Breaking News: Formica’s 100th Anniversary designs include retro style counter top patterns and colors — hurray for color and pattern!
pam kueber - January 22, 2013, Updated: August 18, 2021
Retro Renovation stopped publishing in 2021; these stories remain for historical information, as potential continued resources, and for archival purposes.
“The patterns and colors… acknowledge the brand’s past – especially with designers such as Brooks Stevens
and Raymond Loewy – but without delving into nostalgia…
— Designer Abbott Miller
Yup, the day is finally here — Formica is announcing its much anticipated 100th Anniversary Collection. One minute after launch, we have all the new patterns ready to show to you. And, yes: Hurray! for color and pattern! — We have some great new Formica patterns for your kitchen counter tops and bathroom counter tops to add to our archive of retro-worthy laminate options. What do I like about these new designs:
Homeowners wanting classic cherry red counter tops will most likely be happy to see Formica’s new Ellipse design in red. It’s nice to have a tone-on-tone red again that doesn’t cost a small fortune (our current “reds” of choice are Arborite Xania, which is not tone-on-tone… and crackle ice laminate, with is highly pixelated and expensive.)
The patterns on the Halftone and Dotscreen designs are downright fun — and that orange in the Halftone is downright Brady Bunch. However, these are more so 1970s colors, rather than immediate postwar colors. Not that I mind, of course, but folks wanting aqua and coral and baby blue didn’ get ’em’. Note — I’m declaring the orange is the same as my 2011 color of the year… the blue the same as my 2012 color of the year and the green, not too far off my 2013 color of the year. Let me say it again: Hurray for real color and pattern!
Yes, Formica gave us some real colors… not just gray. Of course, there still are lots of grays. Grays are “in” today, and to be sure, offer a neutral alternative. (If you want retro grays, there are numerous additional alternatives from Formica, and other manufacturers.) Even so, it seems like Formica is banking on the appeal of its retro heritage with all these designs — these new designs offer edgy, FUN, graphic patterns, not stone or granite, like the mass of new laminate patterns today. Hurray!
Nicely done, Formica. Not to appear immediately ungrateful but now, can you give us some more!? xoxo
Details on how much, where to get, and when:
Same pricing as standard laminate.
Not promoted in the big box stores initially but if a consumer asked for it they would be able to order it from them.
Available January 31st.
Read on for the complete news release from Formica, along with ALL THE PHOTOGRAPHY from the announcement AND a slide show with the images bigger, too:
Formica Group Celebrates 100 Years in 2013
with the Formica® Brand Laminate Anniversary Collection
Exclusively designed by world-renowned design firm Pentagram
Cincinnati (Jan. 22, 2013) — Formica Group, the original inventor of laminate, celebrates 100 years with a fresh take on its iconic Formica® brand laminate. The 2013 Anniversary Collection features 12 new patterns that reflect the Formica® brand and its history.
See the “natural” edge? I think this substrate is called “Appleply.” Or, that is one of the brands. Very cool – very “modern” in that it lets the “authenticity” of the material show. Must be very trendy now. I like.
“While Formica Group invented laminate, designers are credited with realizing its full potential as a stylish and desirable surfacing material,” said Renee Hytry Derrington, Group VP of Design for Fletcher Building’s Laminates & Panels Division, which includes Formica Group. “The Anniversary Collection is just one example of our commitment to continue the joint exploration with the design community to define the future of Formica Group in the next 100 years.”
Collaboration with World-Renowned Design Firm Pentagram
Pentagram, the world’s largest independent design consultancy, created the collection exclusively for Formica Group. Pentagram partner Abbott Miller designed the anniversary patterns, introducing characteristics and colors that are new to the range.
“Developing this iconic brand’s 100-year Anniversary Collection was inspiring,” Miller shared. “Formica laminate is extraordinary because of its Zelig-like nature, blurring the past, present and future while completely crossing all social and economic categories. It’s a material with distinctive tactility, a warmth and domesticity; it’s man-made, yet has attained a natural quality in our lives.”
Miller’s vision for the Formica® Laminate Anniversary Collection underscores the material’s limitless design potential. “The heart and soul of Formica laminate is a printed sheet. Pattern and color are intrinsic to the culture of the company, so exploring the translucency of ink and the interaction of pattern and color was a natural area for me.”
