What do the mailman, the pizza delivery guy, a new friend, a co-worker or babysitter all need to find you? That’s right, your house number. We put numbers on our mailboxes and on the door but there are so many wonderful and creative ways distinguish your house from your neighbors. Make your number visible and easy to see, there is nothing more nerve wracking than driving up and down a street peering at every house searching for the numbers. Keep in mind for some unexplained reason the numbers don’t always go in order. I’ve driven down streets where one house says 14 and the one next to it is 18, huh? So don’t rely on your neighbors to make their house number visible, in fact make yours the most talked about.
Now that the spring is here hopefully we’ll all start planting some flowers soon so why not buy a few planters for your front steps or near the curb of your driveway and put the number of your house on the planters. It is very simple to do. If you are artistic enough and feel comfortable painting just draw the numbers with pencil and then fill them in with some left over house paint or you can buy numbers from Home Depot and glue them on to the pots. Here is a beautiful example. They have made an entire display out of the pots, flowers and bench. Easy to do and serves multiple purposes.
Why not attach your house numbers to a wreath on your front door. This is a great idea for homes a bit closer to the street or for city apartments or condos where you might not have permission to put numbers in different locations. It is a creative way to show off your numbers and can be easily removed if needed.
If you have a front porch use some of the furniture to showcase your house number. Put a pot on a table with your number on it or attach the numbers of your home to the back of the chairs or a rocker. If you have ever walked down the aisle of a Home Depot or hardware store then you know that there are so many variations of numbers and plaques, etc. There are stick on numbers, screw in numbers and custom plaques you can have your address and/or family name on it. Tons of ideas, so head to the store and get inspired. This person was very creative and put their house numbers on pillows that are displayed on the front bench. I love this idea and guarantee that people take notice when they walk up to this house. I don’t like to suggest things that are impossible to find so I Googled number pillows and was hit with many options to purchase homemade or commercial made pillows with numbers on them. So give it a try, heck you could even put them on your couch, why not.
Below is another creative way of displaying house numbers. This old bike is a perfect display piece in a garden and whether or not the numbers are going to grab the pizza guy’s attention when delivering pizza it sure does make my head turn to look. I love when people think outside the box.
This past Halloween we each had our own pumpkin to paint so I painted my house number on the front of the pumpkin in glow in the dark paint. Most people put their pumpkins on the front steps so I figured this would be the perfect thing to paint. As I searched for photos for this post I noticed quite a few people had the same idea. Here are a few.
Then finally there is the front door. Many people leave the numbers on the front door and why not? It is standard, easy to find and you know there is no mistaking your house number when it is smack dab on your front door. But here is an idea for you. Change out your numbers, go buy some new ones and spice up that front façade and at a very low cost. Put larger numbers over your front door or put them alongside the door, one on top of the other. You could also paint the numbers on your door as seen in this photo from Pinterest. I particularly like how they wrote “No.” instead of a number sign, this gives it a bit of a country vintage feel and if done right will look sharp.
There are so many little ways in which we can make our homes stand out. A new touch here and there can really go a long way. So this spring stand in front of your home for a few moments, look around and see what little touches you can add or create to your home to make it even more welcoming.
Until next time, Happy Designing!