Pal, I don't know what MCM means:

And they did this on historical or formal styles of furniture, not just on MCM (as we call it now)

I found the best coasters are made of cork.

Maybe painted furniture is the answer.

I grew up in the 50's and 60's and can remember many pieces of furniture with laminate tops. I never liked the feel or look of it from an early age and much prefer 'patina' on wood. My DM didn't tho and probably gave away better pieces when she bought the laminate stuff. I don't remember what they had before. One small solid walnut table from the 30's survived and was given to me early in my marriage as she never valued it but I treasure it.

I think solid wood that has a few scratches with a Restor-A-Finish treatment and occasional waxing looks wonderful and is much preferable to laminate. I sort of compare the scratches to the 'laugh lines' on my face which shows life experience!

Ellie, MCM is Mid-century Modern. :)

So mid century modern is the 1950s. Good to know.

While I like the sample furniture you posted, I can't abide fake wood no matter who makes it. But if it is a cool graphic formica top, that is a different story. I would love a table with a formica graphic top with all the other parts wood painted to match. I see them in red, aqua, gray, dark blue... I think when laminates came out they were the next great thing and were used in lots of applications. Solid surface is the current next great thing that is why we see it in showers, window sills, moldings, and kitchen everything.

I have a nice wood dining table. I wish I had an old beat up one then I could just put dishes and glasses right on it and not worry about dinging it up. I have even thought of beating it up myself just to get it over with. I don't think my husband would be happy about that.
Diane

I have a regretful new-ish wood dining table where the finish is so poor that a slight whip of a squito wing screws it up. I'm afraid to use it. I caught husband in a rare "new" buying mood and acted in haste. I'm going to have to have the oval shape fitted for glass one of these days. The glass will cost more than the stinking table is worth. I would not bother except I have the matching credenza that I really like; it has a dark granite top (perfect).

I've had glass tops cut for tabletops. The sun can be a problem and heat can build up between the wood table top and the glass. We've gotten around that by using special plastic disks -- they are tiny circles that look like tiddlywinks. You set a few of them under the glass which raises it ever so slightly. Works great for us. The one thing is that if liquid spills and gets under the glass you have to remove the whole piece of glass and wipe the wood dry. It doesn't sound like a big deal, until you try it on a 54" round dining table...

If you look at other things happening right around the time period with the laminate tops, there's a big push towards "labor-saving." That's when a lot of frozen foods were introduced and the TV dinner became popular. I think the "no-polish" vinyl floors were emerging around that time, as well.

My grandparents cared for their wood furniture by waxing or polishing it regularly--I know, because I've spent hours cleaning the old wax, now hardened and black, off the pieces that came to me. The finish under the wax or polish was probably shellac or varnish, and it would have been easily damaged if the wax coating wasn't there.

So I can see how, in the push for more labor-saving things in the home, that laminate would have been welcomed by people tired of running around putting coasters under glasses and wincing every time someone put a hot dish on the dining table. You could have the look of nice wood, without the worry or the care involved.

It fit with the whole vibe of the times--everything was modern and space-age and less work for the homemaker.

Growing up in the 60s, we had Formica on the kitchen table, and a nice mahogany dining table, with pads and a tablecloth. We couldn't wear jeans at the dining table, because the rivets might scratch the wood of the chair seats.

Now we have choices in wood finishes--with something like polyurethane, there's no work and little worry.

I do think that many people these days don't know how to treat wood furniture. A co-worker recently reported that a house guest put a wet towel on a wood chair and ruined the finish. Many of our colleagues were surprised--they thought a chair was a perfectly good place for a wet towel and were stunned that the chair had been damaged by "just water." They put the blame on my co-worker for not telling the guest that the furniture in the guest room was antique and fragile.

So maybe all these people shoving bowls and plates across a fine mahogany table just have never encountered furniture that needs a little tender care before.

I am not recommending that laminate replace wood.

I don't touch my furniture that much to be worried about the feel of laminate though, either. It doesn't bother me in particular.

But in places like bedside tables I think it could be very practical.

