Count the ways house numbers help a house
They can be both useful and stylish
House numbers are an often-neglected detail of a house.
Yet they can be the first impression people get of your home. They are crucial for first- time dinner guests, emergency vehicles or Uber drivers to be able to identify the right address. So go out to the street and look critically at your house and see how clearly you can read the numbers. Perhaps you could use something a little more stylish, a little larger, a bit more classic or a little more modern.
“Numbers are the only typography on your house,” says Glenn Milano, who started the House Number Lab in 2011 when he couldn’t find a proper sign for his townhouse. “You can put a mindless number up there to get the job done. But you are missing a great opportunity to do something beautiful and interesting.”
Could your numbers use an upgrade? We polled a group of designers about their go-to styles. Carmel Greer, District De---
sign Greer often turns to Etsy vendors for interesting house numbers, especially for cottages and bungalows. Here are three: She likes Camilla Cotton’s “quirky, offthe- beaten- path” cast- iron numbers to add charm to a small house ( US$ 17.50 per number, camillacotton.com). Drop Metal’s painted and distressed aluminum house numbers are colourful and a nice deviation from predictable modern styles, she says ($ 17 per number, dropmetal.com). And Greer likes Eleven Owls Studio’s vintage- style numbers that are painted on wood pallets for use on an alley façade or along a wall ( from US$ 24 per number, etsy. com). Anne Decker, Anne Decker
Architects For more contemporary homes, Decker is f ond of Richard Neutra’s aluminum numbers because of “t heir clean, modern lines” ( US$ 27 per
number, dwr. com). She says they age nicely, as they are tarnish- resistant. For more traditional homes, she usually turns to Baldwin’s more classic numbers, ordering them in oil- rubbed bronze or unlacquered brass t hat will age over time ( US$ 12 to US$ 13.80 per number, baldwinbrasshardware.com ). Anna Matthews, Anna Mat
thews Interiors Matthews says she has always found it challenging to find simple, classic address signs for her clients. For her own new home, she just ordered a plaque f rom Signature Streetscapes, who lets you customize a sign and has a good selection of choices without any kind of motif (from US $29 per sign, signature streets cap es. com ). Simon Jacobs en, Jacob
sen Architecture “When it comes to addresses on historic houses or new houses in historic neighbourhoods, I try to relate back to when [ the] houses were issued addresses,” Jacobsen writes in an email. “I incorporate these house numbers in the transom or elsewhere in the traditional manner. [ The House Number Lab] is a historically accurate vinyl decal company that won’t break the bank to bring your house back into
historical context” ( from US$ 15 per number, housenumberlab.com). Jeff West, Jeff West Home In
teriors West loves Chatham Sign Shop numbers because they’re classic and weatherresistant. They are also easy to read from the street. The signs, available with optional designs such as shells or pineapples, are made of waterproof wood composite and painted with multiple coats of enamel. The numbers are 23-karat gold leaf.
West has one hanging from his home’s lamppost. “It makes it very simple to find my house, and the pizza delivery guys love it,” he says ( from US$ 195 per sign, chathamsignshop.com).
NUMBERS ARE THE ONLY TYPOGRAPHY ON YOUR HOUSE.