This past weekend I made my long-awaited pilgrimage to S.J. Masters Tile in Canaan, New York. Salesperson Debbie was as wonderful and helpful as can be. She tells me they do A LOT of business with New Yorkers who own 2nd homes in the area and are updating them in retro style consistent with their original design. Hurray! Heck yeah there is more →
bathrooms
Kitchens – Countertops

Where to find speckled gold laminate? Also called “lame” (with an accent on the “e”, as in “lam-ae.”) A typical reader question, like this one:

When folks move into new/old 1920s, 1930s, 1940s, 1950s, 1960s or 1970s homes, it seems like one of the biggest and most common needs is to update materials in the kitchen that are on their last legs. In general, if you have a laminate countertop that is in good shape, I’d say: Keep it. Or [...]

Cracked ice laminate seems to have been a very popular choice for vintage dinette table tops, and I hear from readers fairly often asking where they can find it for kitchen counters. Crackle ice laminate is still available from a number of sources online.

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 [...]

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. 2011 update, Wilsonart has taken story down, but here are a few highlights: Laminate [...]
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Renovate Safe
Renovate Safe! Get informed about the environmental & safety issues in your vintage home. #1 RULE: Consult with pros. More info: EPA asbestos website ... EPA lead website ... Consumer Reports safety blog ... U.S.F.A. – electrical fire safety.



















