Your Guide to Choosing the Right House Numbers

House numbers can add the perfect touch to the exterior of your home. They help to pull together your look and make that beaming first impression. Custom exterior backlit letters and numbers can do wonders for your home's style.

Even more importantly, your house numbers serve a purpose. What if emergency and first responders need to find your home? What if there is an emergency at night? In an emergency, every second counts. You don't want your poor addressing to be the reason why EMTs can't find your home.

It's a matter of style and safety to have a house number sign that is visible and easy to read no matter day or night. Even if your address is visible, perhaps it needs a significant update. No matter why you need new house number signs, here are some tips for choosing a gorgeous and functional set of backlit address numbers.

1.Create Contrast

Creating contrast is very important for visibility, and gets your major style points.  You can create contrast by putting the darker numbers on a light colored house or vice versa.  You can also install your floating address numbers on a backboard of a contrasting color to create the perfect contrast, no matter what your home is made of.  Hold your number or letter against its installation surface before mounting to ensure it stands out and looks right.

2.Make Sure They are Big Enough

The size of your house numbers is vital. Many address numbers six inches tall, but that size won’t be the best for every house. There are some factors to consider. If your door is about 100' feet from the street, opt for numbers around six inches in height.

The numbers should be considerably larger if your door is over 300 feet away from the road. If your house is far from the street, installing house numbers on your front gate, curb, or mailbox is also a great idea so people can still see your address from the road. Generally speaking, the farther your property is from the roadway, the larger your numbers should be. For locations with a home set far back from the road, you should consider two sets of numbers. One close to the road, and another set on your home. Here are our recommendations for the size you might consider, by viewing distance

• Less than 100 feet - 6 inches or larger
• From 100 to 150 feet - 8 inches or larger
• From 151 to 250 feet - 12 inches or larger
• More than 250 feet - 15 inches or larger

When mounting your numbers, also be mindful of the kerning, which means the space between numbers and letters.  When you order from Helloneonsign, our team of designers will space your numbers and letters for you!  We'll remove the hassle of worrying about the spacing by creating a helpful drilling template specific for your set of numbers or letters.  You can use the template to confirm your installation area will work, that the numbers look good, and when you're done you'll have a beautiful installation.

3. Keep it Cohesive

You will add style and sophistication to your property if you can match your house numbers to your other exterior trim and fixtures like window frames, hardware, and lighting. Creating cohesion means you've thought about every little detail. This increases your curb appeal because it tells visitors that you've put a great deal of thought and care into your home. In some cases, you might have two hardware or trim colors. That's ok. If you have black hardware, but a darker exterior, it's ok to choose a lighter finish for your numbers to create contrast. For example, if you choose brushed aluminum numbers, but have black window and door frames, you can introduce a brushed aluminum mailbox or exterior light, and your exterior will still look cohesive.

MODERN AND MINIMALIST

Modern and minimalist is always a popular style. To achieve a modern minimalist look, no matter the style of your home or business, you will want to keep things simple. You can choose metallic finishes, or classic colors like black and white. Modern fonts typically are sans serif, meaning they are simple without any strokes at the end of the number or letter. Almost all of our font styles are sans serif, and will compliment any style of home. 

TRADITIONAL AND COUNTRY COTTAGE

Traditional and cottage homes have a cozy feel. Surprisingly, you can use a modern or traditional font style on these homes. It's perfectly fine to express your personal style when upgrading your numbers on an older home. You will want to avoid anything too contemporary or trendy however. To create a traditional feel, consider our 345C style. It's our only serif font, and is very popular for its sophisticated look.

ART-DECO

This retro style is very popular for it's warmth and flair.  Our 456D font is art deco inspired and is one of our most popular styles.  For an art deco home, you'll want to choose numbers that are not incredibly bold.   We suggest black on lighter exteriors, and brushed sliver on darker exteriors.

Consider your home's style, and choose number/letter options accordingly. Visibility is vital, cohesion adds sophistication, and a quality product means your new numbers will last a long time. We love seeing all the different types of house letters and numbers that our customers choose. Seeing people incorporate their personality through their house numbers and letters is rewarding.   House numbers often bring the whole look of your home together and add an upgraded flare.  Check out our gallery for our most popular choices, and use our preview feature to see your number combination in each of our font styles.      You can also email us to create your very own custom design!!