I don't want to be the finish protection police particularly when it comes to guests. If we are together in the living room I can just hand them a coaster with their drink, but I don't want to hover or make anyone feel unwelcome to actually use the furniture.

I have seen kids, in particular, destroy the tops of their bedroom furniture in a matter of weeks, even if they are relatively careful with their "parents" furniture. And guests can be careless or accident prone, or both, that doesn't mean I never want to invite them again.

And I think covering wood surfaces completely or using a magazine under things all the time either turns the surface into something that isn't wood anyway, or covers up what you are trying to preserve the appearance of...kind of like plastic slipcovers or keeping the cellophane on the lampshades.

There is a balance somewhere, and I think if that means certain surfaces are not real wood because that is impractical for it's daily use, then that should be okay. It just doesn't seem to be much of an option with good furniture these days (much of which has a poor microns-thin finish anyway that can scratch with a fingernail)

Re:the towel on the wood furniture~~it's kind of like the born-in-the-barn philosophy:if you weren't *taught* at home, or maybe later by a DH/DW, how do you know? ;o)

I was married and buying furniture in the 50's....laminate furniture was (and is) tacky!....we want granite on out kitchen counters and laminate on our diningroom tables?
People who don't know not to lay wet stuff on the furniture or on the bed, must have been raised by wolves!
Growing up....and all my "grown-up" life I have never ever had a laminate furniture top nor covered any piece with glass.
And I have hosted many large parties...
Many coasters, stacks of cocktail napkins and guests who are used to living with nice things make it easy.
Teach your children....don' put a glass on a bare wood table...ever. Don't put anything rough on the table, don't run your toy cars on the dining room table....but the oak family room table with a polyurethane finish is fine.
I don't understand, people find real wood finishes too fragile yet upholster their furniture with off white canvas...??

Well, I would say....not tacky:

{{!gwi}}

{{!gwi}}

{{!gwi}}

{{!gwi}}

{{!gwi}}

{{!gwi}}

Lindac, I don't know what to say. My husband grew up with nice quality furnishings but is the biggest culprit of destruction in his own home. I don't know what it is exactly because he appears to be conscientious and rather dignified. He was brought up very strict, his parents were older when they had him and came from the generation that really took care of things. I'll never forget the time I bought my first one of a kind original sculptures from an artist studio. I was so excited and had two sitting on a large coffee table. Husband came in the room like a giant elephant swinging his arms...well you can guess the rest.

Oh I do like that yellow one. Did it pain you to post that one pal? hehe

No that's Tommi Parzinger and only the top is laminate, the case is lacquered. These vintage pieces are so popular and expensive that someone has started reproducing some of them again after obtaining licensing.

I've actually been feeling pretty dumb and this isn't helping. Talk about knee jerk. Not too long ago I saw a long, low chest I really liked in a secondhand shop. Inexpensive and excellent style, good condition, ready to set in place. Then I saw a little chip on a back edge of the top and thought--oh, no! Plastic top? Is that why it's so CHEAP? I then literally crawled around on my knees, nose to the chip trying to see if this was tacky plastic laminate or quality wood veneer, finally decided it had to be plastic and left it there. Guess I needed this thread's permission to break out of the box. It was gone next time I came in, BTW. Of course.

Rosie, this is what a cheap no name one looks like. I bought this for my son's place. He had nothing so I was on an extreme budget because it all adds up. This is one of those so ugly so tacky pieces that I kind of like it. It's bullet proof and in perfect condition and for $35 it does the job. All the stereo stuff is hidden and it has pull-out shelves.

I know there is some really nice old stuff with wonderfully functional laminate tops that aren't pretending to be anything but laminate...but...I can't love them. Tables are tricky--that vast expanse of a tabletop is where you want the beauty of wood. But it sure takes a beating.

Polyurethane is my compromise. Lil bit plastic, lil bit wood. :)

End Table $1800
Parzinger Sideboard $24,000-$42,000
Florence Knoll Chests $6800
Bar Cabinet $1395
Desk $5200

rosie, I agree, it is kind of knee-jerk, but we've been conditioned by seeing a lot of cheap laminate furniture :)

But No One, would say that a piece of solid wood furniture is beautiful just because it is solid wood. We've all seen Hideous solid wood furniture. But laminate is tacky because it's laminate hands down.

