Update: Almost all of these designs are now discontinued.
See my up-to-date stories on all retro laminates here: Kitchen/Countertops Category.

UPDATE (Oct 2011): Click over to –> this story to get an update on all three sources for boomerang laminate.

The countertops I removed from the two vanities in my 1951 bathrooms were both laminate, edged in metal. One – a soft aqua tinged green – imitated a really beautifully, nubbly linen weave. I could not identify any current laminate to replicate it in either style or color. (Greens really differ in popularity by era, I’ve found.) In the other bathroom, there was a marbleized pink — and I found a good match for this one (see below).

Ultimately, these are the best choices I found for bathroom laminates:

- Wilsonart Bleu Windrift – a light, marbleized blue. Special order.
- Wilsonart Tearose Illusion – this is the pink marbleized laminate described above. Special order. UPDATE: Glamorluxe Nancy reports that Wilsonart is saying this is discontinued. I presume that means all three colors. Argh.
- Wilsonart Beige Illusion – also shown above. Special order.

Now, you can also get Formica 1950s replicas for the bath or kitchen. They all look terrific:

- Formica Boomerang – in four colors, shown above.
- Virrvarr – in two colors, light blue and white. This is a reproduction of a popular European pattern. I think it’s terrific, and may use it in my upcoming kitchen reno if the salvaged aqua-with-gold-fleck counters I’m hoping to use don’t work out.

Other details:

• I edged my bathroom countertops with the laminate, simple square edge. My husband the neat freak again begged me not to use the metal edge. I think this worked out fine, it certainly is ‘softer’ than the metal. I’ll do a future post on where to find metal edging.
• The original countertops had a special piece of metal molding, a narrow T molding between the edge of the counter and the tile that ran up the wall alongside it. I saw at my local lumber store, this was still available. I skipped it.
• I ordered a high-gloss finish, although I think matte or a soft gloss would be fine and certainly less likely to scratch.

Finally — if you really don’t want laminate and prefer something more durable, I recommend you look at Caesarstone, a solid surface material. I thought their “Blizzard” was beautiful, a bit off white with some nubble but not overwhelming or a major contemporary statement. You could design around it.