Today, I present 1960s polka-dot Formica Girl in a catfight smackdown against Medusa, the gorgon sister whose monstrous gaze turned mortal men to stone. Guess whose side I’m on? Warning: Uncharacteristic and generally-frowned-upon rant follows.
I have been looking at vacation condos in Florida recently. Everywhere you turn it’s: Granite on the countertops, bigggggg slabs o’ faux stone ceramic on the floors and backsplashes and even UP THE WALLS and not just on the bathrooms walls either. Shoot me.
All these baked surfaces are hard, cold, and they echo. The scale is usually way off. Moreover, the mass of stuff I’ve seen is just cheap crappola Applied All Over the Place. Sorry for my french and for breaking my rule about “not making anyone feel bad for their decisions.” But this mass hypnosis of the American public — which seems to go hand-in-hand with the Greige Nation — is just a crying shame. I am Very Tolerant about design choices. I really truly am. But this fixation on putting granite, faux-stone ceramic, stone and marble on every surface is Not Good. It is Not Attractive. I was not really aware of how bad it was, until I went condo shopping. Stop, America, stop!
I am a big fan of “mixing things up” when it comes to surfaces. Ceramic and/or marble and/or even some granite in the house is fine — in appropriate measures. Wood floors, cork, linoleum, VCT, carpet, rugs = Yes, there are so many choices, mix it up, have some fun! For midcentury modern and modest houses alike, laminate countertops are what’s *authentic* to the period. They usually suit the unpretentious character of the house.
Close your eyes to Medusa. Embrace Formica Girl and all her life-giving polka dot loveliness. Thanks to Formica blog for giving me permission to use their lovely photo. I’m sure they weren’t expecting this.
Amen sister!
Sorry, Pam. I guess most of these condos were bought by investors to flip, so that is probably what you get.
I’m coming out of the closet to admit we have blue pearl granite on our kitchen counters and bartop area. It does work for our otherwise retro-inspired room, and we enjoy it every day. It’s also not a huge area, either.
gsciencechick, I am sure your countertops are beautiful! We had them once in a 1980s house that we leased — and I liked them. My rant is about EXCESS.
Thanks, Pam. We don’t have granite in the baths because it didn’t seem to go with the simple scale of the rooms. Just some good ol’ retro-inspired cultured marble, LOL, but I like it!
I’m telling you: Group Think has taken over. It’s like suddenly everyone wants to be the Flintstones in the Town of Bedrock. Sad, and unless everyone recycles the granite to headstones or something I don’t know what we’re going to DO with all of it when people get tired of it.
Kate, It is as if you were reading my mind.
I agree whole heartedly with the Flintstones analogy. Masonry has its place….just not every place. Give me some color choices.
Yabadabadooooo
Recycled into headstones, PERFECT.
I am weary not only of all of the cold, unpleasant surfaces, particle board cabinets, toxic carpeting, but of the background idea of emulating wealth. The whole marble and granite thing smells more of palace emulation than a good way to live. Which is in a way, what you are saying.
Can we live without so much pretension, and pretend, and go back to celebrating well made simple things?
Someone put a hideous marble tile floor in my pretty old 1950s ranch kitchen, and oh, do I look forward to the day I can tear it out.
Also, where I can get some POLKA DOT FORMICA?
: )
yup
Kate, I can’t tell you how much satisfaction I got out of removing the cold, hard, awful tile in my kitchen. It was a lot of grunt work, but I was so happy to be rid of it, for so many reasons. So have fun when you finally do it!
Hey Pam sometimes it’s just good for you to have a good rant or shout it’s a great stress release and your not alone in your views that’s for sure.
My heart goes to the polka-dot Formica Girl after all I do not want to be turned to stone or even worse a granite countertop
In looking for a home in south Florida last year, we saw a lot that had been rather shoddily “upgraded” by investors (or banks). My husband and I are in the midst of unrenovating our 1973 florida home to something that better suits our taste and lifestyle. Of course, I will cry when we decide to move and I have to leave my boomerang laminate behind!
Hey Pam! I assume you are looking at condos to purchase?
You need to look at houses!!!!!!!! Depending on where you are, Florida has LOTS of little jewels!
I am in GA and I have friends who live in FL — plus a friend who intends to buy something for vacation in Florida.
According to them, there are many, many untouched little pieces of history in the different beach towns!
Lived in Florida for 8 years, and those little cottages are what I miss most. Many of them were built in the 50′s and 60′s. My husband and I used to rent one to get away for the weekend. I definitely prefer them to condo living.
I totally agree! Houses are the way to go in Florida. I found the perfect FURNISHED 1963 time capsule. I couldn’t convince DH to look at a space age looking ranch on a golf course. It was soooo cool, too, with huge windows and vaulted ceiling in the living room. I could see it with Eames furniture and sputnik chandeliers…
Agreed! When we were choosing the finishes for our new-build home (sadly, not in the MCM style — we’ll do our best to furnish it MCM, though) we chose laminate counter tops in a pattern that did not resemble any natural stone. Why go with laminate and try to fake it?
Someone said “granite is good” and all the lemmings plunged off the cliff. Chalk it up to extreme lack of imagination and the need for “confirmity” (just made that up).
Thank you for your thoughts, Pam. I hardly ever get this worked up, but I share your feelings for granite in excess. The cold, hard slabs make me think of a morgue.
However, in the spirit of the RR community, I respect the design choice of those who enjoy granite. To each his own.
Pam, There are some original condos here in Fort Lauderdale and Pompano Beach. If you have not looked in this area, you should. There are several great 50′s/60′s architecturally significant buildings on the beach. There are also a lot of houses that are original. One on my street just sold after the original owner died. Of course the buyer “renovated”. I thought of you when I saw the turquoise cabinets on the trash pile.
Joe, that’s an arrow in Pam’s heart!
I have been having my own version of this rant all week, as I have been out looking at dishware. So much of it is of Shrek proportions, with coffee cups the size of cereal bowls, and cereal bowls the size of mixing bowls. I guess it is designed to look the proper scale in these granite-filled McMansion kitchens. But I have a modest-sized 50s era kitchen, and these monster-sized cups and bowls just look ridiculous, and take up too much room. I know I could be hitting the thrift stores or antique malls looking for retro era dishware of the appropriate size, but sometimes, if I am in a store shopping for something, and decide to drift over into housewares to pick up few “normal-sized” cereal bowls, I want to be able to do that! (Whoa, too much coffee this morning from a mop-bucket-sized cup!)
