Retro laminates – Colors from Arpa compared to the Sherwin Williams Suburban Modern palette

by pam kueber on October 2, 2008

High-res scan - click to enlarge

High-res scan - click to enlarge

Okay, this is the last day of my little fixation with retro laminates. (For now.) As you know, I am a devotee of the Sherwin Williams Suburban Modern palette, both interior and exterior.  So, I have gone through Arpa’s line of solid-colored laminates and for the most part, been able to line up 10 colors that are pretty darn good matches to the 10 SW mid mod interior colors.

Virtually all of these colors were used on postwar kitchen cabinets by about 1955, lilac and rose red/pink flamingo a little later.

A few notes:

  • The Rose Red appears to be a really great match for the S-W Pink Flamingo. On my monitor, though, the color does not show up true. The kitchen below is a better capture of the true colors. And click on the kitchen for that complete, Rose Red post.
  • I really could find no good Arpa match for SW Pearl Gray. The Arpa alabaster is much lighter, but tonally in the right direction.



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