“…Eliminates the final telltale sign of laminate
– the brown line.”
I am a big believer in the idea that the most significant design shifts tend to come from technological breakthroughs. The advance of laminate kitchen countertops — replacing linoleum and wood in most kitchens in the 1950s — came as a result of the very invention of plastic and then, the ability to manufacture it in long thin sheets with colorful designs laminated on to the top layer.
Originally, countertop edges could not be bent or rolled, so that’s why we always see metal edging in early kitchens. Later, around 1957, the countertop industry developed the ability — called thermoforming — to “roll” the edges and the backsplash in one continuous piece, eliminating the need for metal edging and introducing a big shift in the way kitchens looked. Homeowners who didn’t choose rolled edges chose flat edges, and metal edging faded from use.
Now… 2012… we have another advance: Formica this week is introducing new laminate edging technology that allows us to have more intricate “ogee” or “bullnose” edging profiles on our Formica countertops — complete eliminating the tell-tale brown line that comes from a typical 90-degree edge. And, their new “Ideal Edge” — in these two curvy two designs — can go all the way around corners and ends, adapting to any cabinet or turn-the-corner configuration.
Don’t want to take out a second mortgage (if you can get one, ha) to afford granite or marble countertops? Now, get the Ideal Edge… combine it with today’s laminates — which are remarkably realistic… and the bankrupt Joneses next door will have to look twice to see the difference. Note: Wilsonart’s “Cascade” edge, introduced in September, seems pretty similar to the Formica Ideal Edge/Bullnose and like the Formica technology, eliminates the brown line. So I’m not declaring Formica gets all the props for the innovation — they just did a good job catching my eye with this announcement, and with sending lots of great photos pronto.
You know my general aesthetic when it comes to midcentury modern and midcentury modest houses: Granite isn’t *authentic*, and in unpretentious midcentury houses, it seems out of place (to me). But, I certainly like the idea off-white-and-gray Carrara (and if it’s not available, okay, Calacatta) marble — in particular in bathrooms, but also on a section of kitchen countertop, or on all of it, depending on how high falutin’ your house and your style is. The beauty part of faux-marble laminate is that it is going to be (1) way easier to maintain than marble (2) way less expensive and (3) a more environmentally sensitive choice. Carrara marble has been around forever in homes — it’s one of the few things that makes my “timeless design” list. Again: I particularly like the idea for bathrooms. The greyish-off white should go with virtually any pastel bathroom, which will likely also be chock-a-block with chrome and likely, gray grout in the floor tiles. Set in a Kohler hudee-rimmed sink, and you are ready to party like it’s 1959 or 1969 or 1979.
ogee edge profilebullnose edge profile
Which laminates and edges do I like best?
- Note, the two Formica laminate designs shown in this story are not Carrara — they are Formica’s Calacatta, which is a larger veined marble, and Formica’s Bianca Luna, which seems to have heavier darker graining. For classic midcentury style, among these two, I’d go for Calacatta with the ogee edge — it’s less honkin’.
- But, my favorite vintage-style-marble-laminate still is Carrara marble laminate — I recently found three companies with this style. Yes, you can get Wilsonart’s “Carrara Santorini” laminate with the new, seamless bullnose edge. But, if you want the seamless ogee edge, you have to go with one of Formica’s choices.
- So… it’s a tradeoff. Get samples. Go see the edges. Agonize and torture DH. As usual.
See more information on Formica’s website here. And, read on for Formica’s complete news release:
Formica Corporation, the inventor of high pressure laminate and the first to pioneer large-scale laminate design, introduces another breakthrough in laminate with IdealEdge™, decorative edges suitable for curved, clipped or 90-degree corner installations. Available in two versatile profiles – Ogee and Bullnose – IdealEdge™ transcends the customary limitations of laminate by eliminating flat edges and brown seams.
“Laminate has benefited from major innovations in the last few years that have revitalized the surfacing material; IdealEdge™ is yet another one of those breakthroughs,” said Brian LaDuke, senior director of marketing at Formica Corporation. “IdealEdge™ profiles are fabricated like a bevel edge, which allows for more installation flexibility, and have the ability to curve and encase all sides of countertops, islands and tables. IdealEdge™ eliminates the final telltale sign of laminate – the brown line.”
Available in hundreds of Formica® Brand Laminate colors and patterns, IdealEdge™ profiles are produced in 12-foot lengths and are customizable to design specifications.
Formica Corporation continues to lead the industry with innovative designs and green building solutions. Formica® Brand Laminate is available with FSC® (Forest Stewardship Council) certification and is GREENGUARD Indoor Air Quality Certified® by the GREENGUARD Environmental Institute under the GREENGUARD Standard for Low-Emitting Products, including the requirements for Children and Schools.