If you’re looking for something newer, try Corelle or Fiestaware.
Exactly! Those giant plates and glasses won’t fit in my 50s cupboards, and are even hard to fit in new dishwashers. And silverware is bigger now too. No wonder I am fat, filling up a big plate and polishing it off with a big fork!
buy vintage……it’s 100% environmentally friendly and the quality is usually higher and the cost is usually lower than the gargantuan new stuff.
I’m with you — except when it comes to the size of the coffee cup. The bigger the better!
Crate & Barrel is carrying reproductions of the dinnerware designed by Eva Zeisel in 1952. It doesn’t come in all the cool colors that you could get back then, but the scale might be better. Anyone know if they’ve sneakily “upsized” these pieces?
Hi Jackie, FYI, I don’t think the Hallcraft Zeisel dinnerware, which Crate & Barrel has reissued, ever came in any colors other than white. You might be thinking of the Redwing Town & Country pattern, which came in all the lovely 1960s colors (grey, dusk blue, forest green, sand, peach, rust, chartreuse, and last but not least gunmetal). The dinnerware C&B carries now was always white, although the original dinnerware did come with different floral patterns on top of the white.
And to answer your question, I believe the reproductions are to the same scale as the originals.
(I’m a big fan of Zeisel T&C, obviously — it was my parents’ wedding dinnerware and though they lost several pieces over the years, I have been replacing it — one piece at a time, along with vintage Russel Wright Iroquois pieces (which hold up much better to daily use). And it is all just the right size for my mid-century modest ranch house kitchen!)
Is Formica Girl single?
If we want to go back a few years, the 80s equivalent was the craze for so-called Southwestern decor, which my 1957 MCM house still suffers from. The owners of that time went so far as to turn the fireplace into a faux-kiva style with butts of logs sticking out – which was then finished with some kind of pale pink acrylic. Absolutely ludicrous in this post-and-beam house. We’ve just spend a fair amount of money mitigating this vandalism.
And yeah, Formica Girl is single…but she’s also 72 years old now!
You’re right about the homogenization, but there are still some cool unique places here too from mid-century back to old plantation style – not in condos though. Being in FL myself, I’ll say that hard surfaces are helpful in this environment. A lot of older places HAD to be renovated due to the rot and decay that is on overdrive down here. With all the bugs, termites, heat, and humidity, things like tile floors are cool and don’t collect mold and pollen like carpets. The granite counters are so overdone. My fear is that all this beautiful and limited resource granite will lose favor at some point and then we’ll see people just sledge hammer it to pieces and put it in the dump.
Thanks, Nathan, I really hear what you are saying regarding needing to use material more impervious to humidity and termites, etc.! You know, I also understand the need for folks to do this affordably! That said, gosh, reflecting on what I have been seeing in my condo-hunt, I KNOW there are ways to use affordable materials more beautifully…
Pam, being that you are looking down in Florida, what are your views on Terrazzo flooring? I know that is was the big thing in Mid Century Florida. I always cringe when I visit my great aunt and see that she has covered her amazing Terrazzo floors with wall-to-wall, even in the kitchen…
I live in South Florida and love terrazzo floors, which are made of marble chips embedded in concrete, then honed, polished and buffed smooth. They are seamless, dissipate heat, are cold underfoot, and help the house feel cooler in our hot, humid climate. they are impervious to termites and moisture damage. yes, too often it was later covered with carpet, ceramic tile or the worst, glued down vinyl or linoleum. These can be removed and the terrazzo restored. The terrazzo was installed directly on the concrete slabs, on which South Florida houses are (still) built. New terrazzo floors are no longer installed in homes, due to very high labor cost compared to other floor coverings. It’s still used in commercial applications. Terrazzo tiles can be purchased for floor, wall and counter top installations. In South Florida, concrete and stone-based floors (that includes tile) and surfaces wear best. I am not a greige or beige or earthtone fan. However, neutral tile is a great backdrop for color on walls, furnishings and accessories. I have 3 bathrooms with white tile and fixtures, with blue, green and aqua walls, towels, shower curtains, etc. they look great against the white.
I love the terrazzo too, it is hardy and good looking and easy to take care of. I understand you can get it polished if it is a little worn. It was my bane to discover only plain old cement under my brown, orange, black and cream shag carpet.
Terrazzo is THE BEST. Definitely on my list of desireable features! Funny to hear, when we were out looking, that there were interim generations who though it was hide*** and ug**.
Yes! We’re looking to move house soon and I get so sad when we go into homes where a home depot kitchen has been put in recently. Usually on the advice of their realtor that they should do it to sell the house. We’re fortunate that our realtor told us to play up the colorful, mid-century features of the home we’re selling rather than greige it out.
I should also say I don’t think there is anything wrong with granite it’s the ubiquity of it that makes me dislike it. You’ve said this many times, Pam, but in 20 years it will seem dated just as everyt trend does. Most people don’t realize that though and the general consensus seems to be that we’ve finally figured it out design-wise.
Currently I have all Laminate countertops. In my last house I had Silestone installed when I gut renovated the kitchen, but it was such a small kitchen that my counterspace was very limited and therefore was not too expensive. I am not a fan of Granite Countertops at all. I agree, they are cold and require too much work (sealing!). I would consider using Silestone again in small doses (custom bath vanity top?) but granite, no thanks.
I also just did a little research and apparently some of them may contain radon?
http://publicaccess.supportportal.com/link/portal/23002/23012/Article/20951/What-about-radon-and-radioactivity-in-granite-countertops
Yet another reason to stick with Formica!
I really do some of the manufactured counter top materials – Silestone, Caesarstone (sp?), etc. Even granite, too! I am ranting about seeing this cold hard stuff in EXCESS like Everywhere, un-Artfully designed…
Hi Pam,
Great that you are looking in Florida. You think granite surfaces are bad? Try looking at mid century modest houses which have been totally ruined by having tile roofs and other mcmansion features added to the outside. Can’t even tell you what they look like. I live in Miami and I love it. And yes there are still plenty of little mid century treasures out there, but you have to look really hard amidst all the macmansion craze. Good luck with your search.
