Going by the numbers: five design rules for house numbers

Sunset, Oct, 1994 by Bill Crosby

STYLE OPTIONS FOR HOUSE numbers used to be limited to those loopy pressed-metal italics you tacked next to your porch light. Now designs of all kinds fill display walls of hardware stores and catalog pages, and even boutiques and interior furnishings stores carry them. You can get hand-painted tiles, custom brass and wrought-iron figures, fine finished wood, and even cast-bronze plaques that suggest a president once slept at your house.

There may be no end to design choices--and there's certainly no accounting for taste--but there are some limits on style and placement to consider if you ever want or need someone to find your house quickly.

We've compiled these tips from safety experts, architects, and graphic designers to help you with your design dilemma.

1. THINK BIG

Use numbers at least 4 inches tall so they can be seen easily from the street. "What's the point in putting up fancy numbers if you can't read them?" asks Los Angeles City Fire Inspector Joe Gould. "We used to do laps around houses in my ambulance looking for the numbers."

Gould's comrade in Los Angeles County, Fire Inspector Wade Little, says, "If you can't see the house from the street, 3-inch numbers should be posted at the street or the driveway entrance to the property.

"If we're out on a prevention call and don't see numbers, we'll write you up. Most folks get a 14-day compliance warning; after that, we'll write a citation that could set them back at least $50."

2. KEEP IT SIMPLE

"Pick a type style that's timeless," says Berkeley architect Glen Jarvis, whose firm routinely designs numbers to complement their house projects. "Simplicity is the order. A very nicely crafted number by itself is nice; adding a lot of stuff around it detracts from the number. If you want to put your name up or name your house, put it someplace else, not with the number."

Graphic designers at the San Francisco office of Pentagram Design, whose New York office recently did all the signage for the World Cup, put their heads together and came up with this advice: "Think of house numbers like jewelry; they're meant to enhance and accent without overwhelming. If they're the focal point of your home, you've probably gone too far . . . unless you're really proud of your address."

3. GO FOR CONTRAST

Whatever materials, colors, or finish you choose, play up contrast between light and dark values in the numbers and background to enhance legibility.

"Don't put brown numbers on a brown background," says Inspector David Calhoun of the L.A. City Fire Department's Building Standards Division. "Numbers must stand out."

Readability is just as important even if you also have numbers painted on the curb. "Our fire department verities by the numbers on the house," Calhoun says. "lt's a shame that a delayed response could occur because of house numbers."

4. LINE THEM UP

Align numbers horizontally, not vertically. "Stacking numbers vertically reduces their legibility, especially with italics," say the Pentagram designers. "Unless you're dealing with a very narrow space and a very long number, it's best to stay with a horizontal arrangement."

5. TURN ON THE LIGHT

Illuminate numbers so they can be easily seen after dark. Glen Worthington, principal planner for the city of Irvine, says, "We have a police department security code that strongly recommends lighting numbers. Backlit address boxes were all the rage for home builders here when most of Irvine was being built. The lit numbers were a sales point."

Architect Jarvis believes that illuminated numbers should also be related somehow to the entrance to the house. "When you're looking for the number, you're looking for the front door."

Worthington offers these last words of wisdom: "Remember, ultimately the house numbers aren't for you; they're for the people trying to find you."