Really? It's about the design isn't it?

It used to be a part of better furniture, because it was an innovative material. Then because it was also inexpensive, it was used for crappy furniture. But to paint it all with the same brush is...knee jerk.

Jterrilynn, I kind of like that one too! Are you sure it's ugly? It's a little Hollywood glam, but I think it could look great in the right spot.

Hi Fori, well ugly is in the eye of the beholder. I do like a bit of ugly though. That little cheap thing as well as a few other ugly bits is all living in glorious harmony together...as well as a big cheap $25 shiny brass Hollywood-ish Regency-ish chandelier. Yep I said SHINY Brass and I can just feel the shivers running down a few spines. I like mixing fugly with a few good pieces. It all came out as a cool hip pad for the young twenties crowd.

I invite lots of people to my home who don't know how to care for things. Doesn't make them a bad person or not worth knowing. It does occasionally make me alert and nervous but that's ok.
Dogs with diarrhea make me very alert too!

jterrilynn, my mother always said that a good room ought to have one horror to keep it from being too precious.

I feel sad when I see children who are not being taught anything about nice manners, or considerate public behavior. Do parents not understand that one of the best things you can give your children is the tools to be welcome anywhere they will ever want to go?

If I have to sit in one more restaurant and watch ostensibly civilized grown-up people curved low over their plates, one arm on the table, fork held any which way, and food going into the mouth like hay into the barn loft....

Bronwynsmom's mom was smart. Her saying immediately brought to mind many earnestly boring new rooms that (to me, not their proud owners, of course) might actually benefit from an old plastic-finish chest, as a start at least to shake them loose a bit.

Jterrilynn obviously had fun doing that room, too, which I would really wish for everyone if I could. So many seem to feel being grown up means they have to skip whimsy to pursue the comfort of conformity, while it sounds as if Bronwynsmom's mom knew how to have it all.

Jterrilyn, that is kind of a statement piece, in my mind--you're keeping things loose, which is good.

Paige Rense, the editor of Architectural Digest for many years, always wanted to include a bit of vulgarity in every issue (I think she succeeded in spades;)...but I agree, too much seriousness or "just so" is kinda dull.

As for people who don't know how to take care of things...I am not sure that some of them even Know that they don't know how, or think it's NORMAL.

My SO cleans and organizes periodically for our downstairs neighbor. It's partly a matter of self-preservation, because she gets mice and we don't want any of her overflow. But cleaning the tiny kitchen can take a couple hours and she can go in and make a peanut butter sandwich and Annihilate it within 5 minutes. This is someone who probably has $100K in artwork collected all over her walls and bluntly, she's a pig. Somehow, I think she thinks she's too busy or important to clean.

But on the occasion that she visits our place (not too often, because she gets on my nerves), there are these little jabs about how we actually must live somewhere else, because no one can live in that much clean.

Likewise, I have a client who was complaining that she thought her sofa would be more stain resistant, and went I went and looked at it it had red wine stains that had never been even blotted up, magic marker and pen, and bits of food stuck on it. And when I took off the cushions, enough change for Starbucks and enough crumbs to reconstruct a piece of bread. And this because "She *actually *sits on it", the implication that people who have furniture that looks clean after a year must sit on the floor.

I did some dumpster diving when I worked for a clothing store that was remodeling years ago. They discarded mannequin/display stands that were large laminate cubes in a light wood tone. I used one for a coffee table and one for an end table for years. They were indestructible. Had no worries when dd used it them for art projects or when throwing a party. I kinda wished I had hung onto them, but they were so heavy.

I hear people complaining about how quickly their sofa, chair, whatever has wore out. 'But we're not hard on our furniture' they say. They rarely vacuumed the piece, rotated the cushions (if possible) or even had it cleaned...while bragging it was only $399 brand new! sheesh.