Flat white concrete roof tiles are correct for Florida mid century houses. Spanish style barrel tiles are not. Tar and gravel is also correct for low slope or flat roofs of that era here. Metal standing seam was not used but is now seen for replacement roofs due to ability to withstand hurricanes.
Look for concrete block and stucco construction,flat concrete roof tile painted bright white, metal jalousie or awning windows, terrazzo floors, keystone finish on concrete patios. No arches straight lines no faux mediterraenean trim pillars or columns Thats a real South Florida mid century house.
Thanks, Cynthia!
I admit that I love greige. It’s very flattering to my coloring, and I grew up in the 90′s, when the industrial look was very hip. BUT I do think I know the cheapo renovate-to-sell look that you are talking about, and I hate it too.
I think that granite countertops became so popular because during the housing bubble everyone had at least one eye to selling, and for a while they were really helping to sell units. I remember about ten years ago someone who worked for a window company complaining about their condo-building clients who were putting in the cheapest possible windows–but all the units had granite countertops!
But it’s a perennial problem–I’ve read memoirs that mention people in 1950s selling off their Victorian furniture for a pittance so that they could have the new look. In 50 years the new “we” might be lamenting that someone is tearing out a perfectly serviceable 2012 kitchen. (Don’t you just love that wacky scale? It’s SO early century!)
Catherine – I drive buy hundreds of houses and town homes here everyday that have cheap windows. That’s a whole nuther subject though. But you know even with cheap windows, they run a 90% chance that granite lurks within.
I’ll be on the opposite end of course – I have a super cheap house and it will have really expensive windows. Marvin and Andersen true divided light windows with wood interior sashes in a mobile home! LOL. Gotta love Craigslist
Amen! The key to any design choice, of course, is what’s “appropriate”. Unfortunately, current fads mostly don’t take that into account. Appropriateness is how we ended up doing a retro renovation of our kitchen. While this borders on new age woo-woo, if you listen to your house, it will tell you what is right for it. Our house was built at the end of the Great Depression and so we’re working to respect the mindset of scaled-down, limited resource design plans from that era. All of which has taught us, more and more every day, to “love the house we’re in”. And we do, we do, we do!
We are with you Pam! People come to my 1956 house and say – “oh you didn’t put granite in” and/or “oh you didn’t get stainless steel?” because they know I had to gut the kitchen. No I didn’t people! I hope the sheet vinyl doesn’t push you over the cliff of disappointment.
I couldn’t be happier with my Armstrong 20 year floor or my Wilsonart HD or my white easy to clean appliances. And, if I had the thoughts then that I have now I’d probably have boomerangs and VCT.
only a few of us are blessed with exquisite taste. Let them talk, right?
Actually Pam, I am pretty *sure* that there is a study somewhere that says it is healthy to rant once in awhile! Rant on! And while we are ranting, not to pick on poor Polka Dot Formica girl….but….. I actually have to RANT about laminates too (including Formica, Wilsonart, Pionite, etc)…..The Medusa granite girl has overtaken their designs as well.
I just went and looked at the laminate samples hanging on the wall at Lowe’s and the overwhelming theme is granite or stone look-a-likes. UGH!!! If I wanted stone, I’d have stone. There is hardly any just solid plain colors unless you like Greige or black, and of course we all know what happened to the colorways of Formica’s boomerangs. Down to gray, and that is it.
I’m not really sure what I want in a laminate, I just know what I *don’t* want. Granite. Plastic Granite made to look like real granite. Or Slate. Or Travertine. Or any other stone for Pete’s sake. I make exception for Carerra Marble, but that’s about all.
Actually I do know what I want. I want a linoleum look alike.I want swirly marbled looking apple green or dark red. I want white with gold flecks, I want white with avacado flowerettes (like my vintage trailer has).
So, maybe I’ll go back to considering cherry butcher block again. Hmmm….
Best of luck looking for a Condo that hasn’t been stoned and greiged.
I just had this rant on Saturday. My daughter and I did a tour of a series of brand new houses built in our area and OMG! I got so sick of hardwood and granite by the end of the day I was practically foaming at the mouth. And neutral colors! BLEH! I can kind of understand the neutral since these are houses built on spec, hoping to attract an interested buyer, but what I noticed about my fellow house-walkers is that the rooms with exciting splashes of color got the most comments. I never heard someone exclaim about the beautiful beige living room, but heard plenty about one of the rare, red-painted dining rooms. I just can’t understand why people are so afraid of color. I even heard one woman say she would love to put red tile in her kitchen backsplash, but wouldn’t do it on the chance that they might want to sell their house one day and she’d have to switch it all back to neutral for resale purposes. Really? It’s your house and you’re afraid to put color in it because you might want to sell it some day? How sad.
Sorry, rant over.
thank you for making my day…….I have a kindred spirit in you.
Neutral colors — yuck indeed! I am SO TIRED of seeing all these new housing developments that are just acres of beige. PLease, someone build a house and paint it pink or turquoise or orange!! I know, it’s not allowed in these “high class” developments, but who actually enjoys living in a beige world? Not this girl.
*ahem* I remodeled the kitchen in my last house and put red glass mosaic tile in the backsplash and I sold my house in LESS THAN A WEEK (in 2010).
Also there was no Greige ANYWHERE in my house. All the walls were BRIGHT.
So there goes that theory.
Here’s a post about my last kitchen with the red tiles:
http://retroranchrevamp.com/2012/02/19/my-first-kitchen-remodel/
Wow, you are quite the renovation dynamo!
Wow, I love that kitchen, too, and the Silestone looks really good.
That kitchen is fabulous! We have the same Fiestaware color scheme, and I also painted my walls turquoise. Everyone loves it.
I’ve carried over the color scheme from my last home – a little 1980s condo because we liked it so much. Unfortunately we weren’t so lucky with selling the condo (we’re renting it to someone who loved all our bright wall colors) but we did get great feedback from our realtor and all of our showings about the bright cheery turquoise kitchen and our bright color scheme throughout. We didn’t have any really serious potential buyers, but the ones who did see our place absolutely loved our MCM style and gave us good feedback. So I do think buyers are finally getting bored with seeing all the beige & granite cheap renovate-to-sell places.
