Tuesday 30 August 2011

Choosing a font for the numbers on the tenants' front doors

I'm trying to tie up some loose ends that need to be sorted out before the tenants' units can be rented.  One of those is choosing a style and material for the number on each of their front doors.

I have a horror of most house numbers because they are almost always generic.  In the last apartment that I lived in alone I replaced the cheap standard "2" on my rental's door with an oversize and extra-deep gray metal number I'd found at Anthropologie.  It was sculptural, unexpected and gave me a little chill of happiness every time I arrived home.  I want the same for our tenants. 

Given that there's *so much* going on in the common entryway (back-lit onyx risers, navy silk covered walls, antique unfinished arched doors for their units, mirrored and gilded antique arched doors for ours, brass and crystal chandelier, leather-wrapped handrails, etc.) I feel like the unit numbering should be a little low-key, without looking like an afterthought. 

To refresh your memory, here's what their doors look like:


And apparently, I haven't yet posted a photo of the hardware installed on their doors, so here are some shots of items in the same line from the company's website (the finish on the exterior of the doors is polished brass, like in the second image):



I was thinking that instead of buying the typical metal number, I'd get a stencil in an interesting font and stencil the number straight onto the unfinished wood, probably with gold paint.  Now the question is which font to use for the numbers.  Keeping in mind that the only numbers we'll have are 1 and 2 (our unit will be unmarked), here's my current short list.  (They're all available in sizes up to 4 inches, so none of the options is going to be large scale.)

Black Chancery:



Chancery:


Dauphin:


Industrial:


Tiffany:






Thoughts? Ideas? A favorite?

2 comments:

  1. Just wanted to pop by and reiterate how amazed I am by the painstaking attention to detail, style and originality you all have maintained throughout this mammoth project.
    All of the unique but classic finishes are anything but cookie-cutter and I can only imagine what a tenant would feel walking into such a magnificently though-out space.
    Best of luck with all of it, it's stunning.
    Alcira

    nerochronicles.com

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  2. Hi Alcira,

    Thank you so much. It *has* been mammoth: I'm really hoping to at least start living there and get some tenants in there within the next few weeks. My patience has worn so thin! Our unit will still need all kinds of decor details (curtains, for starters) and the garden is a project in itself, but at least we'll get to start enjoying some of the fruits of the labor.

    Thanks for visiting and I'm looking forward to seeing how your project continues to unfold!

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