In addition to IdealEdge™, Formica Corporation expands its 180fx® Collection with five new lighter, more neutral options. The patterns feature the premium finish Etchings™, a softly polished finish etched and dappled with highlights from tiny fissures reminiscent of those found in real granite and stone, or Radiance®, a high-gloss finish that is punctuated with texture and features holographic facets that refract and reflect light.
Imitation stone? Imitation anything = tacky! At least the old stuff looked like what it was- plastic.
I heartily disagree. Virtually all linoleum = imitation marble. Or imitation rugs. Or imitation something. Virtually all laminate = imitation something. Our entire housing and design world is full of imitation, for a variety of reasonable reasons.
Tacky or not, there was a really powerful urge during the atomic age to make things look like other things — in particular, plastic look like a natural material. Formica is the Contact Paper of countertops and Vinyl Tile is the Formica of floors.
I actually know a lot about plastics. It is EVERYWHERE. We could not have “modern life” without it.
Pam, you know more about ALL of this stuff than the rest of us combined. I was just making a general observation about how these “fakes” were perceived back in the day. It seems to me that authenticity was not a watchword in the mid-century modern home. I think people were excited that they could get something that symbolized something like marble but was inexpensive and easy to take care of.
I agree! Except about the I know more — many readers are Super Expert in various aspects — way more than me. That’s what makes this so fun and a journey of continuous discovery.
Interesting debate. So often, everything comes down to cost. (Not always, but often.)
This is timely for me and hubby — feeling very restless and discontented with our remuddled kitchen. Ultimately, it needs to be gutted to jack up sagging ceiling and see how studs and foundation are faring on damp side of house. This is far in the future. In the meantime, spending money on nice cosmetic changes is silly.
Guess what we are thinking of doing to our backsplash– which is currently white-painted, dark “Brady Bunch” paneling?
Fake tile decals! I have to say, they have come a long way with this stuff. We know it is fake — so will anyone who gets within 5 feet of it. But it looks very, very cool — and the company has done a custom color for free! A mosaic of jadeite green tones.
It will give me a lift and will jazz up the kitchen for a few years without breaking the bank!
Sometimes, fake is all you can afford.
Chris, can you send me the link to the company that is doing this for you? Yes, “cheap and cheerful”… including “faux”… often equates to a life not shackled to debt.
Pam, it’s dalidecals.com.
On their main site, look to the right and click on “modern mosaic.”
We got samples and they really look cool. They are emulating glass tiles, which are not period correct, but I think for our yucky little backsplash, it will be good. A nice backdrop for my pistachio colored stand mixer and some of my jadeite.
The salesman who did the custom color for me is going to work up a price for the space. If it isn’t too, too much, I’m all over it!
Oh — replying to myself to add more info….
The tiles are small. Again, not typical of the period at all.
But I think this will be a good look, combined with the rest of my old authentic stuff.
Hey Pam — I wonder — if they knew there was a niche out there for people who like the old stuff — maybe they would do some different styles!
I remember those! Very popular as back splashes in 1960′s kitchens in the upper midwest.
Formica is very authentic from a mid-century perspective. I don’t think people were trying to make it something it isn’t – just a clean sanitary surface for a kitchen or bath regardless of the pattern. Not to mention being embraced by the corporate world. No one would mistake the laminated surface for the real thing – be it wood or stone.
Formica is actually several layers of Paper, pressed together with heat, able to take over 300F and this new edging can be done with normal tools. I doubt anyone has equipment able to handle solid rock at their home.
My son’s football helmet is actually made of formica and quite impervious to red wine and chili pepper sauce stains.
No, that’s not true re linoleum. Old lino back to the 20s and before, had pretty patterns and didn’t look like marble or even rugs. Even William Morris designed a linoleum pattern (which I wish someone would reproduce).
I don’t like fake things either. Things should look like what they are, and if you choose Formica, it should look like Formica, not fake marble.
I will say the marble pattern is very convincing.
My knowledge of linoleum history does not go that far back. I have a book, though, that I will have to dig out. I think this is a very interesting question. Will have to post about it soon and let everyone weigh in! As you can tell, at this moment at least, I am feeling very tolerant of the fake – at least when it comes to surface materials.
Oh now this is very, very cool. What an innovation! If I was redoing my kitchen I would DEFINITELY be choosing this!
I agree with Pam, it looks nice and won’t break the bank!!!
I can think of an advantage to this edging style. Water can, and does, get under that brown edging line, and sooner or later, your laminate starts to come unglued. I have lived in enough mid century homes to know this, and only once was I lucky enough to have one with the darling metal edging (with vinyl inset that matched my laminate color).
I remember having marble style laminate in the bathroom of our 1959 home when I was growing up, so nix the comments on marble laminate not being authentic.
Yes-I’ve seen it that too. Water can get in and the edge falls off, the top loosens or bulges. Fake marble, I’ve seen it original in 50′s-60′s houses as well.