Twelve New Patterns in Four Collections: Ellipse™ Collection, Endless™ Collection, Dotscreen™ Collection and Halftone™ Collection.
Ellipse™ and Endless™ play off the anniversary theme “Formica Forever” by utilizing innovative printing techniques that allow independent layers of pattern to randomly interact during the course of printing. The method creates seemingly infinite patterns that appear consistent due to the fluidity of the overlapping elements. Unlike most patterns that repeat every 50 inches, the pattern repeat of Ellipse™ and Endless™ only occur every 500 to 700 sheets, the equivalent to more than a mile in length.
Ellipse design
Ellipse™ uses the “hidden oval” in the iconic Formica® brand logo to create a series of layered strands that ripple across the surface.
6613 White Ellipse – a tonal non-color
6614 Gray Ellipse – a classic gray
1913 Red Ellipse – a strong red (The signature color of Formica Group features 1913, the year the company was founded, as its product code.)
Endless design
Endless™ creates a digital grain from bars that alternately layer and punch through a colored base. The result is a continuous tone-on-tone, architectural pattern that provides visual interest at close range and, from a distance, provides a geometric texture.
6610 Endless Graytone – a versatile gray-on-gray
6611 Endless Smoke – an ebony that recalls carbon and mica
6612 Endless Indigo – a deep inky blue
Dotscreen™and Halftone™celebrate Formica Group’s history of exuberant color and printing technology. Both Dotscreen™ and Halftone™ feature “solid patterns” of bright and saturated colors made more complex by undercurrents of detailed patterning. Fine dot motifs provide a second scale of interest within the optimistic hues.
Dotscreen
Dotscreen™ features luminous colors with extremely fine micro-dots in continuous ribbons.
6615 Aqua Dotscreen – a distinctive sky blue
6616 Mint Dotscreen – a vegetal green
6617 Tangelo Dotscreen – a soft orange
Halftone design
Halftone™ features “near-bright” colors patterned with various sizes of toned dots, reminiscent of halftone printing screens.
6618 Blueberry Halftone – a medium-toned blue
6619 Citrus Halftone – a bright lemon yellow
6620 Tangelo Halftone – a soft orange
Each Anniversary Collection pattern contains a subtle, tone-on-tone Formica® brand watermark embedded into the design on every sheet.
“The patterns and colors of the Anniversary Collection acknowledge the brand’s past – especially with designers such as Brooks Stevens and Raymond Loewy – but without delving into nostalgia,” Miller said. “While the collection aligns with the brand’s heritage, it offers surfacing design that is unique in the market. It also was satisfying to know that we were pushing the technical boundaries of print.”
In addition to the Anniversary Collection, Pentagram’s Miller and partners Michael Bierut and Daniel Weil collaborated on Formica Group’s anniversary brand elements, Formica Forever book and display concept.
About Pentagram & Abbott Miller
Pentagram is the world’s largest independent design consultancy with offices in London, New York City, San Francisco, Berlin and Austin. A partner in Pentagram’s New York City office since 1999, Abbott Miller has designed award-winning identities, exhibitions, environmental graphics and multi-media projects. He has received numerous design honors and his work is included in the collections of the Art Institute of Chicago, SFMoMA, and the Cooper-Hewitt Design Museum. He is the author of several books and numerous essays on design.
About Formica Group
Formica Group globally leads the industry in the design, manufacture and distribution of surfacing materials. Part of Fletcher Building’s Laminates & Panels Division, Formica Group is global group of companies consisting of Formica Canada, Inc., Formica Corporation, Formica de Mexico S.A. de C.V., Formica IKI Oy, Formica Limited, Formica S.A., Formica S.A.S., Formica Taiwan Corporation, Formica (Thailand) Co., Ltd., and Formica (Asia) Ltd., Homapal GmbH, among others.
Do you know if they intend to put the boomerang laminate back into production? Hard to believe it wasn’t popular enough to keep it as part of their stable of retro choices. These new laminates, while very nice and festive, have passed the mid-century mark (my understanding is that the officially accepted cut-off is 1965, after that it would fall into “post modern”) and look to be more ‘groovy’ than ‘atomic’. They are nice, and I’m not knocking them! But I’m more about mid 50s to early 60s aesthetic!
