s comment is spot on for our brick like clay we have here in GA! I always enjoy a rib eye from the grill!
Just one??? Shrimp kabobs (any kabobs) are one fav. I just love grilling and this summer is the year to do it. It is too hot to cook in the kitchen, even with AC.
Your mailbox looks great and I love the fence.
STEAK!
Pizza! So easy and so awesome! But I’m not waiting to see if I win that cleaner from Lowes – I’m heading out right now to get some!
Your mailbox turned out great! Just adding the finial made a huge difference.
And thank you so much for featuring Rambling Renovators! They have some amazing re-dos! Can’t wait to spend some time over there!!
Hi Rhoda! Every little detail you come up with is adding so much to your new home. I’m with you, the mailbox has to look good. I’ve laughed about the disagreement you and your dad had over the post sticking out.
We love to grill all year round. Recently we made chicken shish kabobs and wrapped each piece of chicken with bacon. Mercy it was delicious! We’ll definitely be repeating that one.
I like to grill hamburgers and steak.
Salmon and steak are our favorites to grill!!! Looking forward to seeing your new mailbox decorated this Christmas:-) Love your creativity.
You and your dad are so talented! The mailbox looks GREAT!
We like to grill steaks and sausage.
Nice little upgrade….very inviting. When I first scrolled through looking at the pics…I thought – oh no. someone spray painted over her new numbers…then I read the accompanying article:)
Def. need to try those cleaning products on my grill..it’s quite a bit worse than your sisters. yucky in fact
My favorite thing to grill is filet mignon….I just learned this summer how to do it properly and now they come out perfect everytime – I don’t have much luck with meat – tend to over cook it because I’m afraid it won’t be done enough…but I’ve learned how to cook the filets perfect without overcooking them…yea!
Ooh! Great giveaway as we are avid grillers. We will be grilling baby back ribs and squash tonight.
We like to grill chicken. WE do it in bulk to have some for salad later.
Teriyaki chicken and grilled corn! Yummy!!
We love to grill chicken that has marinated in Italian dressing.
We love hamburgers, hotdogs and corn on the cob, chicken too!
Love your new mailbox, I think black eyed susan would look so pretty with the white!
Those products really did clean the grill perfectly, really looks brand new now!
Loving that mailbox and the attention to all the little details! Very cute way to display the house number. Our favorites to grill are salmon and marinated London Broil! All those products look great and worth a try! My grill needs cleaning too! Thanks to you and Lowes for the chance to win!
Love how the mailbox turned out! Crisp and clean. Love the addition of the iron fencing. Clematis would be pretty growing up the post too. We are loving our new grill from Lowes!! In this heat we cook 95% of our meals on it, meat, veggies, fruit, yum!!
We love to grill a turkey or turkey breast on our Weber. So juicy and flavorful. Pairs great with potato salad and beans. Great company dinner too!
Your mailbox redo looks great! I am enjoying watching your progress on your home. Tons of work for you & others, but amazing change!
I’m heading to Lowes for that Dawn Grill cleaner. Mine is in dire need of a scrubbing & I am going to give this stuff a try!
Our favorite thing to grill is pork tenderloin.
Great giveaway, our grill could sure use this great product.
We do BIG hamburgers, that are almost like Mini meatloaves. t is my FIL’s recipe, he used to make them all the time and we LOVE them!!! The mailbox looks GREAT! Things are really coming along. I am s hapy for you! XO, inky
Mailbox looks wonderful Rhoda!
Our fav thing to grill out is Cheddarwurst! The whole family loves them!
Love to grill zucchini from the garden! Just brushe it with olive oil, grill, and some salt at the table.
My husband has become an expert at grilling chicken! We like to grill it with a little cumin or fajita seasoning. Then when it is almost ready wrap it in foil with salsa and Mont Jack cheese. Serve that over rice for a great meal!
