Name your Home...

I've wanted to name my home but "life" always got in the way...

How To Name Your House (Link)

Prior to a bill being passed requiring the naming and numbering of streets in Britain in the mid 18th century, the naming of houses was the only means of locational identification. The naming of homes gave character and personality to each area.

This tradition was brought to Australia by the first British settlers, who often named their homes after places they longed for in England.

Today, Australians come from every country in the world and the variety of names is boundless. To start you thinking about a name for your home, we've compiled this list.

You can derive inspiration from anywhere... perhaps even give your home a made up name by taking the first few letters of your own names (eg. Barbara, Robert and Sally, becomes "Barosa" or "Barosa House"). You might like to add a suffix such as : Villa, Lodge, Court, Place, Downes, Hall, Cottage etc. The geographical location of the house and the surrounding vegetation can also suggest possibilities (eg. "Hillcrest", "Seascape", "The Pines" and "The Gums").

Your house may already have a name. You may find this on the title deeds especially if it is old enough to fall under the Old Systems title. Incidentally, this form of Title Deed lists the names and occupations of all the previous owners and this, in itself can be a source of inspiration for naming the house.

Other sources of information are the local Post Office, the local Council, local historical societies and also the State libraries. In Sydney it is possible to find the original names of older houses in the Sand directory in the Mitchell Library.

A good source of Aboriginal names can be found in "Aboriginal Place Names" published by Reed Books P/L.

Here is a gallery of photos of signs.

If just making a sign of your name and possibly the number, I would suggest 3 colors: background, lettering and trim. If your sign will have a picture on it, do the picture first, in it's true colors, or a silhouette, and use an accent color for the lettering. Although wood is commonly used, you can use just about anything... a big rock, slate, glass, metal... What you paint with too is up to you but I would definitely recommend sealing it, to withstand the weather, with poly. A list of Beach House Names Completely Coastal put together a great list! Here's some pictures of House Names on Fire Island (NY). Even Jimmy Fallon got into the act with Punny Beach House Names. So what better way to start the new year than with a name for my home and a new sign for it!! Journey's End pat and heidi's beach hut