Designer Mailboxes Add Curb Appeal

There is something wrong with this picture: You roll up the driveway of your $5,000,000 home in your Rolls-Royce and reach your Rolex-wearing arm into ... a $29.99 mailbox, quips Marty Heller of Out Front Design. His clients know the sine qua non of the finest landscape is the presence of a designer mailbox. Each box is as unique as the homeowner who procures it, and prices range from $1,000 for an Adriean Koleric piece to about $8,000 for a hand-sculpted Manatee Crete-tation.

Skillfully designed and then constructed with various combinations of wood, stone and metal, an artful mailbox may be that extra panache your lawn is missing. But before you run out and order one of these masterpieces, make sure your home is not located in a D-restricted zoning district. Mailbox creativity in such zones is discouraged, as residents there must all have the same type of mailbox. "However, you can work with your community to get it approved," says Susan Baker of Manatee. ...