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:
Hello – I really hope you can help me. I have been searching for weeks with no luck. I have an old trailer from the 50’s and need to replace the countertop and table top. I would love to put in the old style white spunggold or white gold textolite but cant find even close to it. Do you by chance know of a manufacturer that still makes this or something similar.
Thank you so much,
Kelly
Answer: Sorry, no one makes this anymore. I have been told that the technology is no longer available to “embed” the gold sparkles, which were actually added materials layered in. I think today’s stuff is all “digital”. The only “authentic vintage” choices that I know of are the Formica Skylark and Vivrarr designs, which you can get from any countertop company or big box hardware store; or, barsandbooths.com has crackle ice laminate and a second googie-style boomerang in several colorways — all the barsandbooths.com sheets are much more expensive than the Formica ordered from a big box. Another early-retro way to go is with linoleum. Finally, I have been thinking about looking at laminate FLOORING to see what’s available; maybe this could be used for countertops, too? I can’t think of any reasons why not, but need to do some research.
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It would be great if there was enough of a collective groundswell to get manufacturers to find a way to make this variety again. We have the mint green speckled gold counter tops in our original 1958 kitchen, but they are in bad shape. I’m toying with trying to salvage enough to use in our 1962 Shasta camper (it had the white variety as shown in your sample image above.)
Speaking of flooring…. I have my “undo” nearly done on my kitchen (removing 80’s -bringing back the 50’s), but I’m really struggling with what to do with my floor. I really, really wanted to use VCT, but after thinking about the maintenance of waxing for the next 20 years, I decided against it. Does anyone have any good suggestions for a modern day vinyl floor that would compliment a 1950’s kitchen? This is all Ieft to do and I don’t want to mess this up!
Janice, look in my Flooring recs, I like the Armstrong white brick vinyl. There are other manufacturers called out, as well, take a look…
Rebecca, can you post your finds?
Here’s the stuff Rebecca found: Armstrong / Impressions: from the little chips online (I haven’t seen this stuff in person) some of this looks like (1) linoleum or (2) pebbly stuff. Worth checking out. I need to go to my tile store to see it…
link: http://www.armstrong.com/flooring/vinyl-sheet/cushionstep-collection.asp
Your thinking of CVT (Composite Vinyl Tile) I worked as a floor tech. Its standard industrial-strength tile used in office buildings in many settings. Holds up a long time and looks great. Care is actually rather simple. Today, it comes in an array of colors and styles, but it needs knowledgeable installation — that’s the key. Not really a good DIY candidate. But upkeep is very easy, which is why so many companies use it. Its heavy-duty but installed correctly it can be quite nice.
Yes, we recommend this often here. I have Azrock Cortina Autumn Haze in my kitchen – and love it. I agree re installation: Use a pro.
I wish they still made this! My bathroom vanity is covered in the white spungold, just a simple style, nothing super mod, but I really like it, I need to get better pics of it.
RE: Flooring options. I redid my linoleum cheapy kitchen floor with marmoleum. It looks amazing. I ended up doing the marmoleum sheet floor instead of the tiles. There’s a great array of colors available, and it’s a green product which is an added bonus.
–bex
I just put down VCT in my kitchen, I put down the 5 coats of polish as recommended and so far it’s fine, I mop as usual and it shines like crazy! It did take 5 coats to get a good shine, now if I had a buffer I would think it would have been less but the stuff goes on with a mop, no work at all.
It’s been down for about 3-4 months now. I wouldn’t let waxing stop you, the new polish they have is great.
VCT is about 1/3 the cost of marmoleum and comes in many more colors. It’s really easy to install and at less than $1 a square foot, if you get tired of the color, change it.
I’m on the lookout for a vintage floor polisher with all the attachments…. yes, that vct sure do shine up purdy! The man who originally put down my 5 coats (I hired someone I found through my dentist’s office) said: wash it only with COLD water with some vinegar in it. He was insistent that hot water would dull the finish, in his experience.
I’m looking for a polisher myself, I would like a vintage with the attachments but they do make new ones as well.
If I can’t find a vintage one I think I’ll pick up one of the new models.
Mark, you’re making it very hard to say no to VCT! I have to say I’m intrigued by the Amtico flooring Cindy used and actually found one that closely resembles the VCT floor I picked out originally. I love this blog – it’s a treasure trove of ideas, information and resources. Thanks Pam and fellow mid mod lovers!
If you can find something that works and that you like go for it, but in my experience VCT is easy to take care of and like I say, it’s so cheap you could easily change it out if you are not happy with the color or pattern.
I found some extra colors at the habitat for humanity store near me, 30 cents a square foot. How can you go wrong?
Ok gang, thinking outside the box here on the lack of Textolite style sparkle laminate sources……….
What’s to stop someone from getting a chunk of left over solid color laminate (could be white, green, pink, or whatever) from a counter place and:
Getting some low gloss/matte resin (think wood restaurant tables that have high gloss resin tops, sometimes with the menus or items placed in the resin), and trying a thin coat over the laminate and putting your own glitter in? Resins typically wear very well and are usually food safe. I think it’s just a matter of finding something not so high gloss.
Could be the cheap retro look-a-like in the end, at least until Formica/Wisonart/Pionite decide to come to their senses and just make it for us.