If I had metal edged countertops, I’d want to keep that look. However, the brown seam is an “authentic detail” I could just as well do without. I think this innovation, in “marble” or other patterns that suggest midcentury…is a really nice option. My 2¢.
Just a reminder that people have been “fauxing” marble for hundreds if not thousands of years. Even when marble was available it was a sign of wealth to be able to have an artist come faux walls and columns in their interiors. I’ve been in plenty of 19th century mansions where the owner could easily have afforded and acquired real marble yet chose to have it faux painted instead. Laminate is just a 20th Century interpretation of an old idea.
Faux marble Formica is just another choice. I’d imagine there was plenty of faux marble around in the mid century. The “cracked ice” pattern of Formica has always seemed “marble-y” to me.
The faux wood Formica on top of my work desk is living (sorry) proof of why it was so popular in the MCM days: the stuff is virtually indestructible, and the easy-care aspect of the faux was so appealing.
Very cool! I did a bathroom of mine (vanity top and tub surround) in another material called Tyvarian that also mimics the look of real stone but is pretty affordable.
Very interesting about the new edges. Right now I have a 12″ x 12″ sample of 180fx calacatta marble sample (#3460-46) from Formica. They sent if free with a request on their site. This Formica has a picture of marble so it really does look real. My guess is that is what is in some of the photos above. I keep looking at the sample to see if I would like it for for a bathroom remodel for one of my daughters. The house has been remodeled here and there and certainly needs the mauve 90′s torn out!
I too remember marble laminate as a choice for a home I had in the early 70′s. I did not choose it, but some of my friends did. The calacatta marble looks a lot like carrera marble to me. I would love to know what the prices would be for the new edges. I was in Lowes last week and there was no one around that seemed to know any prices about any counters! At the time I was not aware of the new edges for formica. I think the faux marble would look great with a drop in sink. I think this would look nice, be easy to keep up, and maybe not be too expensive.
Thank you for alerting us about the new edges!
Love that pretty Dualit white toaster and the bright green hairpin frogs (for flowers) on the counters.
Yet another reason to avoid granite countertops; it looks as they might indeed be literally “dated”. Take a look at today’s NY Times article!
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/24/garden/24granite.html?pagewanted=all
Crikey! However — it’s dated 2008….
As soon as I typed that, I realized it wasn’t today’s NYT…I did receive it today in my email from a friend. Granite is for tombstones…and apparently helpful in getting underneath one!
I have read recently that trendy folk are now shying away from granite cuz it’s too common. hence: all that marble — big marble — that you’re seeing
Well thank goodness for that.
What a brown decade it’s been…not even good browns, mind you. I wish people would give up the idea that their entire house must be painted the color brown to “neutralize it” for prospective buyers. In a perfect situation when looking for a home, I’d rather have a good white as something to start from. Same with the tiles. I am browned out. Browner is a downer.
And yet there was this recent article in the Washington Post: (link broken)
We had the chance to score some free — yes free — granite for our countertops but we turned it down. It was tempting, but granite seemed somewhat ridiculous in a modest 100 square foot kitchen. So no, not every homeowner wants “a piece of the rock”.
Wow, this is very cool! Thanks for the tipoff! I have to say that the pattern looks very much like the marble window ledges we had in our old mid-century modest home, and also like what we have in the house we just moved into. Our kitchen is being made over and the countertops are original to the house…this is really nice. (This countertop would have been perfect in our last home, too.)
Also, those pointing out that in the 40s-60s people loved having things that looked like other things are right. Granted, sometimes it didn’t work so well (plastic “wood” “paneling” comes to mind), but that’s no reason to eschew it. Plenty of it was fun, functional, and attractive!
I agree. It’s a fine line, though. A faux material is just fine…as long as it embraces what it is and doesn’t try to “pull something over on me” (anthropomorphous here….). The real thing or an obvious fake in its full glory. Come to think of it, that’s rather how I like people too! LOL.
Well, this solves MY countertop dilemma. It doesn’t pay to put granite on refaced cabinets, but I hate, hate, hate the brown laminate lline. So thanks, Pam, for passing this along. Now I know what I’m going to get.
In my previous life, aka in California, during our remodel/addition we installed a wet bar with cherry cabinets and a 6′ black/green faux marble counter. It was custom made with a full-radius edge along the front – no sharp corner/black seam. Everyone thought it was the real thing. The edge treatment sure made a big difference!
I previously dealt with the “black line problem” by having black formica countertops. Works great — in my old kitchen I had Graphite Nebula by Wilsonart, which looked really nice with our original wood cabinets that we painted white. But I appreciate knowing about these new option anyway. Could come in handy as we attempt to de-90s our current kitchen.
