Might I do a different surface on the bar area?

Today, laminate is no different than any other material, as long as you take care to insure the edges don't tip off what it is. The more natural the surface, the better. There is so much from which to use that is very different from several years ago. You should truly investigate what is available.

I love the backsplash, it is soooo beautiful! I notice you have silver colored hardware on your cabinets. Would you be interested in a paint treatment over the existing countertop that would make it silver? I saw a countertop transformation on pinterest using a special paint and could go and check it out and let you know what it is. I really liked it and I think it might work for your area.

Does your eye feel drawn to any particular color or shade with the combination of things I have in there? I know it will have to be relatively muted in design since I picked such a lively backsplash.

Silver? Oh, my, I would never have thought of that. Interesting! I am not sure how a paint job would work, there is a cigarette burn and some bad seams. It might be possible to fill them and sand them smooth, I don't know though.

Thank you for the love on my backsplash. I love the Flintstone look and found those tiles which were made in Japan in the sixties on eBay. Had to have 'em!

They used Thomas' Liquid Stainless Steel and said it was as durable as an automotive finish. Not only that it is a water based resin in a liquid form. I am unable to show you a picture of it as I do not have it saved to my pictures but if you go to www.diynetwork.com/painting/8-things-you-didnt-know-you-could-paint and check it out. It is gorgeous!

That does look amazing! I have also seen granite paint for countertops. Makes me a little nervous thinking about trying to cook on it.

I went to their website and here is what Thomas has to say about painting on countertops:

You can't use Thomas' Stainless SteelTM on -

- unprimed plastic, bare wood, bare drywall, chrome and laminates
- countertops and laminates
....
- on food preparation surfaces

But they have some testimonials from people who used it on countertops, Big old Hmmm there.

I have a stainless steel sink, and to me that is enough of the metal, I guess I want a softer look. The Corian is an idea, I have it in my other house, and agree, it is timeless and looks great. Matching it to the cream color makes sense, whatever I pick.

The bar counter is not by the backsplash, and I wonder if maybe another surface or color could be used there. Right now my living room on the other side of the bar is in greens and browns.

Quartz beautiful seamless and comes in a variety of colors

A lot of older homes have soapstone countertops, bluish gray color, deepens over time. Just a thought :)

Brown concrete countertops would be nice. I think that there are some do it yourself options.

Thank you, lisadeane, I am considering quartz.

tives, concrete is another idea, though I think brown may be too dark. When we took up the carpeting in the house I was so hoping for terrazzo, but it was concrete. Now I wish we had tinted and polished it instead of tiling.

Donna Taley, I love soapstone, but it is so dark. I've seen it in lighter colors in carvings but the only countertop option I've found is dark gray to black.

So many great ideas! I could be persuaded to consider a darker color, but the cherry paneling already adds a lot of darkness.

Since you're keeping the retro look, ceramic tiles come in myriad colors, are easy to clean and very durable. You could match one of the colors in the backsplash or just go with white.

How about iroko? Here in England you can buy old science lab worktops made of iroko for very little, which come up beautifully with a bit of love (and sandpaper). I just think a dark wood would connect the living area and the kitchen well.

For a retro look think about an aqua colored laminate. Follow your instincts and don't go dark or wood tone. Love the tile backsplash!

I like that idea ruthmand.. I would go with a pale aqua sea glass look.

Ooh, I love love LOVE aqua sea glass. I am thinking of aqua sea glass cannisters or some such, Pottery Barn has some they are selling for the bath, but I don't like glass in the bathroom. The canisters that came with the house are vintage cream with brown designs earthenware. They also work but I would love to bring out the blue.

gingerclaire, I had never heard of iroko. Here I think our lab counters, at least the ones in my school, were soapstone back in the day. I looked up iroku, and found some fascinating info. It is an African tree sometimes called African teak. I bet it would look just lovely, but again it is a dark wood and we are already surrounded by dark cherry paneling.