It it turned out ok, then you could decide to do your counters. If not, well you only wasted a bit of resin, glitter, a chunk of some shop’s left over laminate, and a little time.
from the barsandbooths.com site:
Laminate Pricing
Full Sheet of Laminate (4 feet by 10 feet) – $450.00
2 or more Full Sheets – $390.00 per sheet
Holy bejesus!!!!! I paid $60 for a sheet of Boomerang from Lowes, the teal one. and that was a 4×8 sheet, it’s still rolled up in my garage, next to my 5×12 sheet of vivvarr white for the kitchen, that was about $200. Shop around people!!!!
Thanks for the detail research, Joe.
That White Gold sample sure brings back memories. My parents renovated their ’53 kitchen in ’62, blowing out the dining room wall to create a huge eat-in kitchen for our growing family. Mom delivered me a few hours after hanging the last of the blond birch cabinets. The kitchen had two built-in desks — one for sewing, the other for paperwork — pink and black plastic wall tile, and gold-fleck white countertops with a custom-built matching dinette table that comfortably seated 10. One of my brothers still has the table, covered in about an acre of that laminate. The floor was finished with some kind of then-newfangled spray-on enamel coating that also had metallic gold flecks.
Gee — I’m getting ready to do a kitchen remodel within the next year and will be getting rid of a speckled countertop and double-bowl enamel sink — all on a 107″ length. Plus I’ve got matching speckled backsplash. I remember the look used to be very widespread, but I just don’t care for it anymore. I wanted to re-do the countertops in a turquoise color (but most laminate today is imitation granite). Gee — one woman’s trash is another woman’s treasure! What can I say?
sombrerocat, we have identified some manufacturers of turquoise / aqua laminate – take a look at my navigation bar: Find PRODUCTS / Kitchens / Countertops
My grandmother used laminate flooring (I think, I know it was laminate) on the house she and her husband bought in the late 1950’s. The only room in that house that was ever “redone” was my grandmother’s bedroom which was updated in the ’70’s at my mother’s urging.
Good luck on your countertops!
Claire
aka Second Hand Roze
Hi Pam and Retro Renovators,
*waves*
We have white gold Texolite in our kitchen and it’s stained very badly from coffee and god knows what. I’ve tried scrubbing and bleach on some of the worst spots and all either does it remove the gold specks – the stains are pretty set-in.
Anyone know how how to clean Textolite?
I wonder what the old vintage ads say about that?
I’m off so continue my searching….
Any info would be greatly appreciated 🙂
Dana at CafeD
search my post on Countertop Magic. also try – Mr. Clean Magic Eraser – I used this on plain white recently and it was miraculous
Thanks Pam!
Will do!
This looks just like the counter we had growing up. I really enjoy this website. My daughter turned me on to this web page. Sure brings back the memories.
wow, i didnt think i would ever see an article or post about the gold speckled countertops. my house was built in 1936 and i have the whit countertops with gold speckles and there is laso some green in it to. they have so much character
haha, we have several stories and soon I am going to the factory where they were made! welcome!
Mine is in horrible shape. Wish I knew where to get more.
Mimi, gold speckles no longer made. I have a lot of research on retro-style laminates, though. Check them out in my extensive Kitchens/Countertops category here: https://retrorenovation.com/category/kitchen/countertops/
Greetings:
I moved into my townhouse (built 1965) 3 years ago, and have been enjoying trying to make it livable without interfering with much of the original features which were kept in fine condition by the previous (and original ) owner. One thing I especially liked are the gold sparkle texolite kitchen and upstairs bathroom counter tops and original sinks and hardware. I’ve replaced a few ceiling fixtures with ceiling fans (our Houston summers can be brutal,) Recently a bathroom ceiling fixture (fan/light/heater combo) went out and the master electrician I had look at it said it would be almost impossible to replace the original heating elements, but I’ve got the light working at least and was able to salvage and clean the original glass globes — still in pristine condition.) The large living room sliding glass door is original, but my predecessor had all the other windows replaced with fine modern double panes for energy efficiency, but they compliment the place for which I am grateful. It’s a pity, though that I won’t be able ever replace/ repair the counter tops with like material. But, aside from a loose corner here and there they are in excellent condition. One thing she did was leave photos of some of the original appearance of some things, such as the dark hardwood kitchen cabinets that she updated with a bright white coat of paint. I am tempted to strip them back, but may forgo that to keep the kitchen from seeming extra small. Great site. Glad I stumbled across it. Kind Regards,
A.
This is what is on the metal cabinets in my laundry room & there is a strip of it on the small shelf that separates my kitchen & dining room. I’m not too fond of it & will eventually get rid of the piece in the kitchen, but will leave the metal cabinet tops as is. I love finding out the history of all the vintage stuff in my house.
The most desirable laminate to have, I think! Wish they’d bring it back!
I have this in my kitchen and I love it! But it’s cracking and stained, plus sadly a lot of the sparkles have been cleaned right off. If we were to try to replace it, what do you think is the closest available look from modern products? I was looking at a brushed-finished quartz that had similar sparkles but $$$!
Wow! People are actively searching for this stuff and here I am searching for a way to cover it up! My old home I recently purchased with my husband has the bottom half of the walls in my kitchen covered in this stuff……
Sounds really cool Joy! Sparkle laminate is highly sought after. 🙂
I am recreating glitter counters with glitter and epoxy. I even found gold starburst confetti to add in. Necessity is the mother of invention!
I want to learn how to do this because my house just got flooded and I really want my gold fleck countertops back.
John, this is not a DIY site per se. Look for a professional source who can instruct you on whether/how to do this. Note: I am not an expert; do not know if epoxy coatings are considered good for kitchen countertops / food-safe, etc — again. consult with pros…