I can’t agree more on this. When we were stationed in Tucson, we bought an untouched 1959 ranch with two pink wall ovens, pink tile countertops, a pink tile bathroom with MCM fish tiles swimming across the top of the corner shower stall and 2 baby blue bathrooms with original cabinets and tile and wide plank knotty pine paneling in the family room. When I saw the pink countertops and ovens I was SOLD! When we moved on to our new assignment, our realtor (by default) told us we would have to put $30,000 into a new kitchen at least, or the house wouldn’t sell. Fortunately, we didn’t have $30,000 for a new kitchen. Six months later and no buyer we fired the old realtor and found a top notch new one. She took one look at the house and fell in love with it. In her ad she put “BARBIE WOULD LOVE THIS KITCHEN!”. The next morning after her ad hit the MLS the house was sold. By that same evening we had a backup offer! The man who bought it said he had looked at the previous agents ad which had basically said in so many words, this is another old house, so he never bothered to look at it. He was just as thrilled about finding an untouched house as I had been. So, don’t go remuddle your house just to put it on the market there are just too many people like us out there.
Amen! I have been looking for houses in the Detroit suburbs, and I’ve specified to the realtor that I’m looking for ranch houses built between 1950-1970; nothing that has been re-modeled. Guess how many they have found for me to look at… almost none. I do better filtering the real estate sites for the criteria that is important to me — big yard, ranch house, basement. If the price is low, it’s far more likely that it’s un-remuddled. I’ll find something, eventually. But I wish someone could talk sense into people who update these houses only because of “resale value” — we all need to remember that there are people like us who VALUE the past.
Dulcie, some of us aren’t ‘afraid’ of color but find it to be too stimulating covering a whole wall so it has to be used in other ways. I find white and black calming. I have some black walls, all my doors are glass and black, the back stairs are now black and white lino though the wall at the bottom, like the exterior doors, is a very bright acid lime green.
I do have more black walls than the two I’d planned but it turns out vintage teak looks a-freaking-mazing against black where it just looked nice against any of the other colors I tried.
I think everyone had to have granite due to watching certain HGTV episodes and the real estate agents. I didn’t like granite when it first came out. I used to think only in America can we take a hunk of stone from the ground in Africa, or wherever, ship it to Italy to be polished and ship it to America to be fabricated into counters. Doesn’t that just seem like a huge waste of energy? I have managed to talk some out granite in remodels, but not many. Most people are so afraid of resale values. I predict there will be many “how to” ideas on how to use the granite in the garden for benches, stepping stones, patios etc!
thank you for sharing your thoughts on this, Pam. I know that in twenty years people will look at homes with granite, marble and earth-tones as “so 2000.” IMO, granite and marble are in the same category as mcmansions and palladian windows. Heavy white plantation shutters, massive entertainment centers, two-story grand foyers and “gourmet” kitchens with carved wood, cornices and of course, natural stone counters scream nouveaux riche. I’ll take my cork, laminate and mosaic tile any day.
oh, 60′s is not typically “my thing” (i’m more of a 40′s simplicity sort of girl), but i want formica girl framed on my wall! she’s just amazing – despite that formica is not really “my thing” either.
It’s a status symbol, of course. Granite and marble is expensive. Put it everywhere and it’s evident that you’ve got the mohn-ay. I put a Silestone kitchen counter in for the durability, but that is the only surface where it’s used. My bathroom still has it’s original 1950′s plastic tile … and I love it.
Oh my … I wrote “it’s” when I should have written “its.” Yep — it bothers me. Had to change it.
I need to clarify: I don’t have any problem with any of these materials per se. But, it’s the old saw: “Any strength taken too far becomes — a weakness.” As with greige, do we have to have this stuff on Every Possible Surface? It’s just unimaginative design.
I DO also want to recognize the comment by Nathan, which underscores that in Florida — where they are in constant battle with termites and humidity and the like — hard surfaces are very functional. But, there are lots of hard surfaces, even, to choose from. Saltillo tiles? Yes — Classic! And YES to the reader who asked about terrazzo; it’s quite expensive new, but if you have it original: YES!
I live in Dallas, a city notorious for demolishing anything over 20 years old. I was thrilled to find my 1955 ranch with all original ceramic tile bathrooms, hardwoods throughout, and mostly original kitchen. The important elements – wooden cabinets, cracked ice countertops, and pink Frigidaire “built only by General Motors” built-in stovetop, are still in fantastic condition. I had to buy fridge and dishwasher – went stainless and they blend in well. The sad thing is that if I ever decide to sell, I “will have to upgrade to be marketable” Whatever… As long as I live here, it will all stay true to 1955
Chris, I can’t speak to Dallas real estate, but I know when we were looking at houses we walked away from countless houses where someone had tried to do the remodel-to-sell thing. I simply didn’t want to pay for someone’s crappy remodel that I hated anyway. As you can see by the comments here, there are plenty of people out there who LOVE finding a home with those original elements. Trust me, we looked into the “new” cracked ice laminates and they’re not really even close to the same thing as the original. So I hope you and everyone else with the good fortune to have original design elements seriously re-think the remodel-to-sell mindset. Let the next owners make those decisions … you never know, they may also want to stay true to 1955!!
Chris z – I, too, live in Dallas and know what you mean. In my sister’s old North Dallas neighborhood of early 1950′s rambling ranch houses on 1/2 acre lots (south of LBJ – you know the area), they’re either knocking them down and putting up gigantic pseudo-Normandy/Tudor/Colonial/Sometimes all-in-one mansions or “updating” the large rambling homes with all the “latest” bells and whistles today’s modern homebuyer wants – ugh.
Two neighboring houses were purchased from the estates of long-time elderly owners and gutted to include all the trappings – granite countertops with tumbled marble backsplashes, travertine floors, stainless appliances, tan walls with white trim, six panel colonial style interior doors and enough “old world” faux finishes to make one gag. All this in sleek, long, low, mid-50′s homes. About the only worthy component remaining were the beautiful wood floors, which had all been refinished, thank goodness. Pink and green bathrooms were destroyed and pitched into dumpsters and, in one case, a steel St. Charles kitchen – simply mangled beyond repair. We were sickened.