The Yoruba believe in the spirits of trees (just like the First Nations people here in the Americas do) and they say the spirit stays in the wood and can be heard in the houses where it is used. That is good incentive to rescue and care for iroko that is being laid off its former use. It is also said the wood has a lively sound, so it is used to make Djembe (drums) and txalaparta, a Basque instrument that looks like a lengthwise marimba. It would be fun playing my countertop, wouldn't it?

I think the aqua sea glass tile is another route to go,but I wouldn't use little tiles because of the smallishness of the flintstone design in the backsplash. I do however think a concrete countertop tinted brownish gray would be awesome picking up the main color of the lighthouse and work on both spaces where you need countertop. Maybe you could embed some bits of aqua sea glass in it. OR remember the other site that popped up with the Thomas Liquid Stainless? It showed faux granite. It was all painted. I've included a picture of one I think would look great with your walls and all and it is sealed with Envirotex Lite. She says it costs about $75 to do this and the Envirotex Lite should protect your paint job pretty well. She gives instructions at www.thriftyfun.com

http://www.hgtv.com/kitchens/guide-to-creating-a-traditional-kitchen/index.html
Wilsonart has a Sea Glass 4900 Laminate

sharleeg, I ordered some samples from Wilsonart and some from Formica. Thank you for the seaglass ID, that is one that I ordered, it looks very interesting. The article you shared is interesting. The design seems more ornate than I favor, but the next article about Transitional Kitchens seems to be closer. I enjoyed reading them, thank you.

Gina, I am looking at painting a bathroom countertop in my "real" house using some type of granite paint. If I could get the look you show, that would be ideal, since I really don't care for dark granite. Isn't it fascinating what can be done with paint? Now you have me thinking about that black oven in this kitchen. I think the front is all glass with some of it being a window to see into the oven when the light is on. The think is on its last legs so maybe I could just paint it with Thomas's Stainless to have it look better while we ease into saving up for a new oven.

Also, the idea of concrete with seaglass in it is very interesting, more Flintstones for the bar counter to tie it in. I have lots of leftover sea glass and blue pebbles from doing my new shower. I hadn't thought of using it in the kitchen, too. They are all separated from their mesh backing.

I love that photo above. Is that in your bathroom? Beautiful countertop! I am thinking of trying the Thomas' Stainless on my kitchen counter but protecting it with the Envirotex Lite That stuff puts a such a thick coat over your paint job, it would almost be indestructible excluding heat and cutting on it which you also can't do to laminate. I will just have to board the cat for about 3 days and I don't think she is going to like it.

Gina, yes, that is in my new master bath that was converted from a half bath in the garage. Like the kitchen, we kept what we could of the original tile and fixtures, but we lost the countertop disassembling it to retrieve the sink for another use, so new countertop and new sink. More Flintstones! I love it, but its OK if anybody else thinks I'm a little crazy. This is pebble and seaglass. The dark blue is the glass.

Gina, that is exciting that you have made up your mind to do your counter with the Liquid Stainless Steel. I hope the Envirotex does a good job for you and makes it OK to use with food prep

I thank you all for the ideas. I was really leaning to quartz to begin with but I am now leaning to laminate since I see the seam on the edge doesn't have to show. There are a lot of options. I think my contractor is old school, I will have to ask him about those edges. It looks like you have to order the edges from the company and they come in only certain colors.

Sea glass looks good, but will it be too dark? The white patterned laminate that is in there now doesn't eat light.
http://samples.wilsonart.com/p-622-sea-glass-4900.aspx

You want 60's I would choose a muted toned down pink, not mauve, very muted pink. Or, go big and get light aqua.

Karens idea seems to be the Best ! beveled edge Laminate top .

