High-res scan - click to enlarge

Okay, this is the last day of my little fixation with retro laminates. (For now.) As you know, I am a devotee of the Sherwin Williams Suburban Modern palette, both interior and exterior.  So, I have gone through Arpa’s line of solid-colored laminates and for the most part, been able to line up 10 colors that are pretty darn good matches to the 10 SW mid mod interior colors.

Virtually all of these colors were used on postwar kitchen cabinets by about 1955, lilac and rose red/pink flamingo a little later.

A few notes:

• The Rose Red appears to be a really great match for the S-W Pink Flamingo. On my monitor, though, the color does not show up true. The kitchen below is a better capture of the true colors. And click on the kitchen for that complete, Rose Red post.
• I really could find no good Arpa match for SW Pearl Gray. The Arpa alabaster is much lighter, but tonally in the right direction.

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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.

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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

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During last week’s laminate ramblings, I stumbled on this incredible 1959 house in Texas – it’s the original home of the founder of Wilsonart laminates, and it’s now owned by the company, serving as their archives and a space for corporate events.

All photos: Courtesy Wilsonart – who were fabulous, very responsive! Thank you, Diana Z.!

The story of the Wilson House’s salvation is right out of a retro renovation suspense novel. 10 years ago, when there was little appreciation for this type of mid century modern design and certainly not for something as pedestrian as laminates, the company decided to sell the house. But, it needed to gut it first due to the “problem” interior. The house had been built as a showcase for the use of laminates – so the stuff is everywhere but the ceilings and floors. It’s truly incredible.

Then — someone brand new to the company is taken over to the house on the very day they are going to start demolition.  She has historical sensibility – and passion – and stands in front of the bulldozer. Well, there was no bulldozer. But she did stop the demo…convinced the company to keep the house…and went on to lead the restoration of what is now the youngest-ever National Historic Landmark.

Her name, by the way, is Grace Jeffers - and I will do more features on her soon. She is my new idol (along with Courtney and so many of you readers!) She has gone on to many other fabulous projects in the world of man-made materials.

Holyoke Cindy was the first one to mention here that laminate kitchen cabinets are a great solution for our midmod kitchens – and she is absolutely positively right. Cindy’s kitchen is totally appropriate to her early 60s contemporary…and this Wilson kitchen, with its Mondrian influences, undeniably gorgeous, is further proof that laminates are a great and worth alternative for our retro renovations.

Thank you, Grace. You did a good thing.

Click here for a history of the house on the Wilsonart website, and here to a New York Times story circa 1998 on the Wilson House – well worth it.

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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.

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These are new from Formica. Both look like they could swing either “warm” or “cool” – that is, work across the spectrum from reds (and pinks) to blues.

I really like the Linen – a very typical look for the 50s — Hey, Formica, can we have it in green, blue, pink and yellow?!:

And, the Brescia marble is getting closer to the vintage crackle ices of the day:

More tools for our retro renovation toolbox!

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Seems like I’m starting the week off with the spotlight on RESOURCES! I was checking out Formica’s site recently – and saw these two new laminates. They both have a nice retro groove, underscored by their names, Atomic Orange and Atomic Turf. Back in the postwar era, there were a number of laminates that had a scratchy-burlap feel. These two remind me of those.

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