I worked construction in Vegas for years and i hate travertine now. It was in every cheep tract house and 200k kitchen. I know in 10 years it will be the new pink tile that everyone wants to rip out as soon as they can afford to do it. I hope when they do rip it out its replaced with pink tile.
I am so very tired of granite
countertops and stainless steel appliances.
Me too! It is overdone and tired.
NO MORE STONE! I couldn’t agree more. I’ve now lived with countertops of ceramic tile (ugh), lower-quality formica, a little granite (not in my house), and, now for our kitchen remodel, we went with stained & sealed birch plywood. Total cost, including backsplash, was under $400 to install. It is warm and lovely. While I don’t deliberately mistreat it, I know that all accidents can be sanded and re-stained, and if I feel like changing the color, it’s just a weekend’s worth of staining away.
Hello, I’m a Realtor & historic preservation aficionado, and I HATE the mindset that you *must* have granite or you are going to be consigned to the Pit of Never Selling. Too often on renovations, it sticks out like a sore thumb. Don’t put those faux columns in the dining room, either, in your 1910 period folk Victorian cottage. Oh my eyes!
Florida condos have never been a bastion of good taste, anyway. Remember when everything was plastic rattan and whitewashed plastic bamboo? Ick.
Went to the granite and marble dealer to pick out marble for kitchen counters and was amazed at the selection. We could buy marble from Italy, Pakistan, China and India a lot cheaper than from 60 miles away in North Georgia.
Here’s my problem with putting tile floors in kitchens; Do these people never drop a dish? With lino, or vinyl, or wood, there’s a good chance it won’t break. Tile is entirely a lose/lose situation. Either what you dropped will break, or the tile will break.
The floor I’ve always longed to put in my kitchen no longer exists. I’ve never even seen one. It was described in one of Shirley Jackson’s books about her home life in the 50′s, a linoleum selected by her and her son Laurie, white with drops like paint splatters in bright reds, yellows, blues, and greens. I’ve seen splatter pattern floors, of course, but none in the cheery bright colors described by Ms. Jackson.
Have you seen Armstrong Commercial Excelon Companion Square VCT tiles in “Party White”?
Annie, I put that in my mid century kitchen when we were stationed in Tucson about 8 years ago. It was perfect and it was easy to keep clean if you put a commercial liquid wax on it.
It’s not only dropped dishes that tile destroys. We lived in many houses with ceramic tile floors when we were doing the rental roulette and man, were those things tough on feet and calves. The hard unforgiving tile just killed my legs.
Another thing is that all that granite/stone is cold. I don’t care what you set your thermostat at, when it’s 20 degrees outside, that stuff is going to make your house cold and uncomfortable, unless you go with in-floor heat, but that’s a whole ‘nother discussion.
I have broken: all but two wine glasses, too many pyrex dishes to count, one bottle of hot sauce (full), three water glasses and a plastic tumbler. And I bent an aluminum pot out of true. All because I have those greige tile floors and granite countertops. I now stock up on pyrex at estate sales.
I know that this is over a year later, but I just had to share that my great aunt has this floor in her custom build 1957-59 house! She also has red linen laminate countertops with metal edging. It breaks my heart to know that when she leaves that house, I’m sure the new owners will gut it. But the floor is fantastic: one of those things that you would never think to do but looks fabulous. It’s especially cool since the rest of the room is really colonial feeling.
I blame the proliferation of granite on HGTV. I am fortunate to have the coveted Terrazzo in my S. FL. MCM home and love it. The unfortunate part is that it is being held hostage by Mexican Tile in all the rooms except the bedrooms. Oh how I despise that Mexican tile and look forward to the day the Terrazzo is liberated.
Do guns kill people? Do people with guns kill people? Similarly, don’t hate granite, stoneware, stainless steal for their properties. These materials can be used to create beautiful environments. Realize that not every DIYer has the great vision or sense of style no matter what material they work with.
yes — I agree. It’s always a difficulty when I start to rant: It’s about EXCESS that I complain.
I agree, the amount of stone used everywhere is excessive. I was married to someone who did fix and flips and granite was absolutely the only thing he would use in the kitchen because “it is what everyone wants”. It is boring and overdone. Ick.
hah I love this! This sounds like snippets from rants that I would make over the last six months trying to find materials for my house. I was freaking out about how annoying granite is and yet that was all that I could find.
I had to redo my entire 1920s row house from the bones after a fire. In fact, when looking for contractors to do the job, one tried to ARGUE why we SHOULD HAVE granite, stone, and marble and blah blah blah. I knew he wasn’t for me. He was ignoring me when I was saying I was going Retro on purpose. He didn’t understand why I wanted metal banding around the counters. Basically, his job was generally to redo row home shells and flip them.That was what he wanted to put into my house.The guy that we chose to do the work was very understanding. He admitted to me afterward that he had NO idea where I was going and then when he saw the kitchen finished he GOT IT. He just bought what I wanted, painted like I said, and put things the way I wanted them to be. I found out they took pics and were sending it to their family bragging about the retro job they did in my kitchen. He came back to do a half bath addition a week ago and was excitedly telling me about all these new vintage tiles and colors that he found out are coming back on the market.(He knows I want to redo my bathroom and mudroom someday. heh)
I found a lovely boomerang patterned laminate that I wanted for my counters and I got it. The flooring that I got was black and white ceramic tile. I went to EVERY STORE in the area and NO ONE had it in stock. Everything was beige, white, eggshell, creme. Nothing was even available to order in any colors at many places. It blew my mind because they called B&W tile dated. I see it ALL OVER the place in cafes, restaurants, & even used by lots of set designers now on TV kitchens. I guess they are used to people getting the stick on kinds for people or something.
It’s just so ridiculous when obviously there is a market for it. I am glad some manufacturers are starting to get on the ball but I wish places made it easier to get the goods so that everything doesn’t have to be ordered from far, far away.
You get sick of hearing retailers say things like, “we haven’t stocked anything like THAT in YEARS”. Then, they give you “the Look”.
I hate to be cynical about this, but I believe the reason the HGTV people push something like this in excess is because they KNOW it’ll be outdated in a few years. It keeps the public coming back for more. I’m ready to kick the TV every time someone on House Hunters either raves about the gorgeous granite or complain about the dated laminate.
