UPDATED 2019 — If you are looking for retro-style laminate for a kitchen or bathroom counter top, you have some blinding research ahead of you. Unless there is a home-run-out-of-the-park solution — like the boomerangs, crackle ice or dogbone still available — it’s going to be a hunt-peck-and-forage to find something that’s “close enough” to original laminates from the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. Here to help is a list of all the places I know — eight nine 13 places — to look for laminate for your retro kitchen, along with some tips for your hunt–>
Where to find retro style laminate for kitchen and bathroom countertops:
- Wilsonart — Don’t forget to also check out their Virtual Design Library for a growing number of custom, digital-printed options — including several recent revivals from Wilsonart’s 1960s and 1970s archive, cracked ice patterns, and a large variety of boomerang laminate designs.
- Where to buy the Wilsonart digital designs: I suggest starting with A Moment in Time — Specialist provider of retro-vintage styles.
UPDATE 2016: You can also buy the Retro Renovation® by Wilsonart® laminate collection and some of the other designs from the Wilsonart Virtual Design Library affordably (I think) with shipping included via Home Depot!
- Boomerang laminate — See my story 29 designs and colors of boomerang laminate and where to find them. Most of the designs are made by Wilsonart, one is made by Formica.
- Make It Midcentury is the only place in the nation where you can get glitter laminate. It’s now available in a variety of colors, seen in the photo on the right.
- Formica — Boomerang in charcoal (the only color still available from Formica) is in Homeowners. But, Dogbones, Wefts and Warps are in To The Trade.
- Abet Laminati — 195 solid colors… 136 woodgrains… 149 patterns… 33 metals… Easy-to-use website. If you need a solid color and can’t find it here — or at Arpa, below — it probably doesn’t exist.
- Arpa — Eye-boggling to search, but their colors look good, so may well be worth the trouble to pursue this brand for that reason.
- Pionite — Check out their linen-look laminates in Abstracts; colors are greyed out – more suitable for 60s and 70s than 50s, but overall, I quite like them.
- Arborite — They have some patterns I like, including a blueberry that looks like linoleum and some almost-linens. Easy-to-use website.
- Nevamar — Check out their abstracts and update 2019: Their reintroduction of some great retro patterns including Nevamar Venus recreated from one of our readers’ sample chip finds — full story here!
- Decotone — Added to our list in 2015.
- Laminart — Added to our list in 2015.
- Lab Designs — Added to our list in 2013, they have some retro-modern styles worth considering.
- Also try Bella Laminati.
Tips:
- No substitute for seeing an actual sample — Of course, there is no substitute for seeing actual samples in the flesh. If you can order the samples in an 8″x10″ size, all the better. Smack it down in your kitchen or bathroom — and look at it in all lights during different times of the day. This is a prime opportunity to torture your spouse in the decision-making process.
- Do not become enraged by prices for the specialty laminates — Laminate must be stored flat, in a climate- and humidity-controlled environment. Specialty providers often also must invest more to hold inventory, and they do not benefit from the economies of scale possible in mass market production.
- Searching is going to take time and will blind you — Some of these websites are better organized than others. Be patient and be sure that, once you find a product page, you look at all the links to ensure you have not missed any sections.
- Look in the Commercial section of the websites, too — Look in both the “Residential / Homeowner” sections and the “Contract / To the Trade / Professional” sections. So many of the popular consumer patterns today look like granite. More abstract designs may be over in the Commercial section. Generally, as a consumer you can get product from either section. You *may* have to go to a real countertop fabricator to get Commercial selections — BUT, with the internet now, you likely can also find an online source at a good price. (Just check everyone out.)
- Good-Better-Best — Manufacturers may have good-better-best grades for a variety of requirements. Check out the options, and make your decision accordingly. On stuff that requires professional installation, all the more so, because that means replacing the product has two costs.
- Consider the practicality of the finish you select — Keep in mind that shiny finishes are more likely to show scratches. I have glossy in the two bathrooms, and they are doing just fine. But I don’t think I’d choose glossy for a kitchen.
- Watch the specifications — if it says “for vertical surfaces only” it means not for countertops, duh.
- Share your experiences — Readers, do you have any more tips of your own, or questions?
I have LOTS more research on laminate options here:
- My complete Kitchen Help: Countertops subcategory
FYI there is a FaceBook group for sharing pieces of SparkleLam made by http://www.makeitmidcentury.com if a full sheet is out of your price range. The group is here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1557312487746485
For instance, I’m hoping to get a quarter sheet (2’x6′) of dark aqua SparkleLam with both inclusions. If someone wanted to other 3/4s of it, we could split the price. This group lets you connect with other folks looking to buy SparkleLam for their renovations.
What a great idea! Thanks for sharing this info, Alex!