Mid-Century House Numbers on a Vintage Store

I stopped by Remixologie before it closed. I didn't find anything I needed, but I did notice their mid-century address numbers for the first time.

They're Distinction numbers (a.k.a. my favorite cheap modern address numbers) on a simple board with an interesting angle cut. It's pretty similar to what we did for our DIY mid-century house numbers, but I like the addition of the angle cut; it gives it more of an atomic ranch feel.

Mid-Century Modern House Numbers Project

I think the actually numbers used here are wrong, but this modern address plaque would make a nice addition to any atomic ranch. It looks like a pretty easy project and you can get the full directions for it here.

Mixed with a mid-century modern color palette and better modern address numbers or even cheap modern address numbers, you could have a really slick looking set of house numbers.

Our Atomic Ranch Front Porch through the Years

Out little atomic ranch front porch has gone through a lot of transitions over the last 20 or so years.

Sometime in the early 1990s (from what I can gather)

Sometime in the early/mid 2000s

And now in the 2010s

I think it's made the transition through the ages nicely. And I'm pretty happy with where it's at now. The one thing we still might change is the porch light. The globe light that got replaced before we moved in looks pretty sweet.

Neighborhood Modern House Numbers

Once again, I want to espouse walking around mid-century neighborhoods and straight out stealing the ideas and designs that you see. If you live in a mid-century neighborhood, go a few blocks over. It's no good if all the houses on the street look the same.

I say that, because I happened upon these modern house numbers in a mid-century Austin neighborhood a few blocks over.

Granted, it probably cost more than my DIY mid-century modern house number kit but if you wanted to make a big statement with your address numbers, this is the way to do it.

I don't want to be the creepy guy in the neighborhood, so I didn't walk up to see exactly how it was made, but it looked like a big piece of stainless steel with the numbers spray painted on. The ivy is just adds to the look, but I think this would also work on a clean brick or wood wall of any kind/color.

DIY Mid-Century Modern House Numbers

A while back I was stolling through a mid-century neighborhood in Austin and noticed this modern address plaque.

I instantly recognized the numbers as Distinctions numbers, but I'd never seen them mounted on a board like that. It got me to thinking, "that looks pretty amazing and pretty easy to do."

So I started cooking up my own DIY mid-century modern house numbers. And I was right, making this modern address number plaque above is super easy. And the finished product looks great. Here's how to make your very own mid-century modern house number kit.

1. Head to Home Depot and buy whatever Distinctions modern address numbers you need.

2. While you're there, buy a board to use as the address plaque. I used a 1" x 6". It's thin, which gives it a nice modern look, and the Distinctions address numbers are about 5" tall, so it gives you a little room above and below, but still keeps it nice and tight. The length will depend on how many numbers and which numbers you have. Ours is 11.5" long.

3. Paint the board. We went with the same color as our trim because we already have a door that pops. But any mid-century modern exterior paint color would work. Depending on the wood quality, you might need a few coats.

4. Layout and attach the numbers. There's a template and instructions in the Distinctions package for doing this. We totally ignored the template and eyeballed it. We also super glued the numbers instead of using the posts that come with Distinctions numbers. We wanted the modern house numbers to be flush to the board. If you do the same, just make sure to use glue that adheres to painted wood and metal.

5. Figure out how you're going to attach it to your house. You could simply nail it if you have wood siding. If you have brick like me, things get a little tricky. You could use an industrial adhesive/caulk or drill into the brick. But that seemed like a lot of work, so I attached a couple of hooks to the top and bought a bit of chain.

6. Then I put a few hooks in the wood ceiling above the porch and hung the address plaque from them.

And here's what our new mid-century modern house numbers look like.

I'm really happy with how they turned out. I think they look great next to our Crestview Door. And even on the Behr Antique Tin gray, they're really easy to see from the street.

Mid-Century House Numbers on a Door

Now that we've got our mid-century modern door installed, I've been obsessing about all the other porch details: a new mailbox, a new porch light, the possibility of a plant/planter and new mid-century modern house numbers.

Honestly, some of my best ideas are just stolen from neighbors while walking through mid-century neighborhoods in Austin. While I don't think the "mid-century house numbers on the bottom of the door" look is right for my mid-century ranch, it might be fitting for your mid-century door.

As much as I might like the look, I just couldn't bear drilling into our Crestview Door. But it really does look good from the sidewalk.

Cheap Modern Address Numbers

It's become clear that my idea for a modern Eichler address plaque isn't going to happen. I can't find the Plane Numerals I need anywhere. So I've started hunting for cheap modern house numbers again.