Hi, I would stay away from. paint, it is food prep and you will use the same areas often.C,meaning these may create a problem.
There are a few things I nltk ed, it would be nice to do a simple granite top. crema marfil is beautiful and would go with bedrock. I would go to several shops including home delot, if it is straight which it is, tney have some you can cut and kavd with. Tney also, nave in some very beautiful colored sinks under mount that are in. down, beige and great.
There are three areas I though I might mention.1. Above the cabinets and on the wall is a wood paneling. Two items one area has trim, one none. I think they should match ad I would paint them all polar. bear white Benar from home depot.
The second is at home depot you can purchase a piece of wood done in white to ma,e a facial and cover the light fixtures.
And finally your big barrell chairs, I would stain them in a mahogany , maple stain. Two colors line by line. They will be a conversation with the white simple kitchen cabinets, wall trim and the backsplash which is very clever.
Where you have run out of wood you could build shelving.
You look like you enjoy life that is a wonderful quality



y

mgrehab, I will be at the house in a few days, and I plan to check out the laminate samples I ordered as well as some recycled glass ones. I am leaning to the aqua tones. Hubby definitely would freak if I got pink, though I love that color too. The sea glass from Wilsonart looks like it might be perfect with the mural above the stove.

Vikrant Sharma Homez, I certainly had my eyes opened about laminate and am now giving it serious consideration.

COC, The trim is now complete in the kitchen, one pic was before the trim was finished. We love the paneling so we won't be painting it. I also have Home Depot "art glass" pendants in blue and yellow hanging above the bar counter now.

Which light fixtures should I cover? I don't have under cabinet lights, though it might be nice next to the fridge. There is a hollow space under the cabinet that would hide the light. The one next to the sink is a night light plugged into the socket.

Interesting idea about the barrel chairs. Aren't they a stitch? They came with the house. So I should stain them in stripes? Maple, mahogany. maple, mahogany? That iwould really make them stand out. I'm trying to picture it. I have matching stools on the other side of the bar counter as well, and the table base is a barrel, too.

Crema marfil does look good, not so dark, and seems to be in the right color range. I will look at that when I am down there. Also, thanks for the take on paint, that is what concerns me about it, though there are testimonials saying it still looks good after a year or so of use. I plan to try it in a bathroom.

Thanks for the compliment, I do love just about everything.

I think that in most cases I wouldn't suggest this but I think what you need is wood. Since you have a nautical them anyway it doesn't need to be perfect. Look around your local Millwork or Custom Cabinet shops to see if someone can assist you in finding the right piece or pieces of wood. It doesnt have to be butcher clock and could even be varied to add character to the already great looking start. A good poly sealer and little to no stain, something that will keep in the theme you are working with.

Amy Burke, that is interesting. In a previous house, I had the most beautiful yellow pine counters that I sanded down and coated with polyurethane. They held up beautifully. I have some beautiful planks about the thickness of the ones you show that came from some rooms we took apart in the garage. I will have to look into that possibility.

I am glad you can see where I am headed with that thought. I know you have a lot of wood already but so long as they are a bit more weathered looking and possibly lighter they will look great! Good Luck!!

I'm here now in the time capsule. I had some Formica samples waiting for me, and if I pick a laminate, I am loving Formica 3422-RD Crema Mascarello in Radiance finish. It is looks just like a stone finisn, but is warmer and doesn't feel as hard. My contractor was here and he went for that one too. It looks good with the finishes already here. I am waiting on that Seafoam sample from Wilsonart to see if that one is as good as this one. I'll try and post some pix of the sample with the backsplash later today. Here's a Houzz pic meantime:


I still want to check that Wilsonart sea foam sample, but I am truly surprised how good this looks, except they didn't do a great job matching the edges.

I think laminate will give you the most bang for your buck here. I love quartz but it's definitely more. I was thinking something beachy, pebbly so not to compete with the backsplash. Looked at Wilsonart silver travertine and golden travertine. The one you posted is pretty too. Also, I feel like a jerk for even bringing this up but I feel the need to mention it. Do you have any extra backsplash material left? When the time comes to remove the existing tops that have settled in over 30+ years, there's a very real chance the bottom of your backsplash could get damaged. It could be repaired but you have to have the material. Something to talk about with your contractor.

http://www.wilsonarthd.com/productdetail.aspx?cid=297777&bp=33734

I think the silver travertine is a possibility, and I believe it is one of the samples I ordered. I am in love with Formica's Radiance finish, but maybe Wilsonart has similar.