I agree too. Every room needs a touch humor or it's lifeless - kind of like people without a sense of humor.

I think some people live in an alternate reality where everything that even remotely suggests they aren't perfect becomes completely invisible. We went to a neighborhood potluck at the filthiest house I have seen in a long time. Our clothes literally became soiled from the chairs. When the hosts gave excess food back at the end, everyone threw it out, not only because the dishes they had placed it on were dirty but because it had all been nibbled on by the pet iguana.

Which is another reason why durable surfaces are good--they stand up to the rough treatment required to bring them back to civilization after they've been left uncleaned for five or ten years. I understand that laminate is now considered tacky because it often cloaks cheap glued chipboard furniture, but why not top good furniture with quartz or granite?

Of course, that's no cure for people who come over your house who want to put food on upholstery, nor for those who constantly need to touch things.

And there're also pieces that don't apologize at all for being laminate:

Edward Wormley:
{{!gwi}}

Eco Parisi and Piero Fornasetti:
{{!gwi}}

Etorre Sottsass

Laminate qua laminate is as honorable a material as anything else. FLW used it in Usonian house kitchen countertops. I agree with the folks who say (and the pics directly above) that as long as it's not trying to be anything else, there's no shame in laminate. The one pic that rubs me the wrong way is the fake cherry laminate end table pal posted. The clean solids or even patterned laminates are valid, IMO.

Here's my critique on wood-patterned laminate. This isn't a criticism of people who don't like laminate but perhaps a way to process your bias.

Actually laminate has a fair amount of wood in it, since it's resin impregnated paper.

Anyway...what building material is 'real' besides stone, clay, in its various forms, wood or metal?

We now use plastic or fiberglas mouldings to mimic wood or plaster which was "imitation stone" which if you go back to the classical period was carved to imitate forms in nature, wood, reeds, etc.

Drywall is not real plaster. Brick is a veneer, not structural, muntins are between the glass or glued onto the glass. Roofs are not slate, and most upholstery is not 100% leather, wool, cotton, linen, or silk.

Most people don't realize that the leather seating area of their cars (or cheaper sofas) are just that. The seating area...the rest is color-matched vinyl. Some leather is really the deepest inner layer of the animals dermis stamped, dyed, painted and coated with something to actually look like the epidermis (you can't even call this leather in some countries).

It's difficult sometimes to listen with a straight face to a client with dyed hair, tattooed eyeliner, veneered teeth, a facelift, a spray tan, a fake Chanel bag and cubic zirconia costume jewelry --balk at some item because it's partly composite and not "real wood".

So I think we need to think why an arbitrary line has been drawn for some things (like laminate, Corian, and quartz) when there is so little out there that is "real" at all.

I am not trying to be sexist, I know of men that have everything except, perhaps, the tattooed eyeliner.

My current favorite in the "Who raised you, wolverines?" category is people who sit in restaurant booths and put their shod feet up on or against the bench across from them, and let their children climb all over the seats, also in their shoes.

I seem to be on a tear about restaurant behavior today.

I sometimes wish we hadn't been exposed to so much "good" design that we have become snobbish about how we decorate. I have a preference for natural materials, but I put laminate countertops in several homes that I owned over the years. Where I live now, using laminate, or vinyl flooring, would definitely be a liability when it's time to sell. I would love to replace my high-maintenance slate floors with something easier to maintain, but unless I use a high end tile or wood, I'd be wasting money in the long run. I was even discouraged from putting in cork floors in the kitchen and service areas by a realtor friend, because it hasn't caught on in my neighborhood.

I also put ordinary roller blinds in the guest bedrooms. Room darkening ones for the room my grandson uses when he visits, and light filtering ones in the room I made into a small studio. They are inexpensive, don't collect dust like the 2 inch wood blinds I have in other rooms, and do the job they were meant for. Especially since the rooms aren't used much during the day, light control and privacy don't need to be as flexible. Up or down.
I've worked with a few designers over the years, and every one has insisted that drapes be custom, lined, and interlined. They cost a fortune to have made, and I actually prefer unlined curtains because I like to admit as much light as possible. I love the way a lightweight curtain moves in the breeze coming through an open window, and the light that filters through the fabric. And the difference in cost is huge.

