Where good house names come from
Most names people have loved for a hundred years began in one of five places.
The House Illustration From £19.99 One photograph of the front of the house, restyled into an illustration. The watermarked preview is free.
- What the building used to be. The Old Forge, The Old School House, Station House. If your home really was one of these, the name carries its history. If it wasn't, pick another: a name that tells a story the house doesn't have never quite sits right.
- What grows or lives nearby. Rowan Cottage, Heron Lodge, The Willows. Look out of the window and pick what you'd miss.
- The land and the view. Hillcrest, Brookside, Sea View. These are the easy ones, and the easy ones last.
- Who lives there. A surname on the gate, or the family's own word for the place.
- A joke. Dunroamin has been on front gates for decades. If it makes you smile every time you come home, it's doing its job.
Before you settle on one
Say the whole thing out loud, as you'd give it over the phone: the name, the road, the town. If you have to spell it twice, it may be too clever.
Take a look along your road and the next one. Two houses with the same name close together confuse delivery drivers and, sooner or later, the neighbours.
If your road uses numbers, your number stays. A name sits beside it. If you want the name to become part of your official address, ask your council what they need, and tell Royal Mail. Once you've decided, tell your bank, your insurer and the people who send you post.
Putting it where you'll see it
The print is for a wall inside, not a sign for the gate. It sets your house name in type under a drawn front door, with the place and the year if you like, and who lives there. It's made to order and printed on paper or canvas, with or without a frame. Add a number if you want one: put it in the place line, like No. 12 · Little Hadham.
If you'd rather have the house itself on the wall, turn a photo of it into an illustration, or see every print we make.