House Numbers
After a few weeks of gathering dust on my desk, I finally had an opportunity to install house numbers on the front of my new home. I obtained the numbers through type foundry House Industries, which is offering architectural lettering of Neutraface, their popular 1920s, Art-Deco typeface designed by architect Richard Neutra. Like all type families, you can select which weight of Neutraface you want (Regular, Medium, Bold, etc), size, material finish (I went with brushed steel), and depth (half an inch, three-quarters, etc.). They're definitely more expensive than what you'd find at a Home Depot or Restoration Hardware, and more laborious to install. But once you get them up, they're worth every penny. And design wise, they also perfectly fit the time period of my home and respective neighborhood. But the best part? Zero chance of Chinese delivery guys missing my house.
Comments
how much did you pay per letter if i may ask?
Posted by: huphtur at August 28, 2003 10:04 AM
Beautiful!
Posted by: josh at August 28, 2003 11:17 AM
ever consider painting the rods the same color as the wall? would "float more" i think...
Posted by: jamie at August 28, 2003 11:44 AM
I've been wanting some of those since they first announced them some time back. But first I need to buy a house on which to mount them. :(
Posted by: Marshall at August 28, 2003 12:39 PM
Total cost was around $125 (including tax, shipping cost, etc). So...that would make it about $40 or so per letter. Cost is also dependent on the depth you want, finish, and size. I believe they have a calculator on their site if you're interested.
Posted by: Todd Dominey at August 28, 2003 12:55 PM
Ever since writing about Neutraface back in December I've wanted someone to show me that those lovely physical manifestations of the font weren't too good to be true. Thanks for your proof, Todd. And congrats on the purchase / installation.
Posted by: Stephen at August 28, 2003 3:57 PM
How on earth did you choose Neutraface over Comic Sans or Hobo?
Posted by: jkottke at August 28, 2003 4:50 PM
more photos !
Posted by: neue at August 29, 2003 4:33 AM
what, they didn't have comic sans?
Posted by: scott at August 29, 2003 12:05 PM
opps i'm an idiot . as i clicked post i saw the entry above asking about comic snas and hobo
Posted by: scott at August 29, 2003 12:06 PM
Nice choice, Todd. I'm a big fan of those fifties fire stations with similar architectural lettering. There are a few here and there still about town, although postmoderism's relentless sweep may be threatenting their very survival. Scary, I know.
I've been eyeing the Neutraface series too. It's great the metal ones come in the different weights. I'm assuming not all seventy something, though... ;)
Posted by: Kevin at August 31, 2003 10:19 PM
I'd love a set of those, because we have a 1920's home. But that installation looks tricky. Just how would you get screws through those holes, and actually turn them?
Posted by: Michael Spina at September 2, 2003 5:01 PM
The installation is a bit odd. For one thing, the screws in the picture aren't normal screws -- they're threaded rods without any turn-posts on either end. You instert them into the back of the numbers, and hand-turn them until they stop (up against the back of the face). You then drill holes approximately the same size as the thread, put a little silicone glue on each rod, and *push* the numbers (with all three rods) into the holes. If you drill the holes too large, you're screwed - the rods will be loose. Drill the hole too small, and you won't be able to push them in. For testing purposes, you could use a thick block of wood to get it right before drilling holes in your house. You could, of course, mount the numbers on a cut block of wood, paint the block the same color as your house, and then mount the block. This would especially be necessary if you have sharp angles on your exterior wall.
Posted by: Todd Dominey at September 4, 2003 10:37 AM
