Care for a drink?

[countryford]

In our "new" outdoor kitchen/bar.

We just got done with it today. We had the cabinets(Youngstown kitchen) painted by an auto body shop. The pink tile backsplash is actually plastic tiles.

 

[countryford]

As you can see the G.E. Americana fridge and stove are side by side.

 

[countryford]

View from the back yard.

 

[countryford]

Close up of it. The wine rack we built and designed ourselves.

 

[countryford]

This is the countertop. We special ordered it from Lowe's. It is the vintage boomerang style. Unfortunately grey is the only color available.

 

[washdaddy]

Justin-
That's a great looking setup that you've made. How is that frig above and below the countertop area? I haven't seen a frig like that before.

Rick

 

[washdaddy]

I meant to say how is it setup above and below the countertop?

 

[cuffs054]

How cool is that!

 

[washdaddy]

Actually just saw another Americana posted in shopper's square (thread 51843) in turquoise no less. So now I know.
Definitely a neat frig.

 

[ptcruiser51]

Ouch!

How do you guys keep your places so CLEAN? It drives me crazy!

Mom had the same kitchen Formica pattern in PANK and sold it with the house in 1993. The buyers loved it! It was original from 1959.

 

[danemodsandy]

Interesting to See:

That vintage GE microwave atop the Americana fridge.

For some reason, you don't see too many GE microwaves of that era still around today. I don't know why; they were well-built and they were popular when new. There were Hotpoint versions, and J.C. Penney sold them, too, rebadged as Penney's units.

Nice job! When's the party?

 

[danemodsandy]

P.S. :

Justin, you may already know this, but that Formica pattern everyone calls Boomerang today was originally called Skylark. It was designed in 1950, and first marketed in 1953 or 1954; sources vary on the release date.

The designer was no less than Raymond Loewy, who was also responsible for Frigidaire appliances of the era, Studebaker's cars and a whole lot more.

Boomerang is the official name of the pattern now; even the Formica Corporation calls it that.

 

[super32]

Nice! I'm sure you enjoy living in an area where you can do that.

 

[volvoguy87]

Thank you sir, may I have another?

Would you please post another picture showing the field of the counter top, back splash, metal edging, and a bit of the cabinets? I am looking into using the charcoal Boomerang Formica in the retro kitchen I am putting in my house in the next few months, atop vintage American Kitchens cabinets nonetheless! I can't get a sample any bigger than a key fob and I'd like to have a better idea of how it looks.

Looks like a fun outdoor kitchen. A nice place to spend some hours a few days a week.

Dave

 

[whirlcool]

How do you keep the scorpions out of the kitchen?

 

[countryford]

ptcruiser51: It is an everyday job keeping the place clean.

danemodsandy: The microwave, I picked up several years ago at a second hand store. Didn't really know what I was going to do with it, until recently. I'm glad we found a place for it.

super32: Arizona is really great for it. That is if you can stand the heat in the summertime.

Volvoguy87: I guess I'm a bit confused about what you want. The formica was purchased online from Lowes.com. They show a closeup of the pattern. The metal trim was purchased in store at a local ACE Hardware. They only had 4 6ft sections. They had one of the more narrow trim(was used on the lower counter) and three of the wider trim(used around the upper bar). When I was all done, I had about 6 inches remaining.

whirlcool: We live right in Central Phoenix, with grass in the yard. In the 5 years we have been at our house, I have not seen a single scorpion. I'm sure, if we lived out of town aways, we would deal with them more than we do. I'm not complaining.

 

[gansky1]

Justin, this is just fantastic!  What a great way to use your Americana range and refrigerator.  Did you do all the counters and edges yourself??  Hats off to you, I'd have been ordering more edging, Formica and a professional in short order if I'd attempted it!

 

 My brother in Tucson has an outdoor bar/kitchen and they use it constantly.  

 

[countryford]

gansky1:
Yes, we did all the work ourselves. We did have a minor mistake on the formica, but you have to look to find it. I'm not telling.

 

[volvoguy87]

Pics.

Basically, I'd like to see a shot of the counter featuring the Formica. The pics above are lovely, but they show the whole thing. I'd like a view of what you would see if you were doing something like chopping vegetables or preparing food on the counter top. I'm trying to get a better idea of whether the dark Formica would be too dark in my very small kitchen, and I just cannot find many good photographs of the Charcoal Boomerang in use. The samples I can find are plentiful, but the samples don't show the context of the cabinets and back splash.

Thanks,
Dave

 

[countryford]

Volvoguy87: The photo in Reply 4 is what you want? It shows the design and color of the formica.

 

[hydralique]

Volvoguy . . .

I installed the same charcoal boomerang Formica from Lowe's in the wet bar at my parent's house a couple of years ago. It doesn't seem dark to me against brown cabinets. If you look at Lowe's online it's really cheap to order small pieces so you might just buy a larger sample if you're unsure.

 

[davey7]

Boomerang Formica

Is that actually Formica or a knock-off? I think Wilsonart has a version in gray (have the chain set sitting behind me, I suppose I could get off my duff and check).

I want Virrvarr for my kitchen but that's Europe only.

 

[ken]

I remember looking at the pattern a few years back on Lowes site and IIRC at that time it was also available in white, light blue, light green, coral.

 

[ken]

Orig Ad for Skylark pattern Formica

Skylark Formica

 

[davey7]

OK, just checked my chain set and...

Boomerang is four colors from Formica (and Virrvar in two) in my current sample set.

 

[countryford]

Davey&: What company can you get them from?

 

[hydralique]

Formica only shows Boomerang in charcoal on their website, though I'd like to think it would be available additionally in at least an aqua and a pink, they're such design classics. I am quite pleased with the charcoal though. Interestingly enough the thickness varied from one order to the next though the color and pattern match perfectly.

 

[volvoguy87]

Boomerang.

There were 4 colors introduced a few years ago, but Charcoal is the only one in production at this time, at least according to Retrorenovation. Wilsonart does offer their version of Boomerang in several colors, but I like Formica's rendition better.

Dave

 

[ken]

Wilsonart's version of Boomerang

14 versions

http://samples.wilsonart.com/c-19-indie-collection.aspx?pagenum=1

 

[davey7]

I have the "chain set" from Formica

But Laminates are NOTORIOUS for changing on a whim. It may be available from Europe. I have four colors on the set, Skylark, Aqua, Coral and Charcoal.

One of my former colleagues was notorious for choosing laminate patterns or colors which were discontinued - to the point that it was a joke in our office and even the representatives of the laminate companies.