In the kitchen, it seems to be sacrilege to have a wastebasket in view these days. I have two nice looking receptables with spring loaded tops at the end of my cabinets, one for trash, one for recyclables. They are not particularly ugly, and I think they're easier to keep clean and sanitary than the trash containers on rollouts inside the cabinet. I actually had a friend make a sarcastic remark about my trash can being "attractive", but I know that if I go to her house and pull out the trash container, the inside of the cabinet is grungy because it's hard to clean the crevices and adjacent wooden areas. My receptacles are conveniently placed, easy to scrub out weekly, and do the job nicely for under $25 each. And since they're plastic, they'll last forever, LOL.

Saypoint, I feel your pain. When I dared to comment on some uneven slate in one room, the builder informed me that God made them that way - and who was I to question the Almighty?

Hmmm....Saypoint, your points of departure from your area's norms sound interesting, practical and would make a great basis for a new thread asking what others have done or not done that they are satisfied about which are unique, buck trends, run against the design current, accepted norms etc. etc.

Pal - sorry, I like wood - beautiful wood - and will never knowingly find laminate furniture attractive as it's the principle of the thing. Just because I settled for an ornate faux plaster ceiling medallion doesn't mean I will like/accept faux everything. I personally dislike almost anything made of resin; if I think something is pretty from a distance, I will be totally disinterested if learning it is resin. I want what I perceive to be "the real thing" even if the resin item is not mimicking anything else at all. It's resin? Not interested. However, I'm ok if you want it, like it, have it in your home - just don't give it to me....it's just personal, and as humans we get to have varied tastes that don't always necessarily make sense but are still valid and important.to us. I get to like this but not that. The trouble comes when we come to rely exclusively on others to decide what that might be....---Penny

peegee, personal taste isn't really my point.

But whether you like something or not doesn't invalidate it as a material out of hand. To say laminate is "tacky" or "cheap" or faux leather is "tacky " or "cheap" based only on the fact that they are laminate or vinyl and by no other criteria is just a knee-jerk reaction.

Of course you don't have to be forced to take laminate or vinyl or resin on a piece of furniture. (although it's surprising the number of people who do and don't even know it). But that is a matter of choice based upon deciding that you would rather have the real thing, not that the simulated option is automatically inferior.

Why not clover in the lawn anymore? It wasn't until the 1940s or 1950s that chemical companies who invented selective weed killers put on a huge campaign to market their invention. They convinced us that clover and other non-grass plants in the lawn were a bad thing, and we made them rich using their weed killer. Before that, the quality of a lawn seed mix was judged in part by how much white clover seed was in the mix. My lawn is full of clover and some other minor weeds, and I like it that way. I also don't weed, trim, clean, and sculpt my landscaping until it doesn't look like it's in the outdoors anymore. The weeds around the edges are part of the charm, and the slightly overgrown beds lend an air of "genteel decay" to the whole scene and suit my 1830s home perfectly. My neighbors? You can eat off the driveway next door.

Saypoint said⦠Why not clover in the lawn anymore? It wasn't until the 1940s or 1950s those chemical companies who invented selective weed killers put on a huge campaign to market their invention.

BRILLIANT! I did not know that at some point clover and other little witchy greens were OK. IâÂÂll use that in my pitch when I sell my house. I already replaced the front grass once but itâÂÂs all back again. IâÂÂm fighting a lot of elements where I am, near acres of natural protected land and bordered by âÂÂnaturalistâ neighbors plus I have a year round growing season. The only way to have that picture perfect yard is to dump about $350 a month on chemicals. I have pets and a sensitive system so not going there.

Clover is a legume and fixes nitrogen in the soil. It's good stuff! A pure clover lawn is gorgeous and greeeeen.

Does anyone remember dichondra being the trendy high maintenance lawn or was that just a southern CA thing?

Anyway, laminate was new and it was trendy and therefore acceptable, just like it was in high end kitchens. It's not popular now. So we don't like it. Just like we don't like dingy avocado appliances or massive shoulder pads.

