Retro Accents
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Sleep in a wigwam — Femme1 vacations at Wigwam Village outside Mammoth Cave 
60s bathroom: Fontana Arte bathroom accessory pieces – today’s ebay pick 
Black trim for a white subway tile bathroom — The Gut Bathroom Renovation Chronicles continue 
Become a fanKitchens – Countertops
These are sure a blast from the past: Glass combination trivets and cutting boards that are installed directly into your kitchen countertop. Yes: with metal rim aka Hudee ring. I think that these built-in cutting boards were all the rage in the 1970s, because there was one in our 1975 countertop, to the left of the sink. I’m not sure [...]
A reader wrote to ask how to bring the luster back to her vintage laminate countertops. Paste wax, maybe? To get the answer, I turned to expert Grace Jeffers. She is the writer, design historian and materials expert responsible for restoration of the Ralph Sr. and Sunny Wilson House – including its gorgeous Mondrian-style kitchen, [...]
When folks move into new/old 1920s, 1930s, 1940s, 1950s, 1960s or 1970s homes, it seems like one of the biggest and most common needs is to update materials in the kitchen that are on their last legs. In general, if you have a laminate countertop that is in good shape, I’d say: Keep it. Or [...]
Here is another set of products from the past — still available today — with a fascinating history: ‘Memphis’ style laminates designed in 1978 by Ettore Sottsass, “the greatest Italian designer of the last half century.” These laminates are still offered by Abet Laminati. This is not necessarily a name familiar U.S. consumers, but Abet [...]
Many thanks to Whitney, who just tipped me that Wilsonart has introduced 11 new colors of boomerang laminate. There now are a total of 14 colorways — the most of any manufacturer. I am quite liking the “butterscotch” above — looks like you could use this in a kitchen with yellow kitchen cabinets. There is [...]
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I need speed and up-time — so I use WP Engine
