Last week I was on location at the Wilson House in Temple, Texas — and one of the first rooms I wanted to see was the pink bathroom. The 1959 Wilson House is famous in the world of midcentury modern design because it is “the house that laminate built.” Most of the interior is finished with laminate — the design brainchild of Ralph Wilson, founder of Wilsonart, which today is the largest marketer of decorative high pressure laminates in the U.S. Yes: That’s laminate covering not only the bathroom’s cabinets and the counter tops, but the walls and the bathtub/shower surround, too. Let’s ogle all the details –>
Just to ground everyone, I’ve done several stories on the Wilsonart House already:
- This overview about the Wilson House, published in 2008. I *think* I was one of the the first, if not the first, in the design blogging world to recast attention on this house.
- Watch the video about the Wilson House with Grace Jeffers, who led the restoration of this historic house.
- Read about how laminate is made, by Grace Jeffers. If you have a kitchen build any time after about 1948 and through to about 1990, laminate will be your single most authentic historic material choice for a kitchen counter top.
- Also, see this story we did recently spotlighing 70 luscious vintage Wilsonart Glitter laminate designs. Nom nom nom nom nom.
Yes, the Wilson House has a pink bathroom. But it’s not an “ordinary” pink bathroom full of Mamie Eisenhower pink ceramic tile. There’s a bit of that… But mostly, there is laminate.
There is laminate used as a surround in the shower, which also features a “shower receptor bath tub” – sunken (This looks kinda dangerous to me; consult with a properly licensed professional if you have any inklings of trying a similar design.) Regarding the laminate on the walls, I am told that yes, this is workable even today — BUT, the adhesive and backing you use will be critical, AND a manufacturer likely will not warrant the laminate used in this super wet application.
The walls are tongue-in-groove pieces of pink laminate, pieced together to look like paneling. The vanity is a two-sided contraption covered in laminate.
Note: This is NOT the master bathroom. It is a second bathroom.
Can anyone identify the manufacturer of the faucet? I am going to guess Eljer.
Vinyl tile has streaks and slubs of black and pink….
The 9″ vinyl (likely vinyl-asbestos) tiles are pieced together with an additional inlay of black. (The kitchen floor uses this design device as well, with a different color of 9″ floor tile.)
Above: the marbleized pink laminate on the tub/shower surround. I auto-corrected this photo, then dialed up the black. Not sure this photo shows the pink correctly…
So above, here is my photo, un-retouched.
Above: An adorable little vanity stool. History: Glitter laminate was wildly popular beginning in the early 1950s. Initially, it was just pieces of real glitter laid onto white or colored papers, then laminated. Initially, it seems you get two Glitter designs — one had less glitter, the other, more. After a few years, laminate manufacturers then introduced additional glitter-based designs with additional squigglies or other marks in or on them.
As seen in the Wilsonart pink bathroom, marbleized designs also were available.
Alas, today, the number of abstract/patterned laminates like this suitable for a vintage style pink bathrooms are — ZERO, as far as I know.You can get solids, or off-white marbles, but no 1950s style pinks that I know of.
Above: Detail. Photo is retouched; color is not right.
Above: Nice light, I adore this shade. This shade was also used in the master bathroom.
Thanks to Wilsonart for letting me tour the Wilsonart House, hosted by Grace Jeffers. Note: I paid my own way, this was NOT a sponsored junket. As I’ve evolved as a blogger, I have decided I will not take any free trips (I took two, early on). I want to stay as neutral third-party journalist as possible. I did accept Wilsonart’s dinner invitation, though, and had a fabulous time with the Luminous Ladies of Laminate. I am now a full-fledged Laminate Geek and darn proud of it! More to come soon on the rest of my visit.
Thanks also to Wilsonart for inviting their staff photographer Keith Talley of Talley Photography to take a few shots of me and Grace and Tammy Weadock of Wilsonart while we were at the Wilsonart House. The photo at the very top — Pam in the Pink — is by Keith. And oh my goodness, all the pink bouncing off my skin — I like it! Which is why I made Reason #6 for Saving a Pink Bathroom:
6. Retro botox — Pink is actually a great color for bathrooms because the reflected glow makes you look younger…healthier. Photographers seem to like pink bathrooms for the same reason.
Surely Mrs. Wilson loved it, too!