I think it’s realistic, not cynical! Don’t forget about appeasing the advertisers either.
For years now, I’ve felt stone way overdone in homes, especially in kitchen design. Not only is it cold and noisy, the glare from overhead lighting is astonishing. All that’s visible when walking into a granite covered room is the lighting reflected from the ceiling. The surface ‘eats’ light. There is usually no light bouncing into the room, instead being sucked directly into the counter top. And let me tell you, in Oregon, that’s important. It’s cloudy here a lot, and having surfaces that bounce light into the room is an important part of a desirable and livable home. Most of us don’t want a dark cave.
I have a slab of Corian in my kitchen, but only a small slab, which resides on the coffee bar on the opposite wall from the other counter tops. Not that Corian is the same thing, but my desire was to mix it up and not have one long boring expanse of the same material. The rest of my counters are Formica (I do wish I knew more about the BPA content of Formica). The island is butcher block.
When we remodeled I feel in love with a particular Earthstone (similar to Corian), but it was completely out of our price range. So, I went in search of a laminate that resembled it, and since that time, I’ve had design professionals walk into my house and study the counter tops because they believe they’re stone. lol It’s actually pretty funny to watch people get down at eye level with a counter, run their hands over it, look for seams…I did a good job at fooling the eye. lol
I like granite, it’s pretty, it’s classy, but I would never have it in my own home. It’s too formal for my liking anyway. Plus, I’ve never fallen into what’s trendy. I like too many other things, and the choices are unbelievable these days. We have Paperstone, Earthstone, Corian, laminate, concrete, so many ways to mix things up and keep our homes interesting.
Warm, colorful, comfortable homes are happy homes – end of story!
Just bought a home in AZ with our daughter (new build). Went to the design center to make our choices. I could rant all day but I will keep it short.
1. Steered towards all stone or stone look designs. Not a solid color (white was our preference) tile to be had in any size or shape (subway, square, liner tile, hex, penny) – nothing, nada! For ceramic tile as well as formica. EVERYTHING was stone look. UGHHH. Very frustrating.
2. Prices for their stone upgrades (i.e. granite) were 4 times the going home improvement store rate for the most common (and ugly) colors.
3. Hardwood floors – the price for that upgrade was obscene for laminate. I am taking $6,000 for 247 square feet.
I am impatient awaiting my eval form for this builder to give them a piece of my mind.
Thank you for letting me rant.
We spent 3 months searching the Phoenix area MLS for a mid century ranch that had not been remuddled. Phoenix is full of Mid Century houses yet we could only find a couple dozen that had not been “granitized” in the area we wanted to live. We did finally find a great untouched house, but a lot of times when a house hasn’t been remuddled it also hasn’t had the wiring and other much needed updating done either. Fortunately, we are willing to take on that challenge and are preventing another PHX Mid Century from falling into the Great Granite Abyss. I have granite in the rental we are in now and hate it. I keep breaking my vintage Pyrex dishes and glassware on it and don’t set a wet dish on granite, when it dries it will stick to the granite, YUCK.
Thank you! Went on this same rant several weeks ago with my husband. I’ve been searching Zillow for a midcentury house in Phoenix for several months and I’m horrified by what they’ve done. The Tuscan look simply doesn’t work with these houses, but they keep doing it. The worst offender?? Do it yourselfers. Uuugh. Currently I live in Western Washington where the Greige color scheme has run amok. There are five greige houses on my block. With the backdrop of the monochromatic grey sky it just all blends together. Of course that’s nothing at least the outside of the houses even with that color scheme retain their historical value it’s the inside…yes granite, travertine, stainless….
We have granite in our kitchen, installed by the former owners. I would much prefer laminate. Granite is so cold and unforgiving. I cringe every time I accidentally hit the edge with a plate as I’m loading the dishwasher. What I love is watching shows like House Hunters, where they always insist on granite but then have to ask, “is this granite?”
Pam, I am so with you on this!
Granite has its place, but 90% of modern applications are just plain wrong. I hope this trend reaches the end of its life soon!
YES, Pam, YES! It’s okay to rant. lol
Certainly these things have their place, but they are so ubiquitous. And bland—I’m sorry, they just ARE! It’s a trend, and an expensive one at that, and I’ve been chuffed lately when I see brand new Formica *gasp* countertops being used in kitchen makeovers in magazines. It is about time. Granite can be lovely, but boy, is it expensive, and as you keep noting…it’s bound to be dated soon.
And it IS so cold. And as a kitchen mad scientist, I’d be a bit paranoid about chipping or staining or scratching it. And now Jackie has sealed the deal by noting it has killed her vintage Pyrex…! Eeep!
Maybe we need to come up with a companion to “travertine travesties”.
Formica for the win!
I confess to being somewhat addicted to HGTV, but lately I have been turning it off whenever I hear either the words “granite” or “needs updating”, when there are perfectly lovely, well maintained and period correct finishes already present. My beef is adding granite, dark cabinets and stainless steel appliances in houses that would never have had any of those materials used when they were built. Plus, boring! Isn’t everyone tired of it yet?
Yes! I hate when they say the appliances will have to go when they are perfectly serviceable and decent looking, but they aren’t stainless steel. Where do they get all that $$$?
My MIL gave me a subscription to the HGTV magazine and after reading the first issue cover to cover, I concluded that I had just looked at the same exact style for 60+ pages. They really do tout conformity! That’s EXCESS in their lack of diverse styles that I’m complaining about. I say we start our own network called RGTV.
And something about granite is the new keep-up-with-the-Jones item. No thanks; the Jones aren’t living in my house, but I am.
OK, here’s a funny: I put some pics on my blog about my revamped kitchen, which of course included my new Wilsonart laminate countertops, which I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE. I noticed someone had pinned one of my photos to their Pinterest page, so I bounced over to take a look. The person had added a rather derogatory remark that started with “OMG, not these countertops!”
Sometimes you have to have a thick skin when you are actively nonconforming!!! And that’s what bothers me (besides the insult): that if you don’t have granite or marble, everything else is substandard.
Thank goodness for you, Pam! This rant helps!
The Joneses went broke.
