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T he P ortland O bserver • D ecember
P age
21, 1994
A5
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Today’s Laminates Combine Easy Care And Fine Design
Hard-wearing, easy-care laminate is
still a favorite for busy countertops, but
these days its fashion value is so high
that it's at home in just about every
room in the house.
In the contemporary kitchen, lami­
nate in a luxuriously pale color is what
gives the cabinets their sleek lines, and
in the dining room the table’s granite
top is actually an affordable laminate
look-alike. In the media room, the
cabinetry that brings law and order to
audio-visual paraphernalia is darkly
luminiscent with myriads of tiny me­
tallic glints, a suitably futuristic look
created by a unique new laminate de­
sign called Galaxy.
The home office, too, is likely to sport
easy-care laminate, either in one of
today’s great solid colors, or faux wood.
Lacquer-look laminates add formal
notes to the living room’s coffee and
end tables, and, of course, nothing could
make more sense for dressers, ward­
robes and vanities in bedrooms than
laminate.
Eco-Friendly Products
Westinghouse Micarta is a company
that’s on the cutting edge of laminate
innovation, and Holbrook Platts, the
firm’s design director, is convinced that
no other product suits today’s consumer
climate better than decorative laminate.
"More than ever, the consumer wants
value and style, and the newest factor
is environmental consciousness,” he
explains. "Decorative laminate fits right
in. It comes in myriad colors, patterns,
textures and finishes, and it has emerged
as a high-style alternative to granite,
marble and other costly materials. In
addition, we can offer laminates that
create the warmth of beautiful wood for
cabinetry, counters, doors, and furni­
ture, but without felling a single endan­
gered tree.”
According to Platts, laminates can
duplicate the beauty of the world’s rar­
est woods with such realism than even
environm entalists could be fooled.
Micarta wood designs include teak,
mahogany and rosewood, all species
that come from the world’s endangered
forests, but they are actually produced
from readily replaceable and fast-grow­
ing trees.
they were not. But today that’s consid­
ered a virtue, for nobody wants to fell
rare trees.
Platts adds that laminates are also at
an advantage when it comes to such
special and costly looks as burls and
birdseyes. "They are replicated per­
fectly,” he says. “And yet they are emi­
nently affordable.”
Interestingly, laminate manufactur­
ers also go in the opposite direction,
producing wood designs in fantasy
colors and finishes. Pearlwood is such
a design. It combines an authentic
woodgrain with pearlescent lustre for
an excellent look for tub surrounds,
vanities, and bedroom furniture.
Lacewood is another fantasy design.
It features metallic copper striations,
and Platts calls it an especially beauti­
ful look for fine cabinetry in contem­
porary and transitional settings.
®l‘l
Commitment To Design
Clearly, laminate has come a long
way since its gold-flecked sheen cov­
ered countertops in diners and gas sta­
tions from New York to California
back in the 1950s, and designers
credit the industry for its enterprising
spirit.
By the 1970s, extensive laminate
palettes of solid colors were de rigeur,
and ever since, the design community
has specified them happily for cabi­
nets, furniture and m ore. But, of
course, it’s no accident that each
year’s new laminate colors go so well
with other home furnishing elements.
Much research precedes each year's
selections.
“The new colors must complement
appliances, bath fixtures, carpeting, and
other home furnishings,” explains
Platts. “This year, there’s a trend to­
wards nature hues like firethorn and
terracotta, and warm neutrals in the
beige, gray, and taupe families. Blues
and greens have both become basics,
and there’s a lot of call for purple for
children’s furniture.”
Fantasy Woods
Ironically, designers once frowned on
wood-look laminates. They didn't like
products that pretended to be something
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Stylish and easy-care, laminate is the perfect surfacing material for furniture for children’s rooms.
Here, Micarta laminate creates efficient storage and work space in a teenage girl’s room designed
by Feincraft. Best of all, the units are sophisticated enough to some day move along with their
owner to her own home.
choice of laminates at lumberyards or
home centers. Architects, designers,
kitchen and bath show room s, and
manufacturer’s distributors are better
bets, but to make sure you get a full
view of what’s available, it’s smart to
contact manufacturers.
For example, Micarta’s 40-page, full-
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Platts is especially enthusiastic about
several groups of new designs that mix
colors in soft, abstract patterns.
“They’re very interesting and even
more versatile than the solid colors,
notes Platts. “It’s a lot easier to find
coordinates for a design that blends
many hues than for one solid color."
You’re not likely to find a wide
color
brochure , is free . to . . consumers.
................
.
W rite W estinghouse . icarta,
Hoovei Street North, Hampton, SC
29924. Or call 1 800 MICARTA.
In the wake o f the latest and
largest o f recent Federal Reserve in­
terest rate hikes. Bank o f America is
allowing constomers to lock in an
attractive home equity line o f credit
rate o f 8.5 percent for six months.
The Equity Maximizer line o f
credit is available through Jan. 31,
1995 to customers with a Bank o f
America checking account. By visit­
ing or calling any o f the bank's branch
offices, customers can lock in the
introductory rate until June 31.
"The Equity Maximizer line o f
credit is well-timed for holiday shop­
pers, but even consumers who are
too busy to buy in December can take
their time and still count on a good
rate,” said Rich Weissman, bank se­
nior vice president. "I know o f no
other bank prepared to make this
kind o f offer.”
• No points or fees are required to
open the account, which also fea­
tures a 30 day funding guarantee
based on tax-assessed value. A Bank
o f America checking account is re­
quired for the special interest rate,
which reverts after June 31 to a vari­
able rate, adjusted monthly.
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Estimates
Painter
In the wake o f the latest and
largest o f recent Federal Reserve in­
terest rate hikes. Bank o f America is
allowing constomers to lock in an
attractive home equity line o f credit
rate o f 8.5 percent for six months.
The Equity Maximizer line o f
credit is available through Jan. 31,
1995 to customers with a Bank o f
America checking account. By visit­
ing or cal I ing any o f the bank' s branch
offices, customers can lock in the
introductory rate until June 31
“The Equity Maximizer line o f
credit is well-timed for holiday shop­
pers, but even consumers who are
too busy to buy in December can take
their time and still count on a good
rate,” said Rich Weissman, bank se­
nior vice president. “I know o f no
other bank prepared to make this
kind o f offer."
No points or fees are required to
open the account, which also fea­
tures a 30 day funding guarantee
based on tax-assessed value. A Bank
o f America checking account is re­
quired for the special interest rate,
which reverts after June 3 1 to a vari­
able rate, adjusted monthly.
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(The ÿtarihmh (Pb&erüer
A M N IV E R S A R V
Beginning With Our Martin Luther King Jr. Issue On Jan, 11, 1995
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