“Go for style,” says Adrienne Morea, owner and designer of Atlas Homewares. “Choose your house number and co-ordinating hardware just like you would jewelry or an accessory—to express your personality and add the final touch to your outfit, in this case, your house.”

Atlas house numbers styles include Modern, Retro, Arts & Crafts, Mediterranean and Zen-inspired, while Fuoriserie ecco tiles house numbers are cobalt blue crackled glass and ceramic tiles with raised white characters. 

Atlas Homewares and Fuoriserie are among house numbers available at Calgary hardware retailer Banbury Lane Design Centre. Banbury Lane and The Art of Hardware are leading retailers of hardware in the Calgary and Edmonton areas.

New Home Living asked designers their advice on choosing house numbers in Calgary and Edmonton.

Calgary interior designer Reena Sotropa of Corea Sotropa Interior Design, whose favourite house number shops are Banbury Lane and The Art of Hardware, says ”house numbers have become larger in scale and quite contemporary in style. The fonts that are used tend to be simple and quite bold.”

The style and layout of house numbers, mailboxes, lighting and doorbells is more deliberate than it used to be, says Sotropa. They are considered more with the exterior architecture of the house.  “I think that in the past these items were more of an afterthought,” she says.

There are many styles of numbers to choose from and they go with more popular architecture styles, she notes. “Contemporary are very popular as are the sand cast, more rustic styles that go well with a traditional style of home.”

Interior designer Tammy Mackay of Edmonton's Go Design Group says “the current trend we’re seeing is that people are really trying to be unique with their numbers.” She says her firm tries to work with the architecture of the home so if the house is really contemporary, then more contemporary and less traditional font is used.

“There are a lot of signage companies in Edmonton that will custom-make numbers in the size, font and material of your choice,” explains Mackay, adding, “Stainless steel might be a nice choice—or even a black metal.”

Edmonton furniture and accessory designer Adriean Koleric, best known for the EDITH mailbox, will design custom house numbers for homeowners.

“For some weird reason, I find I’m always checking out house numbers on homes in the city,” says Koleric. “The one thing I notice here in Edmonton is that there really is no definitive trend. One house has a frilly plaque with numbers etched in an Old World font while their neighbour’s home is sporting huge/individual aluminum numbers. Then a few doors down, a homeowner has their house numbers engraved in a huge rock sitting on the front lawn.”

Check out Internet options
Koleric's favourite Edmonton shops for house numbers range from specailty stores such as Designers Library, to DIY havens RONA and Home Depot. “I usually find myself hitting online shops more often as I can find exactly what I want without driving around all day,” he adds.

On the Internet at Restoration Hardware you can find stylish house numbers in black iron. Another site, Architectural Numbers by Weston, features 41 different styles of house numbers from modern to traditional in 12 finishes—satin and anodized aluminum, bronze and others.

 “Although the (house number) choices are getting a little better at home improvement stores, the Internet provides a plethora of options,” agrees Mackay.

Getting it Right
What should you consider when choosing your house numbers? The experts suggest these smart tips house number hunting:
Reena Sotropa, of Calgary’s Corea Sotropa Interior Design
• “Be sure to consider the style of your home and use house numbers to co-ordinate.”
• “Choose finishes that work well with other exterior elements such as lighting, mailbox, door bell, door latchset, etc.” 
• “Carefully consider the installation layout of the numbers to work well with the architecture of your house.”
• “Be sure that the numbers are in a well lit area so they are visible at night.”
Tammy Mackay, of Edmonton’s Go Design Group
• “Work with the architecture and style of the house.  Make sure the size is large enough for it to be legible from the street.”
• “Provide interesting lighting to wash or spot the numbers.”
• “If you were to get numbers custom-made and then pin-mount them on your house or garage so that they are a quarter-inch or three-quarters-of-an-inch away from the siding, you could then wash them with lighting. This would not only illuminate the numbers, but would create some dramatic shadow play on the exterior of the house or garage.”
Adriean Koleric, Edmonton furniture and accessory designer
• “Stay true to the era/style of your home.”
• “(For example) in a '50s/'60s built home, go with individual aluminum style numbers that stand off. In a 1910-era home, get a customized plate with the numbers etched in black overtop of a white ceramic face/black frilly black plate.”
• “Again, it really comes down to what expresses your personal taste best. What better way to let that be known than at your front door.” NL

For more information, see the following websites
Atlas Homewares: http://www.atlashomewares.com
Ecco Products: http://www.ecco-products.com
Banbury Lane Design Centre: http://www.banburylane.com
The Art of Hardware: http://www.artofhardware.com
Corea Sotropa Interior Design: http://www.coreasotropa.ca
Go Design Group: http://www.godesigngroup.ca
Adriean Koleric: http://www.thinkitem.com
Architectural Numbers by Weston: http://www.architecturalnumbers.com
Restoration Hardware: http://www.restorationhardware.com