2015 was a great year for new laminate patterns — both retro inspired and retro revivals — and we’ve been so excited to see these colorful, cheery prints popping up in readers’kitchens. First we saw Wilsonart’s new retro style ‘Betty’ laminate in Nancy’s kitchen and Patti and Darin’s Yabba Dabba DIY kitchen and now — we are green with yes, here it comes — Envy — seeing Wilsonart’s ‘Envy Daisy’ — a recreation by Wilsonart of one of their 1970s designs — in reader Kristen’s retro kitchen remodel in progress.
My husband, Michael, and I moved into our house 6 1/2 years ago, and it was not kept up. We lived in the upstairs half story while we (with the help of family and professionals) did extensive work on the main level. Major job changes, unfortunate discoveries as we peeled back the layers of the house, exhaustion, and my passion for restoring and doing it right put us at tackling the kitchen four years into owning the house.
There were a few critters living in it when we bought it, and unfortunately the original kitchen cabinets were destroyed by them. Among many other later discoveries, we found the roof had severe leaks complicated by the way two small additions were put on the house and complex ice dam issues.
We salvaged the cabinets out of two other 1950/60s homes in the area and refinished them ourselves. We had their dimensions modified to fit in a couple cases. We also salvaged over 500 sq. ft. of 1 1/2″ oak flooring from another house in the area that was sadly going to be town down. I learned about these opportunities through Craigslist. The flooring throughout the main level now all matches, although I’d like to install linoleum or the small pebble looking sheet vinyl I’ve seen featured on RR in the immediate kitchen area.
The refrigerator and stove are placeholders right now, because our super nice neighbors gave them to us when they switched to stainless steel. Can’t beat that price! The oven hood also isn’t installed yet, as well as half of the electrical work.
I started my own business teaching kids and adults sewing, See Kitty Sew, this past fall, and the upstairs half story needed electrical work to be a sewing studio so that jumped ahead of the kitchen for resource allocation. See Kitty Sew is thriving, so now I feel ready to approach the kitchen after the holidays. I know it’s desperately in need of some cohesiveness with the mix I’ve got going on currently.
My plan has always been to do a 1960s green and blue kitchen, but then 1950s/early 60s cabinets became available and other than a solid, the only print I could find at the time was the Wilsonart “Daisy” laminate (1970s). Of course after installation I read about the Jonathan Adler laminate options but no looking back! I loooooooove the counters. In fact my cabinet maker that did the counters suspects I’m one of the first to get the pattern based on his interaction with the company. It took awhile for a sample to even be available when I first spotted them on their website. I picked the print in October and the cabinet maker didn’t receive the laminate until the first week of January.
I’m considering wallpaper (I looooooooove wallpaper) and adding shelves to the side of the tall cabinet that is next to the sink. Or??? I’m open to any ideas! Of course trim and electrical work are needed…and light fixtures that I’ve been hunting for.
It’s difficult to tell this story without feeling like I’m rambling. But then it feels like I’m jumping around a lot — well, because it has felt like a whirlwind in real life. I’m sure you and RR readers understand much more than when I try to tell my friends ha!
I can’t say enough how much I love RR. I am always spreading the word about how much fun it is to embrace your house, reuse materials, and do things the hard way!
Wowl Kristen, we absolutely love how your kitchen is shaping up — especially since you are using reclaimed materials and doing things “The Hard Way.” Those cabinets! The flooring! The countertops!!! Yours is a great story! Please keep us in the loop as everyhing comes together — we are breathless to see what you do with the walls! Thanks so much for sharing your progress!
Read more about Wilsonart ‘Daisy’ laminate and see all the color ways in our story.
Maria says
Where did you find the cabinet hardware? Those knobs are the same as the originals on my bathroom cabinets and I’d love to find them again.