I don't use any chemicals on our lawn either because of our dogs. They roll in the grass, play, eat it, and I have read too many stories of pet owners whose dogs have died from cancers directly caused by lawn products.
It makes me a little wistful, looking at other beautiful yards, but I do know my priorities.

If haute couture influences trickle down eventually, as usual, you are going to have to rethink that shoulder pad thing.

But I don't think architecture and furniture should suffer the same vagaries of fashion...they are too durable compared to a blouse.

I actually BUY white clover seed every other year or so and spread it over the lawn in the spring. Everywhere the lawn is thin, the clover germinates, and improves the soil by adding nitrogen. Farmers used to plant clover on fields in between regular crop plantings, then turn it under and let it compost itself into the soil along with the nitrogen it has plucked from the air. It also stays green if the weather gets hot and dry. As the soil gets more fertile (I leave the mulched clippings on, too, and mow high to conserve moisture) the grass takes over from the clover. The little white flowers are pretty, then get mowed off, but before they do, a lot of honey bees are attracted to the lawn (and my veggie garden, where they pollinate) and bingo--everyone is happy. Unless you're allergic to bee stings, then you need to be careful around the bees.

We had dichondra instead of grass as our lawn in...yup, Los Angeles. I hadn't thought about that in years, but it was a wonderful alternative in a landscape not fond of grass.

And clover everywhere in my childhood. We made crowns out of the flowers, and we were forever stepping on bees with our bare summer feet. I usually got stung in between my toes. Ow! But I don't remember anyone being allergic in those days.

Now if only crabgrass would come in fashion...

Pal-- thank you for this thread. I was lifting the tablecloth on my wooden table (covered by a pad) so that my 2 y.o. wouldn't get yogurt all over it . . .and was thinking, what is the point of having this wood table if I don't see it and it is a pain to protect? (Just washing the tablecloths is annoying!) I thought about glass early on but didn't want to risk water being trapped under it. Silly!

VERY good point about things being "real," too.

Saypoint-- I did not know that about clover! I have often thought, though, that it is such a racket to have grass that GROWS to such crazy heights. I mean . . .c'mon-- we can engineer plants-- of course we can design grass to grow only to a certain height and never need it to be mowed again. In fact, when I have the $, I would love to replace my grass with something else that I would never have to mow. (Clover?)

I do love our laminate countertops! Ugly, but easy!

I found a nice cherry file cabinet with a laminate top for DH's study...seems office furniture is still a possibility if you are looking for durability and low care....

Saypoint, you have made my day! I have very little lawn left and most of that has been overrun by clover. My weeds are doing quite well in the drought, thank you. After reading your post, I am okay with that. Well, except for the five foot tall weeds on the hill out back...*sigh*...I will attack them next week before school starts!

Not a decorating topic, or at least not an indoor decor topic, sorry. There actually are grasses that need infrequent mowing. Check out Buffalo Grass, and/or do a search for "no-mow lawns". There are websites that sell various grasses that grow only so high and stop. They tend to look a little shaggier than traditional lawn grasses, but if you are in an area where your neighbors won't rise up and come after you with pitchforks and flaming torches, they are an eco-friendly alternative. I've seen photos of expanses of Buffalo Grass that look positively dream-like, like a meadow, but green and grassy and short enough to walk and play on.

My mother would pick up used furniture that needed a refinish on the top only. She would clean & polish it. Then she would put woodgrain design Contact Paper on the top. Still have a little bookcase project of hers in my bedroom :)

I remember that era, Kathy. I had my own little ways, with a paintbrush, but I know that we were every bit as proud of our creations as people are these days, much as I love good quality, and happier than many today. Knowing you can just do it all over again tomorrow if you don't like it is wonderful.

I expected a horribly hot summer (we've gotten off easy so far), so I didn't spread clover seed where it isn't already established this spring, putting it off until this fall so it can establish its roots over winter instead. Bees, and all the other little critters, humming away are an important part of my world. No silent spring here in north Georgia. :)