Today, I present 1960s polka-dot Formica Girl in a catfight smackdown against Medusa, the gorgon sister whose monstrous gaze turned mortal men to stone. Guess whose side I’m on? Warning: Uncharacteristic and generally-frowned-upon rant follows.
I have been looking at vacation condos in Florida recently. Everywhere you turn it’s: Granite on the countertops, bigggggg slabs o’ faux stone ceramic on the floors and backsplashes and even UP THE WALLS and not just on the bathrooms walls either. Shoot me.
All these baked surfaces are hard, cold, and they echo. The scale is usually way off. Moreover, the mass of stuff I’ve seen is just cheap crappola Applied All Over the Place. Sorry for my french and for breaking my rule about “not making anyone feel bad for their decisions.” But this mass hypnosis of the American public — which seems to go hand-in-hand with the Greige Nation — is just a crying shame. I am Very Tolerant about design choices. I really truly am. But this fixation on putting granite, faux-stone ceramic, stone and marble on every surface is Not Good. It is Not Attractive. I was not really aware of how bad it was, until I went condo shopping. Stop, America, stop!
I am a big fan of “mixing things up” when it comes to surfaces. Ceramic and/or marble and/or even some granite in the house is fine — in appropriate measures. Wood floors, cork, linoleum, VCT, carpet, rugs = Yes, there are so many choices, mix it up, have some fun! For midcentury modern and modest houses alike, laminate countertops are what’s *authentic* to the period. They usually suit the unpretentious character of the house.
Close your eyes to Medusa. Embrace Formica Girl and all her life-giving polka dot loveliness. Thanks to Formica blog for giving me permission to use their lovely photo. I’m sure they weren’t expecting this.
Lauryn says
Amen! The key to any design choice, of course, is what’s “appropriate”. Unfortunately, current fads mostly don’t take that into account. Appropriateness is how we ended up doing a retro renovation of our kitchen. While this borders on new age woo-woo, if you listen to your house, it will tell you what is right for it. Our house was built at the end of the Great Depression and so we’re working to respect the mindset of scaled-down, limited resource design plans from that era. All of which has taught us, more and more every day, to “love the house we’re in”. And we do, we do, we do!
Catherine says
I admit that I love greige. It’s very flattering to my coloring, and I grew up in the 90’s, when the industrial look was very hip. BUT I do think I know the cheapo renovate-to-sell look that you are talking about, and I hate it too.
I think that granite countertops became so popular because during the housing bubble everyone had at least one eye to selling, and for a while they were really helping to sell units. I remember about ten years ago someone who worked for a window company complaining about their condo-building clients who were putting in the cheapest possible windows–but all the units had granite countertops!
But it’s a perennial problem–I’ve read memoirs that mention people in 1950s selling off their Victorian furniture for a pittance so that they could have the new look. In 50 years the new “we” might be lamenting that someone is tearing out a perfectly serviceable 2012 kitchen. (Don’t you just love that wacky scale? It’s SO early century!)
TappanTrailerTami says
Catherine – I drive buy hundreds of houses and town homes here everyday that have cheap windows. That’s a whole nuther subject though. But you know even with cheap windows, they run a 90% chance that granite lurks within.
I’ll be on the opposite end of course – I have a super cheap house and it will have really expensive windows. Marvin and Andersen true divided light windows with wood interior sashes in a mobile home! LOL. Gotta love Craigslist 🙂
Martha says
Hi Pam,
Great that you are looking in Florida. You think granite surfaces are bad? Try looking at mid century modest houses which have been totally ruined by having tile roofs and other mcmansion features added to the outside. Can’t even tell you what they look like. I live in Miami and I love it. And yes there are still plenty of little mid century treasures out there, but you have to look really hard amidst all the macmansion craze. Good luck with your search.
Cynthia says
Flat white concrete roof tiles are correct for Florida mid century houses. Spanish style barrel tiles are not. Tar and gravel is also correct for low slope or flat roofs of that era here. Metal standing seam was not used but is now seen for replacement roofs due to ability to withstand hurricanes.
Look for concrete block and stucco construction,flat concrete roof tile painted bright white, metal jalousie or awning windows, terrazzo floors, keystone finish on concrete patios. No arches straight lines no faux mediterraenean trim pillars or columns Thats a real South Florida mid century house.
pam kueber says
Thanks, Cynthia!
