Wow, does anyone know about countertops like these? Becky recently bought a time capsule and her french provincial kitchen (I’d call it) includes these countertops. Reminds me of these Fritz floor tiles. Anyone work with this back in the day who knows? Kind of, an early-days version of Silestone or the other composite-quartz countertops sold today. I love it!! And that kitchen, too (nix the carpet and get a counter-depth fridge.) Note: These are photos from the walk-through before Becky bought the house. She is talking about gutting — argh! Becky: Live with the house a while, I implore you — I sure bet you can learn to Love this House You’re In!
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Robert says
The counter tops are fantastic.
Only thing I would change, if it were my man cave, is the chandelier.
Looks like a great place to put a vintage fixture….or a ceiling fan if I’m going for function over design.
Bird says
Becky is lucky to have this counter. It’s awesome! She could easily find coordinating kitchen accessories on eBay: napkin holders, trivets, spoon rests, etc. The eBay sellers will usually identify these items as lucite or acrylic with embedded abalone, mother or pearl or shell chips. There are cute acrylic wall plaques too: fish, sea horses, etc.
Gayle* says
My friend’s parents’ house had the same counters. Her dad was a pharmacist and the counters in the back of his drugstore where he worked were made of the same resin but instead of rocks and pebble-like things, it was filled with all kinds of different pills. I was always fascinated with their counters at home and the store. Her parents had them both specially made.
pam kueber says
Gayle, that sounds like a fabulous countertop — pill-filled — wow!
Peggy says
I believe this product was called Targinol – spelling may be incorrect, but that was how it was pronounced. My parents installed in on a kitchen floor in 1963. The floor was the concrete slab that had been painted red and this was a new product being touted by a flooring store in Beaumont, Texas. My parents chose chips that were mostly white with some black and gold flecks added. The chips were plastic. It looked great for a few weeks and then some of the red from the paint began to bleed through and when we moved out of the house the floor had several pink spots in it. The floor installer did not know how to fix the problem without removing the entire floor and I don’t remember why that wasn’t done at the time. It was not totally smooth as I remember, but had a somewhat nubby texture to it. The care was easy – just a damp mop and no waxing required.
Rufus Valentine says
AWESOME. It’s a keeper. As one who has lived for 20 years with early 60’s white/gold-flecked Formica counters, I am envious. I’m also very happy to see that there are many of us who wouldn’t rip it out to put in g****** (won’t even spell out the dirty word).
Tina says
I LOVE that countertop! I’d never get rid of that.
wendy says
Those are awesome! I have a coffee table that is similar, except rather than small chunks, it has what looks like larger pieces of broken shells. It’s 5′ or so long, shaped like a surfboard, and pink 🙂
Those who want a sort of similar look, only with glass, google Recycled Glass Countertops. Cool stuff.
Jeff says
I can tell you exactly what it is, since I have table tops made with a variation of the same thing- it’s a composite of Capiz shell, and Paua shell set in resin. It was used in many applications in the 1950’s and 60’s.
Outdoor tables and tops for vintage built-ins were the most commonly found applications, not to mention the dozens of display trivets and pairs of seahorses found on bathroom walls!
In Florida I have several tables on the terrace of my condo made of this material used as “grout” inbetween slabs of onyx.
The resin is dense, transluscent, though prone to scratching and burns, so handle with care, and it can last a lifetime.
I recommend cleaning only with soap and water, though it can be professionally polished with a marble grade polishing pad and the appropriate crystalizing agent to remove fine scratching. Believe it or not, but any good silver paste like Simichrome can take out fine scratches as well.
Enjoy- it’s rare to find them in countertops!
Christi says
Hey Jeff, I know you posted this a couple years ago, but I grew up with a kitchen table just like this in the70’s, in shades of orange that I am desperate to find again. Would you know where I could find one?
janis says
I have one of these tables in pink! It was my table growing up, so I think we got it around 1973. When I was a little girl, I thought it was cool, and I spent countless hours learning every shell and stone in it. As I got older, it simply emabarassed me. It has been in storage since the early 90’s, and now I think it is the coolest thing ever, and cannot wait to have dinner with my kids around this table. I am working on getting it out and getting a base built for it. If anyone knows somone on the east cosast who can build a base for it, let me know.
I have been searching high and low for someone who knows what I am talking about. I am so glad I found this site!
Kay says
Kinda looks like that fancy clear glycerine soap with cut up squares of multi-colored glycerine soap in it! 🙂
vintage_vantage says
I love your kitchen! What I find funny is that the trend today is to renovate to brand new. Then, when the trend comes back, we all want to buy the new stuff that looked just like what we ripped out! I admit that changes should be made, but remember, we only get original once! (Good luck in any renovations you do! They can be a doozy!)
P.S. As Lynn said, it appears to be Lucite chips. I’ve never seen this in a counter before. Probably makes it pretty rare!
Joe Felice says
Remember, sometimes, “renovating” means returning things to their original appearance, but in new condition. Sometimes, we’re lucky, and we can get vintage items in good shape, but usually, it means buying newer imitations based on what we remember things to have been back then. It’s terribly fun to do this. I’m always on the look-out for both vintage and replica items when I’m out and about. But I cringe when I look on the bottom and it says “Made in China!” And it has become easier to find them, as we Americans have seemed to want to make a connection with our mid-century lifestyle. I know, for me, having retro things helps ground me and hearken to a simpler and more-pleasant time, with memories of sitting in the kitchen watching grandma bake.