I agree. You are so correct and I hate todays style. Today’s stone look is far worse the the ’70s chunky wood look.
I am convinced that people lack the ability to think for themselves. Or should I say most people just have no sense of flavor? They all want the same thing. Neutral tile and stone.
You beat me to it, Lisa. I am struck by the lack of imagination in most contemporary renovations. And HGTV renos in particular all seem to come from the same Home Depot/Lowe’s catalog of stuff. On the real estate shows, I am constantly amazed at the number of house shoppers put off by the color of a room or the fact that there aren’t stainless steel appliances. Have they no concept of the fact that they can actually choose things to put in their homes? And I guess they think the same stove that costs twice as much in stainless as it does in white actually cooks better.
I looove formica. I’m forever with a hammer and paint can near my hand. I need formica!! and as one who likes to redecorate – often – formica is My Budget Friendly Friend. my 1961 Mid Century Modern house loves it. I’m not authentic to the period, but I Love Formica!!
I’m with you, variety in homes is what makes it a home. In a few years people will be chucking out all the ceramic tile floors and granite counter tops. I am re doing my old kitchen and have formica counters in gray,white and black speckle, white painted wood cabinets, subway tile in white with TWO black pencil lines of tiles running along in a most lovely way, brown vinyl planks for the flooring, and the original plaster ceiling painted as it was nice. Did have to redo the walls as dark paneling over broken plaster just was not cool. I do not follow the modern trends, ever. A mix of old and new is best.
Hi Pam –
According to a USA Today Article, Granite is out.
http://www.usatoday.com/life/columnist/finalword/story/2012-02-07/final-word-kitchen-remodel-craig-wilson/53001492/1
I read the article weeks ago while sitting in the doctor’s office waiting room and thought of you.
I am glad I was able to find the article on line!
Your rant reminds me of all the HGTV house hunter shows I’ve seen where the prospective buyers walk into a vintage home and look at the laminate counter tops, knotty pine paneling, and the original vintage tiles in the bathroom disparagingly and say “Oh, this has to all come out…” Only, your rant is in the reverse. THANK GAWD!
Instead of looking at condos, can’t you find a little vintage cottage to buy that’s still intact?
Stacy – while everyone at my work shops at the big chain stores (or Wal-Mart, Big Lots, depending on strata in the hierarchy of income) for furniture and decor that’s churned out with no individual personality style – I will say that they are all enthralled with what I’m doing here with my little 1961 ranch house. They LOVE seeing the furniture, textiles, and decorative accents I find to fill the house. While most of the people from my generation (baby boomer here) would never ‘go back’ to days gone by as we have with our house, they definitely can relate to the items in my house and have fond memories of the same or similar items they grew up with.
I think those of us that ensconce ourselves in this style are a very special breed, keeping the past alive. I think that’s worth a LOT.
All that to say, screw what someone commented on your pics. YOU KNOW it’s cool! ’nuff said.
You can find mid-century houses in the Phoenix area that haven’t been remuddled, but you have to be willing to look at a lot of houses. We found one in Mesa that needed some work, but hadn’t been ‘updated’.
“Embrace Formica Girl and all her life-giving polka dot loveliness.”
Hilarious!
Your “rant” is mild compared to what I have thought-shouted at HGTV. Thanks!
Me too, tt, and I’ve got quite the mouth on me. But come on already, does every single house no matter what the vintage have to look 99.9% the same?
Decorating mags and shows used to be my first choice in entertainment but the clone wars sent me to the internet where, thank the decor goddess’, I found Pam. Not to forget all her followers and contributors, people who will not, cannot, be turned into drones. Blessings upon you all.
“…does every single house no matter what the vintage have to look 99.9% the same? ”
Yes! This!!!
I cannot stand to see one more vintage kitchen ripped out in favor of granite counter tops, hardwood floors and stainless steel appliances! Besides, given the cost for these items, you are struck with them and can never afford to remodel when they go out of style. I will be happy with my laminate choices and bargain basement finds, thank you very much. At least when someone comes to visit our home there is always something new and different to look at!
Living in Central Florida, it truly is difficult to find older homes that are still “authentic” and intact with many of their original features. Granite seems to be pushed by builders, contractors and realtors. I’m not knocking it if that is what you want, but… what a pity so many of the fewer older homes are “remodeled” with granite counter tops and tile floors. It makes me sad to see that so much of the original character is taken away in favor of the “current trend”.
When we were house hunting last year I was so disgusted by all that awful brown mottled granite & it was so out of place…my phrase was, “granite is for graveyards and marble for mausoleums”.
And, btw, thank you for the info on B&W tile in SoCal…we are currently having their aqua tiles installed in our bathroom shower (sadly, the original ’54 tile had to finally be ripped out…it was in very bad condition & some tiles fell off & broke).
Which reminds me…last night I was watching “House Hunters” and these rich buyers bought the 1920s house with the major cool Art Deco green tile bathroom and wonderful archways…and, tore it all out!! As I was watching the show I was hoping that was the house they wouldn’t buy since they kept saying, “it’s ugly, we have to rip this out – we have to knock this archway out, blah, blah.” I wish people in So Cal would just try to preserve instead of making it look like something it isn’t.
A few years back I got a lot of flack from DH about our front vintage windows with the diamond panes when we had to replace the other windows…I insisted these stay put even if they barely open…I love these windows, they have character…I’m still glad I kept these intact. I was sad to see the other wooden house windows go, but they didn’t have the diamond panes & we really needed to have some windows open easily…but, I still dislike the new vinyl ones with fake pane lines. It’s hard when my DH isn’t concerned about preserving or liking vintage like I am…thank goodness, that B&W tile was only 10 min. from his work so he was able to get those fairly easily.
From one SoCal gal to another. I know what you went thru. My hubby & I are waiting impatiently for escrow to close on our 1954 house. We saw tons of houses made anywhere between 1910 to 1960, almost all of them with the same tired granite counter tops and out of the box cabinets. “Move in ready”, they call it. I call it a shame.
We finallly found (or it found us) a house that the original owner had recently passed away and her sons wanted to get rid of the house. We got it for $20k less than asking because it’s such disrepair. But it has orginial oak floors, the most coolest light fixtures and wallpaper. I can wait to start restoring as much as we can and getting it looking as good as when the place was new.