Kate says
Currently I have all Laminate countertops. In my last house I had Silestone installed when I gut renovated the kitchen, but it was such a small kitchen that my counterspace was very limited and therefore was not too expensive. I am not a fan of Granite Countertops at all. I agree, they are cold and require too much work (sealing!). I would consider using Silestone again in small doses (custom bath vanity top?) but granite, no thanks.
I also just did a little research and apparently some of them may contain radon?
http://publicaccess.supportportal.com/link/portal/23002/23012/Article/20951/What-about-radon-and-radioactivity-in-granite-countertops
Yet another reason to stick with Formica!
pam kueber says
I really do some of the manufactured counter top materials – Silestone, Caesarstone (sp?), etc. Even granite, too! I am ranting about seeing this cold hard stuff in EXCESS like Everywhere, un-Artfully designed…
scantee says
I should also say I don’t think there is anything wrong with granite it’s the ubiquity of it that makes me dislike it. You’ve said this many times, Pam, but in 20 years it will seem dated just as everyt trend does. Most people don’t realize that though and the general consensus seems to be that we’ve finally figured it out design-wise.
scantee says
Yes! We’re looking to move house soon and I get so sad when we go into homes where a home depot kitchen has been put in recently. Usually on the advice of their realtor that they should do it to sell the house. We’re fortunate that our realtor told us to play up the colorful, mid-century features of the home we’re selling rather than greige it out.
Chase says
Pam, being that you are looking down in Florida, what are your views on Terrazzo flooring? I know that is was the big thing in Mid Century Florida. I always cringe when I visit my great aunt and see that she has covered her amazing Terrazzo floors with wall-to-wall, even in the kitchen…
Cynthia says
I live in South Florida and love terrazzo floors, which are made of marble chips embedded in concrete, then honed, polished and buffed smooth. They are seamless, dissipate heat, are cold underfoot, and help the house feel cooler in our hot, humid climate. they are impervious to termites and moisture damage. yes, too often it was later covered with carpet, ceramic tile or the worst, glued down vinyl or linoleum. These can be removed and the terrazzo restored. The terrazzo was installed directly on the concrete slabs, on which South Florida houses are (still) built. New terrazzo floors are no longer installed in homes, due to very high labor cost compared to other floor coverings. It’s still used in commercial applications. Terrazzo tiles can be purchased for floor, wall and counter top installations. In South Florida, concrete and stone-based floors (that includes tile) and surfaces wear best. I am not a greige or beige or earthtone fan. However, neutral tile is a great backdrop for color on walls, furnishings and accessories. I have 3 bathrooms with white tile and fixtures, with blue, green and aqua walls, towels, shower curtains, etc. they look great against the white.
Elaine says
I love the terrazzo too, it is hardy and good looking and easy to take care of. I understand you can get it polished if it is a little worn. It was my bane to discover only plain old cement under my brown, orange, black and cream shag carpet.
pam kueber says
Terrazzo is THE BEST. Definitely on my list of desireable features! Funny to hear, when we were out looking, that there were interim generations who though it was hide*** and ug**.
Nathan says
You’re right about the homogenization, but there are still some cool unique places here too from mid-century back to old plantation style – not in condos though. Being in FL myself, I’ll say that hard surfaces are helpful in this environment. A lot of older places HAD to be renovated due to the rot and decay that is on overdrive down here. With all the bugs, termites, heat, and humidity, things like tile floors are cool and don’t collect mold and pollen like carpets. The granite counters are so overdone. My fear is that all this beautiful and limited resource granite will lose favor at some point and then we’ll see people just sledge hammer it to pieces and put it in the dump.
pam kueber says
Thanks, Nathan, I really hear what you are saying regarding needing to use material more impervious to humidity and termites, etc.! You know, I also understand the need for folks to do this affordably! That said, gosh, reflecting on what I have been seeing in my condo-hunt, I KNOW there are ways to use affordable materials more beautifully…
Queen of Fifty Cents says
If we want to go back a few years, the 80s equivalent was the craze for so-called Southwestern decor, which my 1957 MCM house still suffers from. The owners of that time went so far as to turn the fireplace into a faux-kiva style with butts of logs sticking out – which was then finished with some kind of pale pink acrylic. Absolutely ludicrous in this post-and-beam house. We’ve just spend a fair amount of money mitigating this vandalism.
And yeah, Formica Girl is single…but she’s also 72 years old now!
Allen says
Is Formica Girl single?