2014 was a great year for reissues of classic midcentury product designs. Still, there are three very basic products — I’m trying not to be greedy — that I would love to see brought back to the market, mass produced for cost, quality and availability. My list is based on seven years of blogging about midcentury modest and modern homes, hearing about what Retro Renovators need and have been excited about whenever the products come up.
1. Glitter laminate:
The absolutely positively #1 item on my list is glitter laminate.
Update, March 2018: Susan has brought this back! See the complete story here.
Made with deco paper — with real glitter inclusions, just like they were starting around 1950 all the way through the early 2000s — yes, this stuff was available for more than 50 years, non-stop. Today, this deco paper is still available — I have personally seen where it is made! Laminate manufacturers: I won’t even be greedy and ask for different colorways. Just give us a white (check the historic examples to get the rightish white) with gold glitter. The white field glitter laminate will solve for MULTITUDES of Retro Renovator kitchens and bathrooms.
Alas — this neeeeds to be a production laminate — it can’t be digital special-order run. As far as I know, the metal glitter cannot be replicated with current on-demand digital printers. That means this must be done with paper with real glitter inclusions. Laminate manufacturers must buy minimum (lotsa) size rolls of the deco paper… once they make the laminate, the sheets must be stored flat, in climate-controlled warehouses… and then there’s the whole marketing machine to get it out to the public. Note, I also tend to think that laminates made with deco paper (on a rotogravure press or as in the case of sparkle laminate, with real inclusions) are nicer looking — the ink saturation will be more intense… AND production laminates are much less expensive than on-demand digital prints because they are mass produced.
Pretty please with sprinkles on top: Will some laminate manufacturer take a big gulp and take a market risk on this? We’ll buy it! Maybe there are enough of us!
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2. Double-bowl, dual-drainboard, metal-rimmed, cast-iron kitchen sink:
Number two on my list: A double-sink, double-drainboard, hudee-rimmed, porcelain-on-cast-iron kitchen sink. The photos above show vintage Kohler sinks from our story about 16 vintage Kohler kitchen sinks.
And above: A 1956 ad for the Kohler “Clearfield” sink — now we know its name. Thanks to ebay seller splittinimagecards for giving us permission to show this photo of this ad for sale, we love having it for our archive.
Note, we love the hudee-rimmed Kohler’s Delafield sink currently available today — it’s a go-to recommendation for a replacement kitchen sink. But oh dear Kohler, can we have a design with drainboards?
Hey, I’d even settle for a double bowl with one drainboard. OR, a single bowl with one or two drainboards. Must have the metal rim, though!
3. Armstrong #5352:
Armstrong Floors, can we have #5352 — believed to be the most popular flooring of all time — back, please? Unbelievable: This floor was made from at least 1935 through to the mid-1990s — 60-some years!
This classic rich brick red color would be fine if we can have only one color. But if you can do other colors, how about something light and creamy (predominantly warm, rather than cool)?
Note: I am not saying Armstrong #5352 floor should be paired with a glitter-on-white laminate countertop. To me, the brick red screams “put me in a warm cozy midcentury modest kitchen” with a rich-colored countertop. But maybe I’d pair glitter laminate with a light, creamy colorway of the floor.
Updated: Like in Lori’s kitchen, photo below, thanks, Lori! Well, she says that floor originally had green squares, but they’ve faded with use. Still, you get the idea of how a monochrome meet-up between a beige 5352 floor and the glitter laminate could look:
And another update:
Reader Jan provided this photo (above) and the history:
Re: the Armstrong Brick flooring among the things we’d like to come back – I found this photo of the side porch at my grandmother’s house. This photo was taken in the late 1950s. My mom can’t remember when this floor was put down – she was born in 1934 and just always remembers it being there. I remember that it was a green colorway -very pretty! (The dogs are Come Here on the bench, Buster in the middle and Kilts on the right – Kilts was a full Scottish terrier and mom to the other two, who were “accidents” with a neighborhood dog – before spaying and neutering was the right thing to do!)
Thanks, Jan!
Some historical images from our files:
What do you think of my list, readers?
I’m wary of pushing our luck by being *too greedy*…
but for the “next wave” of we-wannas, what else?
