To get exactly the style of mailbox I wanted, I decided I would have to design and build my own. As a designer, I often can envision the finished product, but I'm not always sure how to make it. So I ...

The humble household mailbox is more than a receptacle for mail. It also can be a design statement, a reflection of a homeowner’s personality and a piece of folk art worthy of inclusion in a museum.

Don Powell opened his mailbox one day last August and found, along with the usual mix of bills and pizza coupons, two small dolls sitting on a miniature couch near a tiny table. The pair and their ...