Oak House Sign

Here’s a nice straightforward oak house sign with an added and amusing little twist.

Why do I like it so much? Well, there’s just no messing about, no frills, no flounce, it’s just plain, simple and honest. The maker has taken a decent piece of oak and carved the v-cut lettering into the surface. This lettering is nicely proportioned both to itself and the way it fits on the nameplate. He’s then added a simple bevel to the edge of the sign but to finish it off he’s then given us the bonus of the small, carved mouse running along the top, did you spot it? This sets it apart from the crowd.

But hang on, a carved mouse running along the edge of a piece of oak – that sounds like the famous arts and crafts furniture maker Robert Thompson, "The Mouseman of Kilburn". This house sign is on a home not far away from there and I know they do make smaller items as well as the famous oak tables and chairs.

Only the person who created this house sign will know if he is actually one of the Yorkshire “mousemen”, but if he is, his fellow workers will be able to identify him as apparently each craftsman carves the mouse in their own individual style.

Chapel Cottage Sign

The shape of this house sign has me at a complete loss! What is it supposed to represent? – the first thing that comes to mind is a bone. Maybe the occupant has a very large dog.

It’s fairly certain that this sign is a one-off. It looks like the material is mdf which has been given a wash of brown. The lettering for Chapel Cottage has been carved by hand and, if you look closely, you can see inconsistencies in the lines.

However, it’s the shape that dominates and plants a seed of uncertainty in the observer’s mind.

Ship House Plaque

Here’s an interesting little plaque set into a wall and depicting an old ship in full sail. I suppose it could be classed as a form of pargetting, the traditional art of ornamental decoration using lime plaster. This would normally be found on the exterior of old houses in the east of England especially in the counties of Essex, Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire.

However, this is more of a painted sculptural plaque set into a frame in the wall and appears to be quite primitive both in its design and execution. I’m not convinced about painting it using the three primary colours; the bold, heavy modelling stands up for itself. That said, it does have a certain charm about it but would have been far nicer unpainted and then the viewer could discover it with a passing glance be quietly amused.

Georgian House Sign

Here’s the opposite situation to the last entry, the Rococo style plaque on the 50’s house. Here we have a 1970’s ceramic plaque on a Georgian property.

The plaque is most likely a ceramic tile blank onto which has been painted the floral decoration and house name - note the jaunty but peculiar angle of “Georgian”. The maker must have had security high on the list of priorities as it’s been fixed by a screw at each corner. This is a bit excessive for such a small sign, though it could be one of those neighbourhoods where if it isn’t screwed down it walks.

For me, the only good thing about this sign is that it gives me another opportunity to use one of my favourite words – “anachronistic”. It was first introduced to me by my English teacher when I was a teenager and I don’t think he could fault me for using it here.

Rococo Number Plaque

Black cast house plaque in the Rococo style.

This number plaque illustrates that we love to decorate our homes both internally and external but should beware when our heart rules our head.

When the owner of number 8 saw this house plaque they were probably won over by its voluptuous curves and frills. But the clincher though would have been the price, these number plaques are cheap and rightly so – exposed screws, vinyl lettering etc.

But where does the rococo style fit with the exterior of a 1950’s suburban house in the north of England? The only link I can think of is that it’s not too far from Otley, the birthplace of Thomas Chippendale who used a restrained version of its curves in his furniture designs (I only know this because, several years ago, I helped an old sculptor friend of mine on his commission for a figure of Chippendale for the town of Otley).

I could have it all wrong, you may be met at the front door by Marie Antoinette who invites you in to a scaled down version of the Palace of Versailles – anyone for cake?

Drive entrance sign on stone pillar

The house name “Mannamead” has been carved into a stone plaque which has been incorporated into a stone pillar. This was most likely done after the pillar was built, as there is an obvious mismatch in colour.
I’m not sure if the nameplate is the same type of stone but it might be just that the pillar has been constructed from recycled stone, which has already become discoloured with age.

The lettering of the house name has been highlighted in a reddy-brown which doesn't particularly stand out that well. But as it is close to the road this there shouldn’t be any problem with people being able to read the name.

Just in case passers-by haven’t got the message, the whole caboodle is a topped by a coach-lamp. What’s the message? I’ll leave you to decide – maybe taste…maybe ostentation.

Home Information Packs

The Home Information Pack is coming to a house for sale near you.

After much dilly-dallying, Home Information Packs (HIPs) will be launched on 1st June. After this date anyone selling a house will need to provide one for prospective buyers to look at. HIPs were initially flagged up as a way to speed up the home buying process but many critics believe that the opposite will occur and consider them to be just more government red tape.

The pack will now consist of proof of title of the property, local searches, but primarily the Energy Performance Certificate (EPC). Gone is the Home Condition Report and information on flood and subsidence risk. The energy performance certificate is expected to cost the homeowner around £200. An inspector will check a property’s energy efficiency and award a performance rating of A to G. In this way the government hopes to comply with a European directive on energy efficiency. However, this legislation only requires that a certificate is renewed every 10 years, not each time a property is sold.

Most people will find it hard to understand the necessity of an inspector to compile such straightforward survey. Why couldn’t an EPC be a tick-box form that’s completed by the vendor? Do homeowners really require "an expert" to tell them that their home has loft insulation, a tank-jacket and double-glazing?

The government maintains that this an important part of a drive for increased energy efficiency but there is no obligation to take action on the findings of a report. And if they really want to speed up the way we buy and sell properties why not implement the Scottish way of doing things where the buyer has to leave a deposit on making an offer?