Retro Renovation Reader Roundup

Here’s a new Saturday feature for the blog: A weekly roundup of its and bits that readers send our way. Matthew will edit the weekly roundup, and provide commentary. – Pam

Jason emailed Pam about this amazing find — a mint-in-box GE “Drape-o-matic”. Here is what he said:

Thought I’d show you a couple of recent Ebay finds that I purchased for my home project when I get home next month…. Heck yeah there is more →

Boomerang laminates from Wilsonart

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

Here is a third selection of boomerang laminates to consider for your retro kitchen renovation. Wilsonart has informed me that residential buyers can buy from this “Indie” line …. it is just a special order placed through a fabricator or dealer who would actually be the one ordering it from Wilsonart.  Oct. 2011 update: Best-known prices for this laminate are at A Moment In Time. Disclosure: A Moment in Time is currently an advertiser on the site. This mention is not part of the deal, though. And if I find this laminate at a lower price, I’ll update you!

Boomerang laminates

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

Where to find a retro Formica countertop for a red, black and white kitchen? Pamela recently wrote to ask:

Hi! I bought a home a couple of years ago … it’s a 10-year-old FL ranch, w/ a nice, open layout. The kitchen already has plain white, almost contemporary European-looking laminate cabinets. I’d like to decorate with a bit of retro & a bit of cottage style … in primarily red, white, and black. I’ve seen a lot of nice retro laminates on your site, but I’m looking for something white, with red speckles or red retro shapes. I could also do black speckles / shapes, but I like the idea of red better. I’ll probably do the stainless steel edging. Can you point me in a good direction for laminates like what I’m describing? Thanks for help!

Pamela, I think there is a relatively “easy” answer for this question: A Moment in Time — and several other suppliers online — have another boomerang countertop now that Formica’s boomerang countertops are only available in charcoal. These other boomerang design are a special-order item only available to the trade (professionals) — so you must buy it from a distributor like A Moment in Time.

At A Moment in Time, this laminate costs cost $325 for a 4′ x 10′ sheet [Oct. 2011] — this is the best price I’ve found. I presume that a 4′ x 10′ sheet can be easily (but very very precisely) cut in half length-wise to provide 20 linear feet of countertop 24″ deep. But, Pamela, if one of these 10 additional colors is what you are looking for, I think you are stuck paying.

Link: A Moment in Time Retro Design. You can also search “boomerang laminate” on google to scope out prices at other online retailers.

Disclosure: I updated this post in October 2011 to reflect more information gathered in 2011. At this time, A Moment in Time is an advertiser on the site. However, this story is not part of the deal. AND, they DO have the best prices currently, as far as I know.

Vintage Kohler kitchen sinks & more MIB madness


Wow, there is a really pretty vintage shower curtain, window curtain and shower hooks — all matchy matchy — here… And, I’m in love with the vintage 1960s-1970s gold and pink bedspread from Carson Pirie Scott. I need to be a decorator.Disclosure: Anything that you buy — from these ebay carousels or otherwise – when you click into ebay via any link on my site nets me a teensy commission.

A Hidden-Treasures Time Capsule Home

Matthew writes today: I found this article while doing some research a few months back and forgot all about it. After all the work I’ve been doing with Retro Renovation for Aunt Pam, it came back to mind. Here’s the jist: A man buys a big old house in Alabama, takes it off its foundation, moves it 10 miles across town, then discovers a complete room full of priceless treasures — not a single piece disturbed since 1938 and nothing broken in the move, either. I grew up on a farm in Kentucky. When I was little, one of my favorite things to do was go into old barns and abandoned structures to see what cool stuff I could find. As I got older, I still love the feeling of discovering items meant to never be seen again… I guess that’s why I’m studying archeology. Still, I can’t  imagine the exhilaration this guy would be feeling. I’m so going to buy a time capsule home for myself. Click here or on the screen shot (left) to read the article.

Aunt Pam adds: Speaking of hidden treasures, when Matthew was here last week, he and I made an impromptu trek to Gotham (aka New York City) to see the King Tut exhibit before everything heads back to Egypt permanently. We had a BLAST. Matthew is insane for Egyptology, and I have to say that seeing it all through his eyes, I have a newfound appreciation for mummies and cartouches and shabti and the like. Now, he is taking to this blogging thing like a fish to water. I think we really truly are related and share some decisively similar genetic material.

Ceramic towel bars, soap dishes & more from Rejuvenation

With the recent introduction of my easy-breezy category thumbnails, I am on a Resource binge. That is, I am all investigative reporter this week fixated on uncovering more restoration products that might provide just the perfect solutions for eager retro renovators. I want those category pages to ROCK. Today: A reminder that if you are looking for tile-in towel bars, soap dishes, toilet paper holders, and the like for your 1920s, 1930s, 1940s or even early 1950s bathroom, remember to check out the Chandler collection from Rejuvenation. This is “streamline” design, and it’s available in three colors: Black, white, and even jadeite green (swoon.) Heck yeah there is more →