My favorite thing to make on the grill is pizza. I have a recipe for a really thin crust that comes out crispy and delicious. It’s great for a party, you can have a topping bar ready and people can make their own pizzas. I could use some of that grill cleaner though. We just had our deck redone and the grill is so dirty it’s a bit of an eyesore. Now, if I could get my grill shined up I could have a party and make some of those pizzas…
I am so enjoying your house reno! You’re doing such a good job! And now you’ve inspired me to clean our long neglected grill. We love grilling just about everything. Have iron skillets…grill everything and anything! Lately, we’ve started grilling beer brats in beer in our big iron skillet. Grilling some pineapple and a stir-fry of whatever vegies come out of the garden that day.
My favorite thing to grill is probably shrimp. I put them in a basket, brush on some Italian Dressing and Just wait a few minutes and they’re ready. Yummy.
Can’t wait to see the mailbox with a few pot of mums – the pop of color will make you happy too!
Steak, of course!
We usually grill steak and chicken. I have always wanted to grill corn…maybe this summer. Love your new mailbox!
I love to make grilled chicken – after marinating it in a chipotle marinade. So delicious. My grill could use a GOOD cleaning!
I love the new mailbox, but waiting to see your new floors. I am so excited to see how the Shaw floor will look. My floors need a big change! I am very happy for you, all the hard work you all have done. Now this will tie your home together. We grill everything from hamburger to corn, and even baked biscuits.
Grilled eggplant for sure, either sliced or grilled whole in imparts such a lovely smokey flavour! I also make these little Indian rolls that are steamed first and then thrown on the grill to crsip up. YUM!
CTD
I just wanted to leave a message from my mailman: “Please do not plant flowers around your mailbox. The flowers attract bees and wasps and spiders which are hazardous to your mail carrier.”
So, although I have seen plenty of people who do plant flowers around their mailboxes, I have always refrained from doing so.
My husband and I do not grill outside so please do not include us in your giveaway — maybe next time!
Definitely steak! We’re trying cedar plank salmon for the first time tomorrow with some fresh salmon a friend that lives in Alaska caught and shipped to us. Can’t wait!
A mailbox makeover! I love it. And those products worked like magic on your grill. We just grilled bbq chicken, along with corn on the cob, here last weekend. It’s one of our faves.
Instead of flowers for the mailbox, how about succulents? They’re drought tolerant and won’t attract bees. There are some pretty ones at Lowe’s out here.
Love the little details you added to the mailbox. Just one more way to add curb appeal!
We love to grill in the summer (WE being my hubby, who actually grills, and me, who tries to figure out how much of dinner can be cooked outside rather than heating up the kitchen and dirtying up pots and pans). Chicken is probably our favorite — he cooks up some mean wings, but we also love fresh corn on the cob and asparagus.
Let me tell you a little trick to clean the racks either in your oven or on the grill. Place them in a large trash bag with a cup of ammonia and tie the bag shut. Leave it over night and then just wipe off the gunk. The fumes from the ammonia do the cleaning.
I love hamburgers grilled on the grill. Steaks are also a favorite.
The mailbox looks great. I really like the nite bright numbers kit. I love to grill steaks and corn on the cob for a favorite summer meal.
N Y strip steaks. Love the mailbox!
Mailbox looks great! I see red geraniums planted at the base…but for BBQ I love chicken and pineapple…amazing taste!
My fave is Baby back Ribs, but hubs doesn’t like them (I KNOW!) so second fave would be Chicken, with a Lemon Herb butter baste. Heavy on the Lemon for me!
Love the mailbox, can I steal your idea for the finial? You got me wanting to spruce up our sad mailbox!
Great job on the mailbox Rhoda!!
Haha! What do I love to grill? Kabobs! But, in order to do that I need to unpack my grill. It’s still in the box from the move!
We love to grill in the summer time. There are so many things that we grill but my favorites are fresh from the garden veggies. Zucchini would be my favorite vegetable to grill.