Ron Vilarino says
Linoleum City in Los Angeles makes retro Armstrong #5352 for movie sets. You have to buy it in 6’x12′ rolls minimum. Contact: sales@linocity.com
Ron Vilarino says
Does anyone know where I can find the Armstrong #5253, red brick pattern???? I want o buy a 5’x9′ and 5’x6′ piece.
pam kueber says
It is no longer made and as far as I know, the only way to possibly find it is: vintage. Note, old materials like this may contain hazards such as lead or asbestos; get with a professional to assess what you are dealing with so you can make informed decisions how to handle. For more info see our Be Safe / Renovate Safe page https://retrorenovation.com/renovate-safe/
M.H. Harris says
Please bring back the Armstrong 5352 before I have to put in a new kitchen floor! Mine dates back to my grandmother’s time, before 1951, but after I had to put in a new dishwasher, it is lifting and separating along the seam in a dangerous way.
pam kueber says
I don’t think it’s gonna happen, M.H. See our research on other retro options in our Kitchen Help/Flooring subcategory –> https://retrorenovation.com/category/kitchen/flooring/
Note also, vintage materials in our old homes may contain hazards — get with your own licensed professional to assess what you are working with so that you can make informed decisions how to handle. For more info and links see our Be Safe/Renovate Safe page –> https://retrorenovation.com/renovate-safe/
Zoe says
Oh, if we could only get them to make the linen countertops in the historic colors (red and green at a minimum), I’d be so happy!
Jan says
When I was a newly wed in 1962, my father-in-law installed the gold speck laminate in aqua blue, with the metal around it for a wedding present.
Lauren Zeeck says
It was a lovely Saturday afternoon on Pinterest and I was searching for remodeling ideas, my keywords? Knotty. Pine. Cabinets. The results were mostly before and after pictures of these cabinets being painted over. They were white and they were boring. Then I stumbled upon a wonderful article on your website, “A knotty pine kitchen — respectfully retained and revived” and felt a wave of inspiration! I absolutely adored the mossy color they painted the walls and their kitchen kitsch.
My kitchen is an almost identical style, from the cabinetry to the countertops, except it is much more open and large than the galley style and has (you may have guessed it) the Armstrong #5352 flooring in “brick red”. Truthfully it’s not far off from the historical photos in your post.
I am now convinced the floors , the formica countertops and the cabinets need to stay. We have some small gouges and cracks in the floor. Also the cabinets need to be cleaned. How would you proceed? And do you have any decorating tips?
Thank you so much for your wonderful site and advice. I hope day I can share some before and after pictures of my own kitchen!
pam kueber says
Yay! Use the Search box to get to all of our stories about Knotty Pine, we have quite a few including about decorating.
I have on my list to talk to Rust-Oleum for a complete story on how to clean and revive these cabinets, given they are likely coated with Amber Shellac.
Regarding the floor: Please be aware that there may be vintage nastiness in old flooring and its adhesives, etc. — consult with your own properly licensed professional to assess what you have and make informed decisions how to handle.
When you are ready for prime time, contact us using thE contact box at the bottom of the site.
Sue says
I’d send a picture but …can not figure out how to! 🙂
pam kueber says
Sue, use the Contact form (bottom of blog) to connect.
Sue says
LOVE #2 – Mom’s house has the single bowl w/ 2 on the sides boards – independent standing with 4 draws on either side of 2 doors in the center – it is wonderful to ‘live’ with – can put hot pots on the cast iron – gotta be careful when scrubbing – the enamel gets thin…sadly there is nothing I know of that can repair it/refinish it or I would. That white stuff in the tubes – one can not put hot pots on that! The 3rd floor [apt] kitchen has a single bowl with one side board. BTW – Those side ripples boards were for washing clothes!
Jennifer says
Yes, yes, and…maybe. I love the look of the embossed linoleum. But I’ve found that embossed vinyl floors, at least, and textured floors are a bear to keep clean! But perhaps those of you who have similar floors have suggestions about cleaning them?
Mark E. says
YES! to the Armstrong flooring–in ‘red’ and in ‘tan-and-beige’. My childhood home’s original 1961 ‘tan-and-beige’ kitchen floor is smothering under a 1980 layer of THE SAME pattern (no-wax on vinyl) that can best be described as ‘orange-and-yellow’. It would be ‘fun’ to take them both out and start again with a new original.