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?
Robin, NV says
I’ll take the flooring and the laminate countertop please! Actually I’d be happy with any kind of sheet vinyl or linoleum available in patterns, especially the stuff that mimicked decorative tile. Check out this link: http://clickamericana.com/eras/1970s/vinyl-kitchen-floors-from-the-1970s
It seems that nowadays most of the sheet vinyl is trying to look like hardwood or 12×12 tile. Bor-ing.
Debbie says
I would buy the floor and the sink! I have a 1923 house that had a kitchen and bathroom update in about 1948, and some later “beige-ing” was done shortly before I bought it in 1989. I would love the swirly, marble-looking, dark blue floors that I see in ads and photos from the late 40’s and early 50’s, so that would be my addition to The Retro Renovation We Wanna List.
Sally says
I desperately want the glitter laminate. My first house in Army housing had white glitter laminate on both sides of the galley kitchen. It’s slated for demo in the next few years, despite there being absolutely nothing wrong with that house. I’m hoping to find a way to purchase and save a couple of countertops. Best house ever! Everything was white, but it wasn’t boring because of things like the glitter.
Richard S. says
Can we add deep, rich, color choices for bathroom sinks, tubs and toilets? Like the ones Kohler offered back in the 60s/70s, when they truly lived up to their tagline of “The BOLD look…”.
Shawna says
I’m with you Richard – so tired of beige, greige, gray, neutral. I want some color!
Jan says
AND decent colors – all the pale blue, yellow, mint green, turquoise, pink and grey colors they used to have – for kitchen appliances (as well as more interesting designs – just one look at any of the appliance ads from the 1950s and early 1960s makes my mouth water)!
pam kueber says
Warning: Let’s not get too greedy with the round! 🙂
Roberta says
I would buy that red brick floor in a heartbeat. I have flooring I desperately want to replace, and have not because I really, really, want red brick and none of the alternatives are as satisfying as this one.
Richard S. says
Great post Pam! Personally I would LOVE the lino. Very difficult to find enough of the vintage lino to cover a large area.
CarolK says
Just this week, we have been having some flooring replaced in our kitchen and what do you think was under the vinyl? That Armstrong linoleum! It was the beige one.
When we have the renovation really done (this was basically a patch until then), I don’t know what we’ll get for the flooring. I like Marmoleum, but I don’t think my husband would go for that.
Lauressa Nelson says
My favorite of the three is the double drainboard sink for sure. Besides the Kohler, you’ve written about another company making replicas from a different material. Why did the drainboard go away? Did the kitchen design brains think dishwashing was going away? I’m constantly wiping the water off my counter tops around the sink and coming up with makeshift ways to let my dishes air dry. I’m not a fan of the metal rim, though. Is there any purpose, other than decorative? I find water and gunk gets stuck around it, which means I’m cleaning it with a toothpick. I love the farmhouse style.
pam kueber says
Nelson’s Drainboard sinks makes the replicas
Re your hudee ring — mine is fine. Perhaps yours is not seated properly? Of course, if you brush crumbs right into it, the rim will catch stuff. I used a Williams-Sonoma sponge (have been for 20 years) to wipe the countertop – and catch the crumbs with the sponge rather than brush them into the metal rim
I love the metal rim — it’s more streamlined — that is, embedded in long, low countertop. I think that metal-rimmed sinks were just more flexible to use … and more “modern”
Erica says
I have mixed feeling about the drainboard sinks, especially the double drainboards. Yes, even if you have an dishwasher, there will always be some need for hand washing, and yes, the drainboard is great for dishwashing, but not so great if you’re trying to use it as a work area. I lived in a house with a free-standing double-drainboard sink – unfortunately, since it was a very tiny kitchen, that was my only counter space/work space, and because of the ridges, things didn’t sit on it very well, and it was rather awkward. Just my 2 cents, something to consider before getting this. 🙂
Stacey says
I partially agree with the workspace dilemma. My parents have a double in their house-one side is permanently the dish rack side and the other I often use for prep work. To avoid cutting off my finger or damaging the sink they have found a wood cutting board that fits perfectly over the whole side. It solved the problem instantly!
Jan says
I think the drainboards started going away around the time Rubbermaid started making the drainboard-shaped trays for under their dish-drying racks.
Jeanne says
I’m lucky enough to have glitter laminate (white) in my kitchen and bathroom and love it! Both are in fairly decent shape, but I have some spots on the kitchen counter that I sort of wore the finish trying to clean. Oh well, most wouldn’t notice it. I would use it again in a New York minute if it was available…for replacements or a new space.
Ima Pam says
Glitter laminate. Oh, yes. And pebbly mosaic tiles like the ones in an online auction stash featured here on RR a few years ago.
Laura H. says
I want glitter laminate so much! I have been searching and searching for something else that would be good enough. Found a couple of almost okays, but…!!!
I have one of those sinks in my basement. 🙂
I do like that pattern of flooring. I am planning on getting tile, but linoleum sure would be easier!