Kristen says
The knobs were original to the cabinets. They were caked with grime, and then I applied a vintage sewing machine trick to them. You soak them in a mixture of hot water and oxyclean powder for 5-7 minutes. After a few minutes, you’ll see dirty bubbles come to the surface. It’s like magic. They came out looking like new. Do NOT do this on painted metal items or really rusted pieces. I did the hinges too. The difference was unbelievable. I clean my sink strainer the same way. No scrubbing required and comes out looking like new! Please try at your own risk and definitely first on one knob before doing all just in case you experience an adverse effect!
Maria says
Thanks for the info! I love oxyclean. It took a mustard stain out of a white shirt when nothing else would. I use it time to time overnight in my old kitchen sink – in the morning it’s sparkling white again.
lynda says
I think the kitchen looks so nice. I love the daisy counters. I remember back in my young, carefree days, painting an old refrigerator light blue and putting blue and green daisies on it. I loved the look in 1966. You did a fabulous job of finding and refinishing the cabinets. I love the slab look of the doors. I like the moulding at the top of the cabinets too. You must be so thrilled with the results of your hard work.
Kristen says
Thanks Lynda. It was a lot of work, but I do love them. Your refrigerator sounds like it was a fun one!
Maria says
I remember this laminate! A friend has it in her parent’s vacation home time capsule ’70’s avocado green kitchen.
Flower power!
Jess says
I ordered a sample of this and wasn’t sure how it would look on a larger scale. It looks absolutely great in your kitchen!
Also – that cat wallpaper. I’M IN LOVE. May I ask where you found it?
Kristen says
Thanks Jess. The cat wallpaper is called Omega Cats by Sanderson. I can’t remember which place I ordered it from but I just did a google search and it still popped up. It’s one of my favorite things in my house!
linda h says
I am silly. I was looking at the green part of the pattern and thinking cool abstract pattern and I didn’t even see the cats.
Tom says
Great choice on barstools too! If you don’t use 5 stools remove one to make more room for the four and keep one in storage in case one of the others is damaged.
Kristen says
Thanks! Great idea. Four is actually a better fit, but when I found a set of five, there was no way I was going to leave one behind 🙂
Tony says
Question on the stools… are they Samsonite? I’ve been looking for a set exactly like this so any details would be appreciated!
Tom says
Very cool! Not sure what you meant by this “Of course after installation I read about the Jonathan Adler laminate options but no looking back!”
Your choice was perfect there isn’t a Jonathan Adler laminate that even comes close to what you chose. The Jonathan Adler laminates don’t excite me at all but this “daisy” laminate is incredible!
Great start can’t wait to see the finished kitchen with oven hood installed etc.
Kristen says
Thanks Tom! That is so great to hear. I wasn’t sure the cabinet style (they came out of houses built in 1960) would fit with a 70s laminate and thought maybe the JA laminate that looked like linen would have been a better match. But I really didn’t know! The daisies make me happy for sure. I think all of these positive and encouraging comments might just give me the boost I needed to finish it!
Jill says
❤️ Beautiful, what a labor of love!
Kristen says
Thanks Jill. You are right. A true labor of love!
Robert says
I really was excited when this print came out! So I ordered the samples. I was disappointed, as they have changed it from the original in the 70’s. The daiseys used to be crisp and sharp. Now they are soft and diffused 🙁 IT is cool looking in your kitchen though. Ive been trying to convince my partner to do the grey version. I am so wishing they would release the gold fleck formica again. I have called the company to request it a couple times.
Kristen says
Oooo I do love gold fleck formica too!
Chad says
I like the continuity of the wood floors all the way through. But if you decide to change it later, you seem to know what you’re doing.
Instead of papering the side of the tall cabinet, what about a big bulletin board? I made one for my grandmother just by cutting Homasote to size and wrapping it in fabric.
Kristen says
That’s helpful to hear about the floors, Chad. Thanks for the suggestions. If I seem to know what I’m doing, it’s only because I’m a loyal RR reader so I really appreciate this community’s feedback!
Amarissa Parker says
I absolutely adore your daisy countertops! Your cabinets are also fantastic, and really bring the whole design together. Excellent job.
Kristen says
Thank you Amarissa! That’s so helpful to hear as I’m trying to get the energy to finish it 😉