Jackiesays
Hooray for red!! These are at least a big step forward (or is that backward?). Still holding out for colorful linen pattern, though.
From Oregon’s 1957 Wright design — Evelyn Gordon’s original choice for her Frank Lloyd Wright designed “workspace” was Formica in 1963. We are ready to recreate her great selection to go with Wright’s famous red concrete floor. Looking forward to being a part of the 100-year celebration.
Mary Elizabethsays
Oh, dear, just about six months too late for me! It looks like the Mint Dotscreen would have been perfect for my kitchen counters. But then, I do like the one we picked, and even if it isn’t an exact replica, it has the ’50s to ’60s feel.
I am not surprised to hear comments about trailer renovation on this site. Since we are still working on (and camping in) our 1982 Terry Keystone trailer, we can maybe use one of these patterns there. Although last year we used the trailer at camp as a haven away from house renovation, we will probably do the opposite this summer and work on the trailer some more. It needs new kitchen and bath floors and counter-tops. Nothing like the good old gold shag carpeting in the bedroom and main living area! Do you think trailer decor is about 10 years behind home decor? It seems gold shag carpet went out of the homes after the seventies and was replaced with a lot of blue and beige and gray and mauve. During the mid eighties we ripped up the late seventies shag in our basement that looked so much like our orange tabby cat that he was camouflaged by it and we sometimes stepped on his tail when he was sleeping there in his favorite sunbeam. 🙂 But the gold shag is still in our trailer.
OMG, Pam! From that article: “Of course, Shaw’s blast-from-the-past mood board is a cacophony of: Color! For example, Emily knew I would like to hear about the team’s latest prize: A piece of multicolored burnt orange sculptured carpet from the 70s – found by accident under the filing cabinet in an employee’s office when they went to re-carpet. Yeah, baby!”
I recognized most of the patterns in that article, but that piece of carpet in the foreground on which the other samples are displayed is most definitely the exact brand and pattern our dear departed marmelade orange tabby disappeared into in our old 1978 condo! I’m not sure I’m ready to return to it again ifthey do reproduce it, but while we were raising our three kids, it did hide more things than sleepy tabby cats. Slumber party spills, soccer team pizza fights, even the occasional stomach sickness of kids or pets, all easily cleaned up with nary a trace.
Jaysays
I revisited this story as I want to recarpet the living room/dining room. I didn’t remember reading the comments – ick, all that carpet in bathrooms and kitchens. Also reminded me of the shag I pulled up that was in the basement, ewh! Long past its sell-by date!
Scottsays
Can’t wait – I want the Tangelo Dotscreen. I have an island that I’ve been hating because of the UGLY 80’s top. Tangelo will be perfect!!
MB from CTsays
My kitchen, original from 1948, has countertops and floors very close in color to the red and yellow above. The countertop is red linoleum, and the floor a pale yellow with red markings. So, those colors might work if anyone is looking to do something from that era.
Mikesays
Wow, Pam. You really touched a nerve with this topic! People are passionate about laminate and it’s too bad that Formica won’t listen to the wishes of the group. A while back I found a chunk of pale yellow laminate with atomic starbust laying in a pile of leaves. If only it were still available………….
Trishasays
Speaking of Wilsonart, and I don’t work for them or anything, I think it is extremely high quality stuff. We put Wilsonart countertops in our tiny kitchen well over 20 years ago in a medium gray, tone on tone graph paper pattern. It still looks great! And it’s super easy to keep clean. My son has the same pattern in his Seattle apartment by chance except the color is medium blue on blue. doesn’t look quite as good as mine (renters and all) but it’s still there doing the job approximately 25 years later.
Jaysays
Yes, in my last house, I used either Wilsonart or Nevamar, I believe their offerings are better as they are more transitional for any age period.
Sandy 'chartreuse'says
I ADORE the ellipse pattern, but I’m not a fan of red. I wish it came in the indigo (my first preference) or blueberry, and would like to see what it looks like in tangelo. It would be great if there were also a lime green and an apple green colour.