I love to grill fresh vegetables. The local farmer’s market has red bell peppers, eggplant, and corn. There’s always lots of zucchini is my garden to add to the mix. Yes, our grill does get messy and I hate to clean it.
I love grilled sweet corn!
Wow! I LOVE the new mailbox. I’ve been looking for the little picket fencing and can’t find a set I truly like! Where did you find the ones around your mailbox?
Does anyone know a place to find some fencing in which I can spray paint?
Thanks:)
Megan Marie
HI, Megan, I mentioned it in the post, fencing is from Lowes too. You can spray paint any of that metal fencing.
This summer we are grilling salmon and really love it! My husband got a new grill for Father’s Day and he is learning all the new features on it!
We’ve loved grilling salmon and yellow squash, onions, asparagus, and mushroms with a little olive oil, salt & pepper…..delish!
Our favorite is a big juicy ribeye steak with grilled veggies on the side….
A loaded baked potato is great with it too..
My husband does the grilling, and I am a steak girl all the way. BUT what I am excited about from your post is I did not know the Magic Eraser came in an “outdoor pro” version! Oh man!!! Got to get that and tackle our grill. I love Magic Erasers and think they are the best invention in a very long time. (Doesn’t take much to thrill me, does it?)
Kelly
I love steak but my husband loves salmon…he’s healthier than me! I would really enjoy a clean grill. We actually bought ours from Lowes and it is in need of a spruce up BIG TIME! Our mailbox is from there also and it needs an update. Enjoy your site very much!
My favourite thing on the grill is steak, but we make more classic burgers than anything else.
I wish I lived in the Stated so that I could participate in all your wonderful giveaways. I lurk around here very often. You have given me a lot of inspiration as I have changed some things around the house. Mediterranean houses are not ideal for a cottage type look but I was still able to find plenty of house decorating tips on your blog. So Thank You so much. Maybe when I have some more time on my hands I can start a home decorating blog for our type of houses. Sadly they do not seem to be very common in the blog-world. Or else, I have not come across them as yet.
ADORABLE your mailbox came out great !!! (glad you didn’t show your numbers)
We LOVE to grill “Rhoda’s London Broil” just had it last week, so good……….you should share your recipe again, it’s a keeper
All the best,
Kathy
I love to grill most anything! It taste better. My favorite is probably shrimp and chicken kebobs and also grilled corn!
keshakeke@aol.com
We love to grill honey mustard pork chops in the summer. Thanks for the giveaway!
miyax15 at yahoo dot com
Kabobs… So many variations & you can use those homegrown veggies!
Grilled salmon is our favorite…yummy! We also like to grill veggies – zucchini, squash, onions and peppers…even more yummy!
My husband I love grilling chicken kabobs! We marinate the chicken in lemon juice, olive oil and garlic. Yum!
your mailbox looks great!
Mine got a makeover this summer too – I actually spray painted my black mailbox white and then spray painted the faded red flag too – looked brand new 
http://thefrugalhomemaker.com/2012/04/25/no-cost-mailbox-re-do-sprucing-up-the-outdoors-for-spring-series/
I need to pick up some of that grill cleaner – ours gets lots of use during the summer and gets so grimy. Nothing seems to cut through all that grime either. Thanks for the tips, Rhoda!
Your mailbox turned out great Rhoda! Very pretty
I love to grill anything “seafood”!
I saw the grill cleaner last week at Lowe’s and wandered if it worked. Now I know. There is nothing better than a good juicy grilled hamburger!!!
My hubby loves to grill a big slab of ribs and some burgers for the kids.
Anything grilled is better! The best has to be my hubby’s grilled chicken- moist and amazing!
Now that my garden is producing my favorite on the grill is a variety of vegetables lightly coated with cooking oil and seasoned with spices. Summer squash, peppers, asparagus, zucchini, mushrooms, tomatoes, corn – so delicious!
Your mailbox is darling and will be even more so next year with a sweet bed of flowers. Thanks for sharing. Joy