6 Ways to Add Character to Your Entrance with a Custom House Sign

A custom house sign can be a wonderful way to put your stamp on a new home, or give a new lease of life to the entranceway of a much loved older one. Read on for advice on making your house sign stand out from the crowd...

1. Choose the best location for your custom house sign. 

Traditional wrought iron work is dark in colour and therefore will stand out better on a white wall or wooden gate etc than dark coloured bricks.  Where this is impossible to avoid, it can be worth adding a white backplate to sit directly behind your sign, making the unique laser cut design command attention. If you are choosing a hanging house sign, try to avoid having it directly in front of a tree; the design will turn heads and be easily seen from further away if light can shine through it.

2. Spend time getting the size of your sign right. 

A bit of effort initially ensuring the size of your bespoke house sign suits the location will pay dividends in the long run. Measure up both in terms of the available space for mounting, and the distance it will be viewed from. Cut out a piece of card at the intended size and see if the text is readable from the end of your driveway. A custom house sign needs to be practical as well as beautiful. Black Fox Metalcraft are always happy to offer professional advice if you are unsure - simply email jenny@blackfoxmetalcraft.co.uk with a photo.

3.    Reflect your personality in the bespoke sign design.

A bespoke house sign can be a fun way to display aspects of your personality and interests. It can be a great talking point for visiting friends, family and neighbours alike. The custom house sign below is a great example; it was designed for a trapeze artist living in a recently converted church – the design is bold and has so much personality, and the font chosen reflects this beautifully! 

In much the same way as you might have a painting or photograph on a wall, view a house sign in the same way – it’s for decoration, but also can keep a memory alive or invoke a feeling. A beautiful sign makes your entrance way look cared for, as opposed to an old one that is rusty, faded or peeling giving the opposite effect.

If your home has an interesting history, quirky look to it or you’re just really house proud, why not celebrate that with a bespoke house sign based on a photo of your house! Like the photo below, this can include characters (human or animal!), favourite plants and vehicles – anything to make the hanging house sign totally unique and personal to you.

4. Consider the colour of your sign

Though traditional wrought ironwork is black, modern powder coat is available in pretty well any colour, as is sign writing paint. I love this set of signs we did for a retail premises in Cornwall, I think the bright blue is so eye catching and suits the coastal location so well. Gold or silver painted text can make a nice change from the classic ivory cream, and is a great way of tying in personal tastes into to a bespoke house warming gift.

5. Think about light...

If being visible after dark is important, think about what light your house sign will get from streetlights, headlights or moonlight? If it's in a shadowy spot, you could place LED lights behind or above the house name or number plate to illuminate it. Black Fox Metalcraft can include spacers to bolt through so your sign sits an inch off the wall, giving space to put lights behind it.

6. Ensure the sign is keeping with the style of your home.  

This is particularly important when choosing a bespoke sign for a period home. Black Fox Metalcraft are skilled designers with an interest in architecture and therefore are more than happy to design a custom house sign with a particular architectural style in mind. House signs can be traditional or contemporary based on your preferences and the style of your home. Hanging basket brackets can also be sensitively tied into this theme, as shown in the example below.