I love these patterns, and I give Formica credit for not simply ‘dipping into the vault’ but coming up with retro-inspired patterns, instead. I think they did a phenomenal job. I also love it that two of these patterns, my favourite Ellipse and the Endless, “Unlike most patterns that repeat every 50 inches, the pattern repeat of Ellipse™ and Endless™ only occur every 500 to 700 sheets, the equivalent to more than a mile in length.” That is an amazing design feat!
I also love how the white ceramics look on the mint dotscreen. They would look great on the aqua colour, too. The pattern is very reminiscent of the Scandinavian ceramic patterns of the 50s and 60s.
Well done, Formica!
Enid Haban-Megahedsays
My goodness folks, you want cool laminates, check out Pam’s add for Heffron’s I got glacier gold from them which is boomerangs in yellow on white, it came to the house in 10 days, Love them! They have boomerangs in a dozen colors including a purple (Retro Prom) and pink( Retro Poodle Skirt) as well as three cracked ices. Pam, you should show some of these to the readers.
Yes, You were my resource. I am so, so very grateful for your link. My builder tried for 6 months to get it from the local supplier. And I found your link, called them, and had it in 10 days. My builder thought I had the magic touch, but I only had the right resource. Thankyou Pam! My retro yellow kitchen with yellow cabinets and yellow appliances from Northstar and yes, yellow and white boomerang countertops, thanks to you 🙂
Yup, the day is finally here — Formica is announcing its much anticipated 100th Anniversary Collection. One minute after launch, we have all the new patterns ready to show to you. And, yes: Hurray! for color and pattern! — We have some great new Formica patterns for your kitchen counter tops and bathroom counter tops to add to our archive of retro-worthy laminate options. What do I like about these new designs:
Details on how much, where to get, and when:Formica Group Celebrates 100 Years in 2013
Miller’s vision for the Formica® Laminate Anniversary Collection underscores the material’s limitless design potential. “The heart and soul of Formica laminate is a printed sheet. Pattern and color are intrinsic to the culture of the company, so exploring the translucency of ink and the interaction of pattern and color was a natural area for me.”
Stacia says
Do you know if they intend to put the boomerang laminate back into production? Hard to believe it wasn’t popular enough to keep it as part of their stable of retro choices. These new laminates, while very nice and festive, have passed the mid-century mark (my understanding is that the officially accepted cut-off is 1965, after that it would fall into “post modern”) and look to be more ‘groovy’ than ‘atomic’. They are nice, and I’m not knocking them! But I’m more about mid 50s to early 60s aesthetic!
Jackie says
Hooray for red!! These are at least a big step forward (or is that backward?). Still holding out for colorful linen pattern, though.
Molly Murphy says
From Oregon’s 1957 Wright design — Evelyn Gordon’s original choice for her Frank Lloyd Wright designed “workspace” was Formica in 1963. We are ready to recreate her great selection to go with Wright’s famous red concrete floor. Looking forward to being a part of the 100-year celebration.
Mary Elizabeth says
Oh, dear, just about six months too late for me! It looks like the Mint Dotscreen would have been perfect for my kitchen counters. But then, I do like the one we picked, and even if it isn’t an exact replica, it has the ’50s to ’60s feel.
I am not surprised to hear comments about trailer renovation on this site. Since we are still working on (and camping in) our 1982 Terry Keystone trailer, we can maybe use one of these patterns there. Although last year we used the trailer at camp as a haven away from house renovation, we will probably do the opposite this summer and work on the trailer some more. It needs new kitchen and bath floors and counter-tops. Nothing like the good old gold shag carpeting in the bedroom and main living area! Do you think trailer decor is about 10 years behind home decor? It seems gold shag carpet went out of the homes after the seventies and was replaced with a lot of blue and beige and gray and mauve. During the mid eighties we ripped up the late seventies shag in our basement that looked so much like our orange tabby cat that he was camouflaged by it and we sometimes stepped on his tail when he was sleeping there in his favorite sunbeam. 🙂 But the gold shag is still in our trailer.
pam kueber says
I have a story on the history of wall-to-wall carpet here, hehe: https://retrorenovation.com/2012/01/16/wall-to-wall-carpeting-history-from-the-1950s-to-today-an-exclusive-interview-with-emily-morrow-shaw-floors/
Mary Elizabeth says
OMG, Pam! From that article: “Of course, Shaw’s blast-from-the-past mood board is a cacophony of: Color! For example, Emily knew I would like to hear about the team’s latest prize: A piece of multicolored burnt orange sculptured carpet from the 70s – found by accident under the filing cabinet in an employee’s office when they went to re-carpet. Yeah, baby!”