View each image larger in this gallery:
Nanette says
Pam, I just said to my husband this morning, I wish I always looked as good as I appear to look when I’m looking at myself in the mirror of m pink bathroom. (Which is almost done, photos soon). And this is amazing!
oh Holland says
That floor design is SICK … easy enough to replicate today. Straight into my inspiro file it goes.
Switching gears: how can the clamor for glitter laminate not be heard by manufacturers? The pent-up demand for new product would sell out in hours!
Martin Wright says
I was very good friends with Ralph Wilson’s daughter, Bonnie, and visited the house back in 1973. Needless to say, I was shocked to run across this story on Twitter! Bonnie Wilson McIninch was one of the most wonderful people I’ve ever met, and helped to shape my life to what it is today.
Dan T. says
I love the shape of the drawer fronts — seems like a detail that could be used to good effect elsewhere, and not just in laminate.
Gavin in the UK says
Re: Sparkly Laminate.
Wilsonart have a UK operation that has a line of nice sparkly laminates but only in two colour options. Black or white. Also available as ready made work tops in some DIY (Do-It-Yourself) stores. Interestingly they do large sheets specifically designed for showers as well. You can see this stuff if you go to http://www.wilsonart.co.uk/products.html and click 25-28 it is the Strass Blanc and Strass Noir. Both enlarge to give a good idea of how it looks. Love the blog, keep up the good work!
pam kueber says
WOAH!
Gavin in the UK says
Just checked out this stuff in local DIY place, annoyingly the kitchen worktops are not great. They are not as glittery as the shower panels and appear to scratch easily too, judging by the stores samples. However, the shower panels really do look good. They measure 2420mm high by 1200mm wide (that’s roughly 8×4 feet) and come with a 10 year guarantee. Hope this link works: http://www.diy.com/nav/rooms/bathrooms/showers/-specificproducttype-splashwall_panels/-brand-Splashwall/Splashwall-Star-Dust-Single-Panel-12398602 When we finally get around to doing our bathroom I could be tempted by these!
Mary Elizabeth says
Wow! There are some beautiful colors there. Do the Brits have more retro tastes in general? Why can’t we have that aqua color?
Gavin in the UK says
Sadly Retro style is not as big in the UK as I would like nor as big as it would appear to be in the US. The 1950s seem to be seen (design-wise) as something of a golden age in the US, less so in the UK where many people seem to think of them as grey and dreary which, when you do some research, they were not except at the start of the decade when we still had a bit of rationing left over after WWII. Instead they were the start of the consumer society we have today but with better made products!
Brini says
You look lovely in that first shot Pam! The room does you justice…
RosemaryStevens says
That pink with gold glitter laminate looks exactly like the vinyl floor that was in my kitchen growing up! The vinyl also featured gold glitter…lines…for lack of a better word like the black ones in the floor pictured. I’m sorry I don’t know what that feature is called. I’ve never seen any floors like it. The house was built in 1961-1962 in Richmond, VA.
I enjoyed all the photos, but seeing that laminate (which was on our kitchen counters I should add) made my day. Thank you!
pam kueber says
I believe the effect is called “Jaspe”. I call it streaks and slubs – but somewhere recently, probably in an old Armstrong book, I saw it referred to as jaspe.
RosemaryStevens says
Good to know, Pam. I am seriously sitting here with tears in my eyes. I loved that floor so much! I do read the blog quite often, and I remember the Feb article you did on glitter laminate, but it wasn’t until I saw that vanity stool that it clicked in the ‘ole brain. 🙂
BungalowBILL says
You go on the best field trips.
pam kueber says
Yes, I do!
Nancy B says
Pam- We drove through Temple last week. As we were speeding through we were very sorry we didn’t have the time to tour this very interesting house! Thanks for showing us what we missed! I love that house- lots of good color!!
Lynne says
So, Pam did you have any luck talking them into re-introducing any of the old Formica patterns?
I can remember, my aunt had Marlite ? Maralite? panels on her kitchen and bathroom walls. Was that very different from formica?
Jay says
The product was called Marlite, made from different materials and process. In my opinion way inferior to true laminate for durability. It was on the walls of a kitchen in a previous house and I could take it down with ease and break it up. It was chipped and peeling. I think it was just a thin layer of decorative glazed paper attached to a fibrous backing.