For either kitchen or, especially, bathroom countertops, I believe that Carrara marble laminates are an authentic vintage choice. I blinded myself searching for them among the 8 retailers of laminate in the U.S. today. The number-one choice, I think, is going to be from Wilsonart — their White Carrara, shown above. Read on for some history and learnings… and for two more Carrara laminates to consider –>
Two points of interest:
- Grace Jeffers, the materials expert who advises Wilsonart, wrote about the use of laminates that imitated marble in her write up for Wilsonart on laminates in the 1950s. She also shows laminates that mimic travertine, and points to the influence of modern designers. I tend to believe, though, that carrera-style laminates were even more popular in 1960s. Remember, you can also get Formica White Onyx – which we know for a fact has been on the market in its present form since at least 1963.
- Researching this story, I learned about the difference between Carrara marble and Calacatta marble. Both are named for areas of Italy. Carrara has denser, smaller, lower-contrast veins and is light-grayer in its overall effect. Calacatta has much larger veining and, as a result, a grey-on-white effect. The larger-scale Calacatta is being pushed for contemporary homes today – both Formica and Wilsonart have it, part of the appeal seems to be that it has a huge repeat – 5′ – which means that in a kitchen it will be even less evident that it’s not real marble (real marble would have no “repeat”). Don’t ask me why, but I am guestimating that Cararra — not Calacatta — was what we had in old-skool times. Part of this guess is based on the fact that carrara marble has been in my conscientious forever — it’s been around. The big veining of Calacatta? I think that must have become “a thing” with McMansions.
The three choices for Carrara style laminate today — but note, I have not seen these samples except online:
Wilsonart’s White Carrara laminate
Wilsonart’s White Carrara laminate — Get samples via their website here.
Luc (laminate) – Abet Laminati
Abet Laminati’s Luc laminate — On their website here.
Marmo Sierra Beige (laminate) – Arpa
Arpa’s Marmo Sierra Beige — On their website here.
So doing this. I love the fun/funky laminates too but our kitchen is tiny compared to many ranch homes – this is an apartment – and I’m going to, I think, keep bright colours to cute accents. Because NO I am not giving up Fiestaware and geraniums – though my sister is now teasing me those should be white too.
White cabinets and white marble laminate is going to be good I think (nervous as I come down to decision time) no, not as outright sugar-confection adorable as some Mid-Century looks but easy to live with. And I can still do full on Suburban Modern colour scheme on the walls, right?
Because EVERYTHING goes with white!
Jordanna, I have a tiny kitchen, too, so I know what you are talking about. I see so many fun things I would love to do that would just overwhelm my space. I have pretty much decided to go with a new Arborite laminate and am going to paint my plywood cabinates a complimentary color, leaving the funky stuff for small accents here and there.
Just waiting for the tax refunds so I can start.
My friend Amy just redid her kitchen countertops using the Calcutta marble laminate from Formica. You can see her kitchen here…
http://maisondecor8.blogspot.com/2011/10/kitchen-is-done.html
Thanks for posting the photos! I was wondering how to deal with seams, Amy has found a solution. Cute house!
Amy’s whole house is gorgeous! Not my style at all, but I certainly can appreciate beautiful work when I see it. It looks very welcoming.
Here’s another option – maybe not as strong on the marbling pattern, and maybe not as grey/white as the others:
http://www.arborite.com/en/Products/Hiverna
Arborite actually has some pretty nice patterns, and Forbo recently acquired them.
Tami, did Forbo recently aquire Arborite back? Last info I could find is that Arborite was aquired by Wilsonart in 1999 and they are both now under the ITW umberella.
Please note: All Wilsonart Laminate in the USA is manufactured in the USA in Temple, TX and Fletcher, NC and has been since 1956. Support American jobs.
Thanks,
Rob L
I ordered a sample of the Wilsonart Carrara. It has a really nice texture–I forget what they call the texture, but it has “velvet” in the name. A lot of laminates that imitate real stone have a shiny surface but the Wilsonart Carrara is matte and actually feels about as close to marble as a laminate could. There’s a warmth to it that I like. I’m going to uncover the original tile on our sink wall (we have a 1930s home) and might end up using the Wilsonart if it looks right with the tile.
Great! Let me know how it turns out!