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Look! Painted House Numbers

101608-garagedoors.jpg We found this unassuming house in Prairie Villiage, KS last week. It's Mid-Century in style and provides a great tip for those who might be in the market for some new house numbers. Paint them! Click through for our thoughts...

 
 

Stylish house numbers aren't something readily found in dollar bins. They can run you anywhere between $5-$200 per number. So why not follow suit with this homeowner and make them large and paint them on your garage doors? A few bucks on some paint (unless you happen to still have trim paint in your garage and then it's free!) and a steady hand will be all you need. Plus your Chinese delivery man will ALWAYS be able to find you!

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Look!, paint, siding, house numbers, garage doors

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Comments (19)

Great idea, however the numbers have to be a really good size, not too big, so it doesn't look like a store or a commercial locale.
Stencils could be helpful, made from a printed enlargement, with nice helvetica-style font.

posted by Daniel Poitiers on October 16th 2008 at 12:47pm
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Those might be sign-vinyl too -- which is unbelievably easy to apply and can be cut with amazing precision from any Illustrator file at a sign-shop...

Someday, when I'm rich and successful, or at least enough of each of those to own my own space/business -- my address numbers will be HUGE on my door or wall or windows...

you'll see...

posted by kvh on October 16th 2008 at 12:52pm
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Wow, did AT Chicago really let you post that?

"Plus your Chinese delivery man will ALWAYS be able to find you!" What in the world is that supposed to mean? I hope this ISN'T what it looks like (a rather tasteless, extremely ignorant and horribly unfunny attempt at a joke about writing and reading laterally) and that I'm completely misunderstanding this 'comment'.

posted by tratee on October 16th 2008 at 1:13pm
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You know, if I was going to make them large and sideways, I might just make them large enough to stretch from top to bottom of the garage door. As it is, it looks like the owners wanted to do that, but couldn't quite commit--it feels unfinished to me.

posted by Molly Margarita on October 16th 2008 at 1:13pm
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I'm in agreement with Molly Margarita. There are four panels in the vertical direction. This treatment would feel more 'natural' if they'd used all four panels with a number in each panel. But even so, the sideways alignment doesn't really work for me. I find my head tilting.

The Chinese delivery man comment also left me feeling a bit uncomfortable.

posted by wig3000 on October 16th 2008 at 1:29pm
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Love the photo and the ideas everyone has.

I just thought the Chinese Delivery comment meant that since your house number will be so large it would be easy to see from the street.

Mmmmm, Chinese Food!!!

posted by SBDesign on October 16th 2008 at 1:48pm
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agreed SBD, I hardly think they meant anything negative, simply an ease-of-reading thing... Poor wording perhaps, but surely unintended...

posted by kvh on October 16th 2008 at 2:03pm
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OHH MINI COOPER!!! I find that "chinese" comment unnecessary and racist! are you saying chinese people have small eyes and can't see? and if you are referring to delivery, why not pizza, don't "white people" eat a lot of that?

posted by my on October 16th 2008 at 2:38pm
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Chinese read from top to bottom, yes? I should know, being part Chinese, but I don't.... 8^p

on the subject of the image, large helvetica numbers don't seem to work on a private residence....and then, the style of that garage door on a MCM house.... nope, doesn't work, with or without the numbers.

posted by btoddster on October 16th 2008 at 2:43pm
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I think that they are beautiful but try finding them in the dark. If I was looking for this house at night I wouldn't think to look at the Garage. I think you should make it easy for your guests and hopefully you won't need an ambulance

posted by sharonlong on October 16th 2008 at 2:46pm
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I think everyone is looking way too far into the chinese delivery man comment. It's not like everyone orders pizza to be delivered - maybe she prefers Chinese food. It wasn't said in a rude manner, and those who are lashing back really should take the time to consider why it was mentioned.

posted by Kaerie on October 16th 2008 at 4:33pm
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Yeah, the part of me that's Chinese isn't offended.










yikes

posted by btoddster on October 16th 2008 at 5:48pm
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Oh, I really like the green on green! I wish I could do that, but I live in a corner house, and my garage door isn't on the main street, so it would only be more confusing to delivery people!

And for the record, when she wrote "Chinese delivery man" i'm positive that she was talking about the yummy food being delivered, not the person delivering. I suppose that "pizza delivery man" or "cable guy" would not have sparked as much fire. I understood her!

posted by pinkninky on October 16th 2008 at 9:09pm
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wow, i also read that as man who delivers chinese food.

....anyways.

I like this idea, but i think it needs a more retro garage door.
As i expand my idea of eras i'd like to own the garage becomes a real problem. Many of the doors have been replaced with modern ones and they're not very attractive.

Where does one find the smooth panel type?

posted by DahliaCactus on October 17th 2008 at 7:06am
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You people are insane, a chinese delivery man is a person who delivers chinese food. it has nothing to do with ethnic steriotyping, unless you think that the phrase "chinese food" is offensive, even though it is in face food that originated in china. Are people really so terrified of offending that they see a race written out and immediatly go up in arms? I would assume that anyone who wrote on that comment has at one time said something along the lines of ,"I wish the chinese delivery guy would get here soon", when they are waiting on their general tso's to arrive!

Why don't you use your time and effort to come up with 4 new design ides PER DAY and type them up! Then we'll see just how closely you are able to evaluate each thing you type while still having a life!

posted by Shutterbug678 on October 17th 2008 at 8:08am
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Yeah, she probably meant Chinese food, which when people mention it in context - let's order Chinese, I feel like Chinese - is normally considered acceptable speech. I think her quaint writing style gets a little careless at times, and probably could have been proofread in this case to be clearer on the vernacular phrases instead of adorable.

I don't like these numbers; they should be vertical and not sideways. I like a clear number that can be read from the street - even if I'm not trying to find your address, it helps figure out which direction you're going and how far away you might be from an address you are looking for. I went quite out of my way there to avoid using a perfectly obvious word for that, to avoid further discomfort for the ultra-sensitive. I think the sideways look is a little too dynamic, a little trying too hard to set themselves apart.

posted by K T G on October 17th 2008 at 8:15am
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Sweet Jeebus. I, too, read it as a "man who delivers chineese food." The only food we get delivered is chinese. And as "white people," we pick up our pizza because it's a block away (or is it my hispanic half that urges us to pick it up...?)...So I can't even imagine how people would see any other meaning behind your statement. But think about it this way Sarahrae: over-sensitivity is just another form of racism, so the (hilariously ignorant) comments (imho) are something you should laugh at, and then pity if you have the time. I knew what you meant.

posted by dearsweetbriar on October 17th 2008 at 8:41am
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Me Chinese. Me play joke. Me put pee pee in your coke. That's all I got. I don't know why but the memory of chanting that on the pre-school playground came back to me the second I read this. 有一个好天。

posted by RockTheHotBox on November 1st 2008 at 5:14am
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Fast and free best CHICAGO CHINESE DELIVERY! I love ordering food online

posted by natalik on August 19th 2009 at 11:17am
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