I don’t know where to begin. Let’s start with a confession…I have significantly altered a mid-century modern home. Not all of it in a good way. Let’s just say I am enthusiastic about my decorating. Your rant was timely for me. I am on round two of remodeling a 1955 property and am showing a lot of restraint. Your readers will be shocked to hear that we just gutted two mid-century bathrooms, but their time had come and most of the tile was chipped and cracked. They are not being replaced with granite but white countertops, white semi -gloss tile in the shower and a very subtle but cool, kinda Asian inspired tile accent wall. All very modern! The house gets additional electrical and new and improved heat so it is a win-win. Mid-century modern isn’t always restoration, sometimes it is plain old renovation but staying true to the aesthetics and principles of the mid-century modern style.
Yup!!! Sounds wonderful, Rebecca — be sure to take lots of before- and after- photos!
It’s all about the industry and selling. Most people are not designers and they know it. They head down to the big store and buy what everyone buys, then at least they feel like they made a safe decision. It seems like no one ever actually looks at it and realizes that it doesn’t work, or maybe they don’t need it. What I can’t stand is listening to people describe their purchases as if they were making real design choices – “travertine for the patio” “granite counters” et al. As if only a complete rube would do anything else. They are only parroting what a salesman at Lowes said.
That’s why I love it here in this blog, Pam! Thank you. Everyone I know thinks it’s nuts for my husband and I to tear out the granite tiles (UGH) in the kitchen and replace it with Formica.
And it will be clear in a few more years that the granite counter, stainless steel appliances and maple cabinets look will be tired and dated…Remodeled in the 2000′s?
Saddest though wa the lady we bought our 1940′s bungalow from who told us how they had to remodel the kitchen because the original owner had all pink appliances… I nearly cried.
Aren’t you sick to death of “Old World” decor? I used to work in model homes in the 90s, and 80 percent of the homes built had the same predictable granite countertops, ceramic floors, etc. I was shocked to see recently that homes are still using this fake and extremely tired heavy-handed theme. I will tell you for sure that ceramic tiles broke my feet while working in those homes, and there’s no way I’d want anything hard in my kitchen. I’ll take vinyl or wood, for comfort. There are so many WAY less expensive awesome laminates for the countertop that anyone who isn’t insecure and trying to impress the neighbors would surely opt out of granite. As for the other “Old World” touches, I like my antiques real, thank you! And I will totally mix them with retro modern whenever I feel like it too!
I was fortunate to find a fine craftsman who restored the 1954 Kelvinator cabinets in my Orlando home, down to replicating new light fixture inserts for each cabinet. It took almost a year. I wanted to play up the clean, Jetson-esque lines of the cabinets, and wanted something fresher and less cluttered than a totally faithful period look; granite countertops would have been out of character. I opted for an affordable stainless-finish mica countertop, which you’re not supposed to use for this purpose, but the results are stunning, and anything but typical. They reflect the light and let the cabinets be the stars of the show. In this case, stainless was a good choice to update yet honor the original clean, futuristic spirit of these cabinets.
THANK YOU PAM! I have a love of antique & vintage furniture, as well as a love of 18th etchings…& I love in Fort Lauderdale, as you can tell by my name. I grew up in the Northeast in my parents 1940s ranch then 1880s rowhome in Philly, which yes…has a pink bathroom although mom stripped back most of the house to reflect the 1930s-1950s since a lot of BAD renovation took place there.
Anyway, one of my apartments here had everything you’d want in a FL home from the 50s: terrazzo floors throughout, tile instead of a wooden baseboard throughout, original doors, walk in closet with copper rod, porch, very I-love-Lucy pink bathroom, etc. Then I moved in with my partner & then it became time to find “our own place,” meaning one we both agreed on.
We saw TONS of 1960s buildings but…all gutted! We finally settled on a gutted one with all the granite you could want, etc. I was going to ask you, “How do you make a new place vintage with decorating & furniture, without overkill?” So, any suggestions? Maybe you will buy a gutted place & show us all in South Florida how to retrofit a contemporary design?
I can understand WHY they did all the granite…but traditional six-panel-doors in a 1960s building with “contemporary” design? Seriously…why???
While I agree that the excessive overuse of fake is certainly unwarranted and cheesy, I’m going to stick up for granite here. Though I love baking and cooking, I am a klutz. I drop things, I set hot pans down on the counter because I burn myself. I spill stuff. Etcetera ad nauseum. Formica simply doesn’t stand the test of time for me! A well-sealed granite helps prevent stains and burns that I otherwise incur on unsuspecting and undeserving counters.
Do I need unique pieces of marble/granite to seem “cool”? Heck no. Do I want to put in a solid black granite counter in my pastel-yellow bathroom reno, where I keep all the original yellow floor tiles, yellow sink and yellow tub, and add black liner tiles and some more yellow around the walls? Heck yes!
To each their own style, and I think this is the point I’m trying to make. I don’t want to see every house be totally remodeled and sterile, but I do like having sturdy accents of stone here, hardwood there, etc. Make a place your own, not someone else’s.
I completely agree with this. I think laminates can look cool but they’re just not my thing. I like a mixture of styles, and granite or marble countertops are really appealing to me when mixed with quirkier retro styles.
I have a 70′s mod “ski lodge” house under contract and I told the seller (the dreaded fix-and-flipper”) to leave the inside ALONE. Since it wasn’t under contract at the time, he decided it would be wonderful to rip out the white laminate counters and put in….beige granite, Ugh. I can’t wait to rip them out. They belong in a suburban condo. He also thought it was a great idea to paint every room in the house mint green (great taste huh?) so first I re-paint the entire house, then I rip out the counters. Most people have no taste.
Once I learned the hard way how important it is not to insult other people’s taste. I made a snide comment about an oddly configured picture window on a Victorian rowhouse without noticing that its owner was sitting on the front step some 10 feet from me!. That said, the ranting feels good. I’m gonna go broke this year because I refused to buy anything that had been rehabbed into a McRow. Is it worth going through all this so I can have 19th Century porcelain doorknobs, 1930′s inlaid flooring, a flashy 1960′s chrome chandelier, and 1970′s esque exposed brick and beams? You bet! On top of that, I know the plumbing, electric, and insulation will be done right.