If you've been looking for mid-century modern address numbers, then you no doubt know about these guys:

They're the Distinctions house numbers by the Hillman Group and they are the darlings of the cheap modern address number world. These modern house numbers are easily found at most Home Depots, but what you might not know, because Home Depot only carries them in brushed nickel and black, is that they also come in aged bronze

And polished brass

Since Home Depot has the Distinctions house numbers, I thought that'd be a good place to start. And boy was I right. Home Depot has an online exclusive Architectural Mailboxes address number that come in a wide variety of finishes that would be perfect on any modern home.

So right now the main contenders for the address numbers on my mid-century ranch are the Distinctions address numbers, the Architectural Mailboxes address numbers and a Modplexi address plaque.

Crestview Doors Home Tour

Ever wonder what the homes of mid-century modern all stars, like Christiane and David Erwin (the owners of Crestview Doors), look like? Well, Apartment Therapy is giving you a peak inside the Erwin's Crestview house.

It looks like the Erwin's recently updated their blog with new photos as well. (You can always find their blog on my list of mid-century blogs.)

Modern Eichler Address Numbers

Thanks to this list of mid-century modern address numbers I was able to find a second source for the mid-century address numbers I was looking for, Unica Home. I also found out that they're called Plane Numerals and were designed by Tom Gordon and Ted Pierson. Not wanting to make the same mistake twice and wait till the numbers I need are out of stock, I ordered them today.

So my plan to recreate modern Eichler address numbers is back on.

Mid-Century Modern Address Numbers

My original idea to replicate authentic mid-century address numbers was to do an Eichler-style address plaque, and if I can find the right numbers, that's still the plan. But the mid-century address numbers I had in mind are sold out at the one source I could find. So I went hunting for new mid-century modern address numbers. I'm not sure I've found the perfect house numbers for my mid-century ranch, but any of these would look good on your mid-century modern home.

Neutra address numbers from Modern Dwell Numbers

Avalon modern house numbers from Atlas Homewares

Domicile house numbers from Chiasso

Paragon modern house numbers from Atlas Homewares

Palm Springs address numbers from Modern House Numbers

Metropolitan Retro modern house numbers from Atlas Homewares. These would be perfect for any atomic ranch home.

Neutra address numbers and Eames address numbers from Heath Ceramics

A modern address plaque from Modplexi

If you have glass on or near your door, there's this Helvetica address number window cling from House Number Lab

Side note: I tried to limit these mid-century modern address number options to a budget that I thought was reasonable (~$20 per number). If you're willing to spend more than that (upwards of $100 a number) there are plenty of other options out there, including custom numbers in almost any font.

Mid-Century Address Numbers

Sometimes you wait too long to start a project. I had finally decided on which mid-century address numbers I was going to use for our place.

I was planning on creating custom Eichler-style address numbers with these metal stencil numbers:

But the one store carried them, or anything like them, has discontinued the line. So now it's back to the drawing board.

Awesome Austin-Made Address Numbers

There's no question that Eames house numbers would be a lovely addition to any home, but I wanted to give a little local love to a couple of people who are making equally interesting address numbers.

Modplexi address plaques come in a wide range of colors (red, orange, yellow, blue, light blue, coke bottle green, green, black, brown, grey and clear) and can be made to hang verticle or horizontal. A few of my neighbors have Modplexi address numbers and they look pretty spectacular next to any door.

Austin Outdoor Studio makes house numbers out of 1/4" hot rolled steel, which will quickly develop a deep rust brown patina. The plaques can be created in a variety of fonts and have studs on the back for easy attachment to a home.

Neutra and Eames House Numbers

I first mentioned Neutra and Eames house numbers a while back, and if you've been patiently waiting to pick some up, today is the day you've been waiting for. Heath Ceramics is going to start selling the Neutra and Eames house numbers today.

We're still planning on a more Eichler house number look, but I can see these Eames address numbers being a nice addition to any home.

Decorating Your Mid-Century Doorway

Real Simple had a nice little feature on doorway accessories for different styles of homes. The one most applicable to a mid-century home is definitely the modern style, which could give you a nice mid-century modern look on your porch.

I really like the modern pendant light (photo above) that they call out, but there are plenty of good items to see if you're redoing your stoop.

On a side note: We've made some progress on selecting a color for our door. We're down to about six shades and leaning towards blue. I'll share soon.

Eames Address Numbers

I recently learned about House Industries when a friend linked to their latest video. After digging around their site I found out that they're working with Heath Ceramics to make ceramic Neutra and Eames address numbers.

This might make me re-think using Eichler address numbers for our place.

Eichler Address Numbers

These Eichler-style address numbers have been on my inspiration list for a while.
There are two ways we can go with them for our house. Classic black and white Eichler numbers, which could look nice against our white brick.
Or I could take these more modern, metal numbers and build the look myself, so I could match the background to whatever color we picked for our mid-century door.
I'm still not sure which way I'm leaning, I might just have to wait till we get the door in.