Retro Renovation» Formica

Bathroom vanities made from laminate

pam kueber — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 11:00:29 +0000

When considering bathroom or kitchen cabinetry for a mid-century remodel, I like to remind folks about laminate. This is a material with nearly infinite design choices… it’s relatively affordable… well-constructed, it can last a long time… and it’s authentic mid-century. Over on Very Vintage Las Vegas, Uncle Jack spotlights Heidi and Scott’s mid-century bathroom and kitchen renovations, where laminate was used beautifully. I also have a good start going on a gallery of laminate bathroom vanity designs — lots of groovy possibilities with this material.

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Retro bling: Men’s ties in boomerang laminate design

pam kueber — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 07:59:01 +0000

Reader Lee B. shares this find: Men’s neckties in fabric replicating our favorite Formica Boomerang laminate. $42 from the Brooklyn Museum. The site notes that the boomerang, or skylark pattern, was first designed by Brooks Stevens in 1950 and updated by Raymond Loewy in 1954. The intertwined shapes are called ‘biomorphic,’ and reflect the nation’s fixation at the time with atomic particles & aerodynamic styling. Thanks, Lee. Mr. Retro Renovation is for sure going to get one of these for Christmas.

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1960s laminate: A short history from Wilsonart

pam kueber — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 08:00:11 +0000

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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