I have 1961 pink formica with little gold flecks as a counter and full backsplash. The trim at the edges of the backsplash is chrome. It's in fine shape. Not as space-agish as boomerangs, though! Didn't they reissue the boomerangs and starbursts as retro-style formica for MCM restorations?

As I've said before, dated isn't necessarily ugly. I actually like my pink formica, and I've lived with it happily since 1988, except for all those trim edges that collect gunk. I'm afraid its days are numbered, though. Demo starts 8/1.

They did reissue the "skylark" pattern as "boomerang". And recently rediscontinued it. :(

They didn't reissue it in pink though, or they might have made enough sales to keep up production!

Cool! I'd love to see a picture of the pink if you have one!

Our laminate won't die either (I've been trying) but it is boooring sand color with the little sandy specks ('80s), so no retro cache there. It is chipped around the bottom edge, that's my excuse for planning a change-over. Now if they had only done the metal rim, lol -- or wood, it was the 80's, after all. I told DH that if we really wanted to be true to the house's roots, we'd put in new Formica (in an actual color this time) with a metal edge. Probably won't, though.

My Mother put that into our kitchen c 1954 (sans boomerangs) just a nice friendly, solid pink with that SS marine edge trim. I remember it very fondly and have left pink on the short list of colors for my new kitch. It would me give an excuse to hang up my Mother's pink, hand-cranked ice crusher that my uncle gave her for Christmas 1955.

L

I had green, including the backsplash! Had the trim on the sink and stove sides, but not on the pennisula.

Did have plenty of pink including the toilet in the bathroom though!

Whoa, that is some bathroom! Why was the peninsula a different finish? Was it a design feature (because I see that the wood matches the soffit), or was it just added later than the... are those metal cabinets?

I bet very few people nowadays have the courage to do a kitchen floor like that. lol. I like it. If you're going to have plain cabs and a plain countertop...

I think it was a design feature. It all appeared to have been from the same time. Metal cabs, yup. They now grace my husbands work room.

I don't show it, but the entire room was yellow and yellow/green tiles (same as the bathroom style) grace the opposite wall. Even the ceiling was yellow.

I don't really miss that bathroom :) Especially since the shower only had hot due to corroded galvanized pipes. And there were no electrical outlets!

Some things are a lot more charming in photos than in real life. :) More charming in other people's houses than in one's own, too.

Marcy -OK, the pink in the bathroom is a little much, although I like the tile a lot. I could have been happy in your kitchen, though. It's a nice, clean design, and the green is a pretty color. I take it you lived with it for a while? And then you didn't waste the metal cabs. Good for you!

I saw a girl, looked to be maybe 30, on HGTV last night who was buying her first house, and she "had to have her dream kitchen" - granite, SS appliances, glass mosaic backsplash, upgraded gas range. The kitchen as it was was just fine, not even dated, actually nice. They couldn't afford to do the remodel immediately - it was way more than the $20K her husband said was in the budget (big surprise) so she wanted to renege on the purchase of the house, which was $427K (it was in Alexandria VA). I had to switch it off because I wanted to slap her. If you can't afford to remodel right away, it's really OK to live with a dated (not ugly) and perfectly functional kitchen until you can learn what your dream kitchen really is.

NC, exactly. A friend kept urging me to keep the kitchen. It was exactly like her mothers. She didn't have to live without the outlets, freezing year round, and a stove that I feared would eventually do us all in by fire or gas leaks.

I lived with it for 5 years! How's that! The hardest things to deal with was the cold (from that window, zero insulation, and open storage below), only 2 outlets, one of which was for the oven light, tiny oven that would fit a turkey but nothing else. Couldn't bake anything very successfully due to the fluctuating temp in the oven as well. We could have burned down the house with the pilot lights too. A baby sitter put a paper back of groceries on top of one once, luckily I noticed, and I burned a pot holder pretty good. I did eventually turn those off and just used a bic candle lighter (hate those things now) or matches. It was also badly lit with that one chandelier being the only source of light.

But the biggest reason for remodeling was I wanted my children to learn to cook and be totally self-sufficient in the kitchen. It just wasn't practical (and maybe not even safe) there. I know kids can learn anything and of course there are kids suffering in far worse kitchens caring for 8 younger sibs, but it wasn't a place we all wanted to hang out in (primarily because of the cold!). Our new place is warm and bright and easy!

Ah, memories... growing up, we had red countertops with the metal trim and yellow walls and ceiling. Not much countertop space, though. My mother did not like to cook and the size of the kitchen and the not very yummy meals reflected it.

Marcy- Functional really is a requirement. Considering the functional drawbacks you lived with, sticking out 5 years could be cause for beatification. I lived with my dated kitchen for decades because it worked so well. The PO put in all sorts of wonderful, efficient features, and the double wall oven with french doors is the thing I'm most sorry to lose. But your kitchen was very charming.

Everyone will get to see my pink formica when I do the big reveal, if I can figure out how to post pics. Should be sometime in the fall.

hey, you can still post a preview peak at the pink! good practice anyway!

I still haven't posted final pics. still working on decorating details and my tiny amount of free time has been devoted to restoring dining room windows. I'm now an expert in the long & laborious way to get window trim to look like you want it.

This is a test to see if I can post pictures. You wanted to see pink formica, and look what else we found...

Did your hood pop out too?

I"m jealous. Looks like you had 3 electrical outlets! :)

If anyone wants the retro look of formica, esp. with the edgebanding, try www.barsandbooths.com. They have some cool pix of newly retro counters. We almost went that route and think it would be cool to put those with a well functioning retro look kitchen.

Marcy - Yes, the hood popped out. That was a good feature. Can you still get those? It was a Nutone, and the GC said it had a furnace motor in it. It did vent really well despite the fact the the vent ran around half the kitchen and had 4 turns.

I had outlets all over the place - I think 6 total, including one inside the cabinet that had the appliance stand, so I kept my sewing machine there, permanently plugged in. Don't be too jealous, though. When he took out the cabs, the GC found hidden switches and plugs from the original kitchen. They also had made a false ceiling over two old light fixture boxes. He spent over a day and a half just correcting all of that before he could start running the new electric.

dianolo - That's what I had, a well-functioning retro-look kitchen, only it was real. I liked how it looked. But you know my motto, "dated isn't necessarily ugly."

I don't know if those hoods can still be purchased. It was great! Mine when right out the wall (and luckily my new hood is in the same place so I didn't have to vent up 2 stories). It really did suck are out well and wasn't terribly loud. Really well built.

I have mystery light switches in other parts of the house and living room wall sconces that only turn off and on by unscrewing the bulbs. But I'm not ripping up more plaster to replace that knob and tube, so I'll live with just loosening the bulbs!

hey, ourguys, can we see your space age pink formica?

bump

Yeah you can still get popout hoods, although in our enlightened era we call them "slideout hoods". I think it's about the same. I liked my 80s model enough to replace it with a new one when I remodeled. They're great if you're short because you don't have to reach over a hood to get into the cabinets above it.