House Sign Lettering Colours — White, Gold or Silver?

For slate house signs, you have three lettering colour options: white, gold and silver. It’s one of those decisions that’s easy to overthink, so here’s a straightforward guide to help you choose.

White Lettering

White is by far the most popular choice — and for good reason. It gives the strongest contrast against the dark grey-green of natural slate, making the lettering easy to read from a distance in all light conditions. It suits every property style, from period cottages to modern homes, and works with any font.

If you’re unsure, white is the safe choice. It’s what most of our customers go for, and it rarely looks wrong.

Gold Lettering

Gold adds a warmer, more traditional feel. It works particularly well on period properties — Victorian and Edwardian homes, Georgian houses, rural cottages — where the warmth of the gold complements brick, stone and timber surroundings.

Gold is slightly less high-contrast than white, which can make it harder to read at distance in poor light. For most properties this isn’t a problem, but it’s worth considering if your sign is set back from the road or in a position with variable lighting.

Silver Lettering

Silver sits between white and gold — contemporary enough for modern homes, traditional enough for older properties. It works particularly well on new builds and rendered or painted exteriors where the cooler tone complements a modern palette.

Like gold, silver is slightly lower contrast than white against dark slate.

Which Should You Choose?

• Traditional or period property — white or gold, depending on your preference. Gold adds warmth; white gives maximum readability.
• Modern or contemporary home — white or silver. Silver suits cooler, more contemporary palettes.
• Rural property on an unlit road — white gives the best visibility at distance and in low light.
• Not sure — go white. It works on everything.

What About Marble Composite Resin Signs?

Our oval, rectangular, bridge top and rustic signs use reflective white lettering as standard — this is the same reflective material used in UK road signs and returns light from vehicle headlights for excellent night-time visibility. An optional gold rim upgrade is available on selected rectangular, oval and Bridge Top designs.

What About White Corian Signs?

White Corian signs are engraved rather than painted. The engraved lettering can be left as natural Corian (a clean off-white) or filled with a colour — most customers leave it natural, which gives a subtle, understated contrast that suits the contemporary material well.

Our free design proof with every order shows exactly how your chosen lettering colour looks before we make anything.