I do have extra backsplash, yes. I think it is just one square foot, but it can be taken apart and set individually where needed. Not that I think a new owner will love the Flintstone backsplash. They would probably post on here how they can't wait to get rid of the awful, weird backsplash these people picked out. (Smile)

According to my contractor, we will not have to remove the countertop to put in a new laminate top, but we shall see. This house has provided more than a few surprises in the rehab process.

I'm sorry for the delay to get back to you thanks for considering the laminate idea, was busy with my 4year old sons B'day Bash , it was today , so now I will see over the Developments in your Posts ; ikwewe , I prefer Formica it lasts a Lifetime , Value for money .

I have to agree with you there, this formica is still relatively serviceable and decent looking but for three bad places and a bad edge, and it is 47 years old. I wish there was some way to make the bad places go away.

Happy Birthday to that lucky little son!

I am not sure that there is much difference between Wilsonart & Formica brands. They both have lines with varying qualities and finishes. Go pick what works best and what you like the most.

I found it interesting that Formica has solid surface, I got two of their solid surface samples. I didn't care for either one once I saw them up against the backsplash, but they seemed very similar to other solid surface samples I have interviewed.

I got a pic or two of the Formica Crema Mascarello sample with the backsplash. It looked best with the lighter side next to the backsplash. I think I took a picture of that, too. No, I guess not. That is tungsten light, too, not the best. It is on the dark side in this kitchen.

You even have neat little nautical wall outlets. I love that Flintstone! The picture on the right. I think the sample looks nice with the backsplash. I hate to say it but I loved the above posters idea of a wood countertop. I could see that in there.

I could see the wood, too, kind of grayed planks, like driftwood. I have some beautiful planks, but they are dark wood, and I really have enough dark wood. I think I will use those planks for my husband's new workbench in the garage.

I just put those switch covers up today, I think they look spiffy. The old ones were bone plastic, boring.

PS, Gina and anyone who also likes the Flintstone tiles, I got them on eBay and I just checked, the seller has more. On eBay, search: 250+ GLAZED CERAMIC TORQUOISE TAN/PINK PEBBLED MOSAIC TILES JAPAN FREE SHIP! T11

To see other tiles from the same maker, see http://tinyurl.com/9e2ersb

This seller was very nice about arranging a very favorable shipping rate for my multiple purchase.

Thanks for that info. Ikwewe, I too like the idea of them being gray. You know you can weather them like that with steel wool soaked in Vinegar. I just pinned a tutorial from Pinterest on how to weather wood.

That sounds interesting. I can look that up, should I decide to go with the wood. Since my bar counter is also in my living room, I am thinking a bit more "dressy" than driftwood. The other three sides of the bar are done in the cherry paneling to match the walls.

I had a nice visit yesterday with one of the two sons who inherited this house and sold it to us. I showed him some of the things we had done to personalize it, and he was quite complimentary, particularly about the tile replacing the shag carpet, which he had been vacuuming weekly for at least five years the house stood empty. Anyway, when I showed him the Formica Crema Mascarello sample, he was adamant that the original Formica looked better and is still very serviceable. Why replace it? he said. More food for thought.

i'm back from the time capsule. The Crema mascarello sample looked pretty good, but it seemed to be better depending on which way you placed it against the backsplash. The darker areas did not work as well as the light areas. The sea glass sample did not arrive while I was there, so I have postponed the choice for now. I really feel the kitchen would look better with a different surface. I'll go back for another work session in November.

i would go with a cement counter top yes, just a plain gray . it could inspire and go a whole new direction.

Hello, everyone who has helped me on this project. I thought an update would be good, since I got so many wonderful ideas. Here I am nearly three years later and I still have the original mid-60s laminate. It is white with a pale aqua and brown spacey dotted star design. I did make up my mind that I wanted either plain or very fine patterned laminate in a pale shade like sea glass or cream or even white. I love the fancy edges we can get with laminate now.

I have been saving for a project which I want even more than new countertops. We are adding patio doors to our dining area next to the barrel chairs. I'm really excited about this, as it will give us access to our back yard without having to go through one of the bedrooms.

The flaws in the original countertops have, with time, receded from my attention, so I am putting up with them for now.

I did get granite paint for my other house bathroom. Good idea!