How is this one, Retro Renovation readers? I recently scored a full box of est. 1960-65 era GE Textolite laminate samples, absolute mint condition unused. This is the first bunch — the others aren’t so over-the-top FABULOUS, but still are great gauges of what to look for. OMG. What else do I need to say. We can all eat our hearts out, together, on this one. This post originally ran on Jan. 4, 2008
Reader Interactions
52 comments
Comments
Trackbacks
-
[…] Anyone out there experienced in this issue? How great it would be to help Gail save her vintage “Twilight” (See my post of a few months ago – this stuff is AWESOME!): […]
Gretchen S says
I’ll be darned. I didn’t know GE did formica. We have some of this (beige/sparkles) in our kitchen. Great score Pam!
GAle says
We peeled back an ugly putty colored laminate backsplash in our kitchen and lo! The whole thing is covered in Azure Twilight GE Textolite! It’s stamped on the top with “years of wear. . . minutes of care.” The problem is that it’s covered with a yellowish glue. Does anyone know if Textolite can hold up to strong solvents, like Bix stripper or something? I would love to be able to save the Textolite, but it needs a strong cleaner. Goo Gone didn’t even budge it.
Thanks,
Gale
Lynne R says
Hi- I don’t know if something more eco-friendly like Citristrip would work on an adhesive but you could contact the company to inquire if it would work and not damage the laminate. I hope it’s OK to post the wesite address. http://www.wmbarr.com/citristrip/default.aspx
50sPam says
Thanks, pdux! I thought I had found a source, finally, for White Gold speckled laminate – when I discoverd a sample in a local lumber store from an obscure Canadian company (well, obsure to me!) . But when I called the company, they said it had been discontinued in 2005. ARGH! How about speckled ceramic tile on the other counters? That is still available!
pdux says
I’m new to all this internet, so I am excited to have found this site.
I too, am trying to find the White Gold. When we moved into the farm
house that my husband’s family had built in the 50’s, most of the
countertop was done in White Gold. It still looks almost new. There are two sections that didn’t get done due to lack of money at the time.
Later of course, the White Gold couldn’t be found. If anyone finds it,
I would appreciate your letting me know. If I happen to find it, I will pass the information along. I enjoy reading all your comments.
50sPam says
Yes, I agree that Camelot is absolutely positively to die for.
Someday, yes, the stash will be found. Now that we’ve put our vibes out there, though — it will come us us us! (Rant accompanied by wicked, crazy laugh.)
Or… a day and a half after we install something else, someone will reintroduce what we really want. Punishment for our Attachment and Striving.
Hey, I really like that you can see the Nugget samples really big. I’m not sure how I made that happen. I’m going to try it with the Camelots to torture you all some more.
Sumac Sue, see my Nov. 14 post in Countertops category on combining countertop surfaces. More butcher block would be great if it suits the location. And honestly, I think this can be not too expensively if you go to your basic lumber story and you don’t special order. I am not sure, though. Butcher block laminate is also fine. Get the very classic color and/or match it to your dishwasher. I’m going laminate hunting this weekend, so I will look.
Stainless steel would work, too, but it might be a bit much in terms of the design impact, 7′ long and all. In my kitchen we actually did it quite on the cheap – in a small square – by buying one 24″x24″ (or so) piece and just sticking it up against the the formica next to the stove only – where hot stuff goes. Then we had the steel edging all around everything. Voila.
I think Femme1 also has some good ideas — and your talking about the wall color makes me think, how about matching the counter color to your wall color? I kind of like this idea. It would limit you long term – but overall it might harmonize quite nicely.
Oh yeah, and pull EVERYTHING together with wallpaper that includes all colors on the soffit!
Another option would be a neutral beigy gold that coordinates with the flecks in your gold flecks – but I think you’d have to be carefully re the color of the maple veneer. Now that I think about it, you have watch out for that with the butcher block, too. Colors can be so hard! Send pics some time. We don’t have to post them for everyone, just me and Femme!
I still have your bathroom floor to research, too, I haven’t forgotten that.
Sumac Sue says
Femme1, it’s interesting you mentioned aqua. I have been thinking lately that maybe my blue paint is too cool for our north-facing kitchen (a subject recently discussed by 50sPam with the post on Sears Harmony House colors). I want to stick with blue walls, and I was thinking maybe an aqua shade would be a bit warmer. Maybe aqua countertops would warm things up. I never would have thought of aqua counters, for some reason, so thanks for the idea.
As for where we got the white/gold counter — I don’t know whether to be embarrassed or proud, but, we found it in a dumpster! A house up the street is being renovated for resale. I peeked in the dumpster one day and saw the countertop and cast-iron enameled sink. Some workers helped us get the stuff out of the dumpster. That kitchen is now getting granite countertops on its 50s era maple veneer cabinets.
I’d hate to think that all of the great old formica is winding up in dumpsters. There’s got to be a stash of it somewhere.
Femme1 says
Sue, I think you’ve got a lot of leeway on another color for a countertop. The white/gold formica you scored is pretty neutral, so you could go bold–aqua or a deeper blue, even green.
Did you find the white/gold countertop at a ReStore? I’ve been searching the Web for “vintage countertops” and “new old stock formica” and am coming up with nothing. There must be someone who has a supply of some of this older formica. There is probably a corner of an old warehouse in New Jersey filled with Camelot and Heyday that some old contractor has forgotten about!
Sumac Sue says
We’ve found a section of countertop that looks just like the White Gold. Not as gorgeous as those Camelots, but, it is really nice.
Problem is, we don’t have enough to do all of our counters. I’m seeing new kitchens with two types of countertop. Will this look OK in my retro-style kitchen? It’s got to, if I want to use the White Gold!
We plan to use a six-foot piece of the White Gold where the sink is. (It’s the sink that came with the White Gold countertop, so, they fit together just right). On the other side of the kitchen, we will have a countertop that is about 7 1/2 feet long. Walls are light blue, cabinets are 60s era maple veneer with copper-look hardware in a curvy, Jetson sort of look.
Any suggestions on color for this countertop so it looks good with everything else? We’re on a tight budget, so we’ll look first at the ReStore, then move on to the big box stores.
Oh, we have a portable dishwasher with a fake butcher block top that we have to keep around awhile, as well as ivory colored stove and refrig from the 90s. Not in the budget to replace appliances at this point.
Femme1 says
Ahhhh…
How I love thee, Azure Camelot.
OK, Pam. This is cruel…really cruel. :>