Come in! Your number’s up (plus get 20% off)

Anyone who’s ever watched TV programme The House Doctor (or anything presented by Phil and Kirstie, for that matter) will be familiar with the phrase ‘kerb appeal’.

I’m ashamed to say that until very recently, the front of my house had pretty much zero kerb appeal, as it was covered in ugly scaffolding, and the front garden was full of builder’s rubbish. Once that had gone, I realised  it needed some serious TLC.

And one of the easiest and quickest ways to give an entrance a facelift is by changing the house or door number. My house came with an old-fashioned (not to mention faded) oval plaque, above left. But, what should replace it?

The first thing I discovered is that stylish house numbers can cost an arm and a leg. But then I stumbled upon www.housenameplate.co.uk. It sells all kinds of house numbers and nameplates, in everything from natural-looking materials like slate and wood, to really modern acrylic and stainless steel:

The great thing about the site is that you can ‘try before you buy’ thanks to their online tool that lets you see how your house number will look before you add it to your basket. And with a two-digit house number sign costing around £20-28 depending on the material you choose, it’s not bad value either, for something that’s going to stick around for years to come.

What’s more, the site also sells house name plaques, letterboxes and outside door furniture, so that you can smarten up the rest of your entranceway too.

What should you go for? A really good-looking house number should mirror the style of your house – from the type of windows to the colour of the front door. My house is a Victorian terrace, so while I wanted something modern, I didn’t want to go overboard. So, when the nice people at the Housenameplate company offered to make the number of my choice for this blog, I went for their acrylic design. You can choose from a variety of coloured backgrounds, but I went for dark grey – top, right – to mirror the slate chippings in my front garden, and the fact my door is soon to be painted purple. A number like this would cost £20, and if you want sliver-coloured fixings (to hide the screws), they’re an extra fiver on top.

The whole thing was very easy to fit – you just need to drill two holes in your outside wall with a drill, using the holes in the plaque as a guide – and that’s it. Looks so much better, doesn’t it?!

GET 20% OFF AT HOUSENAMEPLATE.CO.UK

To help you improve your kerb appeal, http://www.housenameplate.co.uk is offering Treasure Hunter readers 20% off any acrylic house number plate (available in a square, round or rectangular shape, and with a variety of coloured backgrounds and numerals) until 30th September 2014. Simply enter code TTH201401 at the online checkout. Happy shopping!