While I was walking my local streets in search of nicely decorated Christmas doors for my earlier blog Doors: Christmas wreaths, I couldn’t help but notice other aspects of the house fronts, in particular the door knockers and house numbers. And so this is the first of what will probably be several blog posts about what I discovered.
Though house numbers in a development might start out standardised, many later get changed as the new owners decide to put their own stamp on their new home. And it’s quite amazing how varied these house numbers can be.
First, the design. This might be contemporary or traditional; modern or rustic; off-the-shelf or customised. The range of colours on offer is almost infinite but other considerations include your choice of font, whether the numbers are underlined or not, in standard or bold type, or perhaps you prefer script.
You might choose simply to have numbers on their own, though most house owners seem to prefer their numbers on a plaque, perhaps for ease of attachment. But should that plaque be square, rectangular, round, oval or even wedge shaped? The plaque might be flat or 3-dimensional; floating or out-standing or hanging. It might even be illuminated for ease of night-time viewing, and the numbers could be powder-coated or polished, engraved or laser-cut. So many choices!
And rather than choosing to have a simple number on your plaque, you
might perhaps add the name of your dwelling, if it has one, or personalise your
plaque by including a motif that reflects your interests or hobbies or career
choice or location (you breed dogs so add a hound; you’re a birder so add an
owl; you’re a gardener and choose your favourite flowers; you’re a champion
ice-skater – see my photo of house number 5; you’re proudly Welsh so include a
dragon; you’re a farmer so add a tractor).
If you’re a creative person, rather than choosing a store-bought house number, you might like to make your own numbered plaque, perhaps in mosaics, or painted wood, or even grow ‘living’ numbers (similar to the concept of a living wall, but in the shape of numbers – google images for “moss numbers” to see some examples).
If you decide to purchase your numbers and/or plaque, there is a wide range of materials to choose from. These include but are not limited to wood; metals like chrome, stainless steel, aluminium, and brass; slate and other stones like anthracite, granite, marble, and Portland limestone; glass, acrylic, and ceramic materials; and, for those who want to be eco-friendly, there is even a product called eco-stone, a ‘new composite material made from the fused glass from recycled televisions, recycled vitrified porcelain and recovered waste glaze from tile manufacturing’. (The House Nameplate Company website explains more about this product, and includes photos and a video showing how the product is made.)
Once you’ve chosen your design and materials, you then need to decide where you’re going to locate your stylish new house numbers. Perhaps they will be attached to your entrance door, or to the exterior wall of the house near your door, or perhaps they would be better suited on your gate or fixed to your boundary wall.
Until I really started paying attention to the numbers on people’s houses, I had no idea how diverse the range of number and plaque options was. Neither had I considered what a difference they make to the overall appearance of a house, nor what they can tell you about the people living within. As I live in a shared building that has a name, which can’t be changed, but no house number, I’m not in a position to personalise a number for my home but I am now rather envious of those of you who can. Good luck with your choices!
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