Following up on Monday’s exciting post about the Arpa USA palette of solid-color laminates, let’s take a look at how to use this material to recreate this 1959 Ma Bell kitchen. It would be oh-so-easy! Elements include:

• Laminate cabinetry using Arpa’s “Jardin” colorway.
• Cabinet pulls: Rejuvenation’s new midcentury “sharp arch”, in satin chrome
• Countertops are also laminate – I like Arpa’s “Off White” but there are 4 whites that could work – Off White, Snowbound, Dover White and Downy — that you can eyeball in your kitchen – and test adjacent to your appliances.
• On the floor, I’d put Armstrong’s faux-brick vinyl sheet, Saguaro in birch white
• And if you can scrounge them up — this kitchen also deserves a pink stovetop, built-in ovens, and even fridge…Reader Ron might be able to find you some
• If you can’t find pink or don’t want vintage -  the Sub-Zero with appliance white panels and the old-style vent at the top, makes for a mighty fine authentic mid mod look. Pair it with a vintage range.
• For a sink – stainless steel from Elkay, they have lots of great designs straight from the era.

I have been working on retro laminates lately – and originally thought there were only these big five: Wilsonart, Formica, Pionite, Nevamar and Arborite. But – I’ve now discovered a 6th company – Arpa USA. They have a terrific-looking portfolio — of solids, in particular. Some of the greens come darn close to that famous 50s pistachio… there are some pinks that are pretty good… ditto, blues. And, if you’re looking for that 60s Brady Bunch orange – Fiesta, baby, you’ve got it!

I emailed Arpa and asked if they could send me their ring of solids…and they did! Very exciting as this is the first product that I’ve ever asked for as a blogger – and received. I have several more posts planned on some of these colors and how to use them for retro kitchen and retro bathroom renovations. Thank you, Arpa USA!

Website: Arpausa.com

My local Re-Store was offering some maple flooring from bowling alley – and some handy homeowner re-purposed it into the most excellent countertop. Isn’t it great?!

…Right up there with the Teacups Chandelier we looked at a while ago.

More today from the Wilsonart laminate history archives. In the 60s, laminate colors got, at one end of the spectrum richer and earthier – and at the other end, pop-art bold.  Some of the defining trends from the period, this article says:

• Color TV was introduced in 1965, bringing us closer in touch with design inspiration from other cultures.
• The Mediterranean look – more specifically, Spanish Colonial — gave us both colors and textures like faux leather. “Corinthian leather!”
• The op-art, pop-art world was a-flutter. Hence, the iconic oranges, yellows and lime greens of the period.
• We loved faux everything. The future is Plastics.
• Oh yeah: Squint and you can see avocado green and harvest gold… two colors that stayed with us well into the 70s.

As follow up to my post yesterday – with a round up of all the laminates for bathroom counters that are on my radar today – I also recently found this great little history of laminate in the 1950s, from Wilsonart. Click through to read the complete story, but here are a few highlights:

• Laminate was so popular in the 50s, that a chrome-and-metal dinette cost four-times more than a wood dinette.
• Plastic laminate was desirable for its impermeability – easy to clean up.
• Another reason for the bright, exuberant colors of the 50s: Colors were rationed in the 40s during the war, when the color du jour was battleship gray.
• Speckled laminate — also known as lame’ — was made with real glitter, which was invented in the 30s.
• Marble and wood-grain were popular – with many choices still available today.