Thanks for the article. I have a 1975 home with all originals and am looking for less expensive ways to update my bathroom without spending a small fortune as I want to sell it. I have a blue tub and toilet that are in GREAT condition as the original owner was a single gentleman who used the downstairs shower only. I would like to update the vanity and counter top to a stile that would look nice with the tub and toilet. I think this might work!
Formica is making a huge comeback in today’s houses as American’s again focus on living within their means and trying not to go to far in debt to buy the 5000 square foot McMansion. Meatloaf, mac-n-cheese, the Honda Civic, smaller houses and formica countertops say it: sensible. Another mainstay in today’s countertops is stainless steel (like most restaurant kitchens). That gives the higher-end commercial appearance and it’s easy hose the blood and guts off (and into the floor drain) should you have to gut a 70 pound marlin before the neighbors come over on Sunday afternoon.
Agreed, Peter. You are in the land of Midcentury MODEST, here. See this recent story on installing a stainless steel countertop on your own, Linn did it for just $300. Also, see all my mid mod-appropriate laminate selection in the Kitchens/Countertops category: http://retrorenovation.com/category/kitchen/countertops/
we have 58 square feet of kitchen countertop…multiply that x $60-$80…it gets cost prohibitive. My whole day turned around…make it year …today when I realized that I can get a faux marble formica for under $2000 and our 50 year old kitchen can get a face lift AND we can still take a summer vacation. I honestly don’t know how all of these people out there are buying real stone with the economy so bad…It baffles me, and I am just glad that I found a beautiful option, fake or not – who cares…it looks good. seriously in the course of a year…how many people see my kitchen that care???zero.
Yup. As our Midcentury Modest Manifesto points out:
“…GRANITE countertops? Who needs ‘em, especially when they come with
a home equity loan that stresses our family finances beyond our limits.
What silliness. What Insanity.”
http://retrorenovation.com/mid-century-modest-manifesto/
This laminate conversation is so timely for me! We have a 1961 ranch/rambler and we in the midst of a major kitchen renovation! We are reusing (after refinishing) the original cabinets, an the original stainless steel counters (!!), but we are adding an island and I need a counter for it. I want to do something period appropriate for the island, but can’t seem to figure out what that would be, that would go well with the stainless counters. The original backsplash was yellow/brown formica (oh, how many times I have wished that Mrs. Hutchison was a teal/pink/any other color than yellow/brown fan – she was ahead of her time in her love for earth tones as we have a yellow bathroom too).
Thanks for the links and discussion on the laminate! I’d love to pick people’s brains on color options, lol.
Consumer Reports in the Sept 12, 2012 issue gave laminate (laminate in general) as the “Overall” top rated material as far as Stains , Abrasion and Resistance to Heat and Impacts.
No other material was better against impacts, heat, or stains. Only Abrasion got an “Average” rating and in that category, only Quartz, granite, and glass were better.
It also mentioned Formica’s Ideal Edge stone pattern as very real looking.
I am going to be remolding my kitchen counter and bathroom counter and will have to look at this stuff.
Got an estimate on stone for my recent kitchen remodel… $5200. Used Formica FX, did the work myself for $800… and that included the substrate and the edging from Beveledge (never heard of them? Seek them out!). Most people can’t tell the difference and I still have $4400 in the bank.
I had nearly the identical experience. We live in a 130 year old house. It has it’s quirks, but it is beautiful. If any kitchen screamed for marble countertops, ours does. But I could not justify, on our budget, spending $5,000 on countertops in a kitchen that if I had my druthers, would gut renovate. Problem is, when they installed the new kitchen here in 1967, they did such a darn good job, using real wood and building in each drawer on sight that I cannot imagine tearing this out, only to replicate it, with not real wood and so on and so on. So I replaced the cabinet doors, with painted updated shaker ones, bought top of the line stainless Kitchenaid appliances and ordered, for $800, NEW formica marble countertops, including enough for the island, and it will look beautiful for the 5 of us and maybe 30 people per year who ever see our kitchen in person..I will send photos when it is done!!!
Yup, I didn’t have $5,000 for granite so I did my 8′ x 4.3′ island + 2′ x 5′ sideboard w/ formica. Used a big roll of formica on furniture grade plywood with 2″ of solid wood running around the edge (so only solid wood is near any edges). Did old-school edges, which look like old-school formica edges (only weak part of my design). but did whole thing for a couple hundred bucks. The glue is nasty stuff to work with – work in well ventilated and use respirator. Suggest to not use MDF / particle board anywhere in a kitchen.
I just posted the first sneak peek of our “Farble” and I so affectionately named have named the Formica Calacatta Marble that we just had installed… I have not revealed to my readers that it is NOT real marble and one reader commented how jealous she is of my marble!!!
http://myoldcountryhouse.com/sneak-peek-new-countertops/
Looks fabulous!