I recognized most of the patterns in that article, but that piece of carpet in the foreground on which the other samples are displayed is most definitely the exact brand and pattern our dear departed marmelade orange tabby disappeared into in our old 1978 condo! I’m not sure I’m ready to return to it again ifthey do reproduce it, but while we were raising our three kids, it did hide more things than sleepy tabby cats. Slumber party spills, soccer team pizza fights, even the occasional stomach sickness of kids or pets, all easily cleaned up with nary a trace.
Jay says
I revisited this story as I want to recarpet the living room/dining room. I didn’t remember reading the comments – ick, all that carpet in bathrooms and kitchens. Also reminded me of the shag I pulled up that was in the basement, ewh! Long past its sell-by date!
Scott says
Can’t wait – I want the Tangelo Dotscreen. I have an island that I’ve been hating because of the UGLY 80’s top. Tangelo will be perfect!!
MB from CT says
My kitchen, original from 1948, has countertops and floors very close in color to the red and yellow above. The countertop is red linoleum, and the floor a pale yellow with red markings. So, those colors might work if anyone is looking to do something from that era.
Mike says
Wow, Pam. You really touched a nerve with this topic! People are passionate about laminate and it’s too bad that Formica won’t listen to the wishes of the group. A while back I found a chunk of pale yellow laminate with atomic starbust laying in a pile of leaves. If only it were still available………….
Trisha says
Speaking of Wilsonart, and I don’t work for them or anything, I think it is extremely high quality stuff. We put Wilsonart countertops in our tiny kitchen well over 20 years ago in a medium gray, tone on tone graph paper pattern. It still looks great! And it’s super easy to keep clean. My son has the same pattern in his Seattle apartment by chance except the color is medium blue on blue. doesn’t look quite as good as mine (renters and all) but it’s still there doing the job approximately 25 years later.
Jay says
Yes, in my last house, I used either Wilsonart or Nevamar, I believe their offerings are better as they are more transitional for any age period.
Sandy 'chartreuse' says
I ADORE the ellipse pattern, but I’m not a fan of red. I wish it came in the indigo (my first preference) or blueberry, and would like to see what it looks like in tangelo. It would be great if there were also a lime green and an apple green colour.
I love these patterns, and I give Formica credit for not simply ‘dipping into the vault’ but coming up with retro-inspired patterns, instead. I think they did a phenomenal job. I also love it that two of these patterns, my favourite Ellipse and the Endless, “Unlike most patterns that repeat every 50 inches, the pattern repeat of Ellipse™ and Endless™ only occur every 500 to 700 sheets, the equivalent to more than a mile in length.” That is an amazing design feat!
I also love how the white ceramics look on the mint dotscreen. They would look great on the aqua colour, too. The pattern is very reminiscent of the Scandinavian ceramic patterns of the 50s and 60s.
Well done, Formica!
Enid Haban-Megahed says
My goodness folks, you want cool laminates, check out Pam’s add for Heffron’s I got glacier gold from them which is boomerangs in yellow on white, it came to the house in 10 days, Love them! They have boomerangs in a dozen colors including a purple (Retro Prom) and pink( Retro Poodle Skirt) as well as three cracked ices. Pam, you should show some of these to the readers.
pam kueber says
I have repeatedly re-published the link to main round-up story about these laminates in these comments all day! Here it is again: https://retrorenovation.com/2011/10/20/boomerang-laminate-3-designs-14-colors-available-today/
DOES EVERYONE KNOW HOW TO USE THE CATEGORIES!!!!
Enid Haban-Megahed says
Yes, You were my resource. I am so, so very grateful for your link. My builder tried for 6 months to get it from the local supplier. And I found your link, called them, and had it in 10 days. My builder thought I had the magic touch, but I only had the right resource. Thankyou Pam! My retro yellow kitchen with yellow cabinets and yellow appliances from Northstar and yes, yellow and white boomerang countertops, thanks to you 🙂