A few years ago, we had a new door fitted and at the time we decided that the glass of our transom should have the house number in it - created via computer assisted sand blasting. This left the number itself defined in clear glass while the surrounding glass remains evenly opaque.
Such numbers have become quite common in Great Britain in recent years, helping drive-by delivery personnel to better locate houses as they do their rounds. I think it is also a nice design touch and not all that expensive to achieve.
When the window was installed I had no idea that I might be endlessly fascinated by the sunlit image of our house number finding slightly different positions each sunny morning and throughout the year. Of course on cloudy mornings it does not appear.
Sometimes the number curls over steps on our carpeted staircase . Sometimes it's in the kitchen and sometimes, as in the image above, it is sliding over the panelling in our hallway. I have also seen it in bright moonlight.
It's like our very own slow-moving light show. I snapped the image at the top just last week. A little bit of magic that one could so easily overlook.
I love the light play, as well as the paneled wall!
ReplyDeleteIt's the only area of the house where we have panelling. It used to be dark mahogany coloured until we painted it.
DeleteI like how you find magic and interest in those small things.
ReplyDeleteI suspect that you do too Margaret.
DeleteNow I know where you live.
ReplyDeleteThe engraved house number and lovely panelling make a welcoming entrance to your home.
ReplyDeleteIt's your very own sundial. You could make marks on the walls and steps throughout the year and document all those different positions.
ReplyDeleteAs for house numbers, I think (without ever having looked it up) that in Germany, it is mandatory to have a house number. Not only postal and delivery services depend on them, but also in case of an emergency, the firemen, police, paramedics and whoever else may be sent to assist need to know where to go.
House names, such as "Rose Cottage" (my mother-in-law's name for her semi on Low Mill Estate in Ripon), are less common in Germany.
Having the house number there and clearly visible is a great idea. I have 6 inch numbers on my front porch, right at the edge and the same again just around the corner to be easily seen from the driveway no matter which direction you come from. Yet delivery people can't seem to find me, I had to cancel any newspaper deliveries because half the time I never got a paper. Some companies I use on a regular basis, Amazon Australia, and K-Mart, Big W etc, now know where I am, but newspaper delivery people are all blind it seems. I like the look of your number floating in your hallway. If the transom was leadlight would it be rainbow numbers?
ReplyDeleteno two days would see the light image exactly the same. I like it
ReplyDeleteWe have a similar effect, though our number is opaque on clear glass.
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely lovely, and your street number is the crown for stalking purposes. I think it is good to have your house number displayed. While not every house here does, most do so it usually easy to work out. Not so for businesses though, which is rather annoying.
ReplyDeleteIn our first house we had prism leadlight windows, which cast moving rainbow images everywhere when the sun shone on the windows.
You could mark the position of the image at the winter solstice so that you know when to wear your white robes and pointy hat, and chant in the front garden in the moonlight, and get your oats in.
ReplyDeleteThat is so neat, and something to observe over the passage of time.
ReplyDeleteYour home sounds fancy, Neil. Like Meike mentions, we are encouraged to have house numbers clearly visible for emergency purposes...
ReplyDeleteYes. Never-changing, infinitely moving. I like that.
ReplyDeleteYour own little Manhattanhenge.
ReplyDeleteI love how light looks as it comes through the windows at different times of the year.
ReplyDeleteTransom is a new word on me. I like houses with vestibule doors.
ReplyDeleteLittle pleasures in life mean so much and make our days complete.
ReplyDeleteI don't think I ever heard the words 'transom' or 'fanlight' before. I think those kinds of windows above a door are rare here. House numbers are no doubt mandatory here just like in Germany (unless it's a very rural location without street names). Houses in towns/villages don't have names (not officially anyway).
ReplyDeleteThat's a lovely idea YP.
ReplyDeleteMy house number is a couple of tiles with the house number on them, attached to the gatepost. It's the most usual way to denote a property number here.
Well, that is really cool. One never knows when modifying things how it may influence something else
ReplyDeleteAnd on those days when you don't go walking god-only-knows-where, it gives you something to do with your mind to keep it working.
ReplyDelete