Vintage dinette table and brand new retro chairs

[joeekaitis]

Cathy inherited a chrome and Formica dinette table made in the USA by the defunct Douglas Furniture Manufacturing Company of Chicago from her grandmother but no chairs. For the first several years of married life, we borrowed two chairs from the dining room.

With some scrimping and saving, we finally splurged on a pair of brand new American made dinette chairs made by Vitro Seating from Classic Kitchens and More (www.classickitchensandmore.com). I'm sure I could have found real vintage chairs for a lot less, but I didn't want to run the risk of having them arrive about to fall apart instead of ready to use.

The chairs might not be a perfect match for the table but the two colors of cracked ice make them almost look like a matched set.

 

[bugsyjones]

Neato!

I'm in the process of restoring a dinette. It was missing the leaf, so I'm constructing a new leaf for it. It had two original chairs, but they are in rough shape. My dad purchased a matching set of four chairs and I'm going to re-upholster them in colors to match the table.

I just need some of that cracked ice formica for the leaf and I don't know where to get it!

While we're on the subject of retro furniture, I found some neat Mid-Century living room tables. Two end tables and a coffee table. They are blonde with formica tops. I found them at a local antique store for $50. This antique store has three floors and a basement. It used to be an old apartment building and the old apartments are the booths. I rarely go into the basement. It's old, the stairs are creaky and it's musty down there. Usually there's nothing of interest in the basement and I wasn't even going to go down there, but I figured what the hell. They had some old worn out banquet tables, some glass front display cases and....THE LIVING ROOM SET! My jaw dropped when I saw these gems among the dusty unexciting basement offerings. I snatched them up right away! They are in good shape for their age and they've got neat little 'Starburst' shapes on the fronts. They are all present except for one on the coffee table. That doesn't bother me much, I just put that side facing the sofa. Now all I need is a new sofa...the current one is VERY early nineties. So were the BLACK LAQUER glass top tables that went with it....

~Tim

 

[bugsyjones]

Well Sh*t....

The picture didnt show....

Bug alert.

I'll try again...

 

[bugsyjones]

Ok, I guess it did show up....both times!

They just weren't showing up in Internet Explorer.

When I get on Firefox, they show up!

 

[danemodsandy]

Tim:

Cracked ice Formica and matching cracked ice upholstery vinyl are available at the link.

P.S.: I sent you an email off-list last week - did you ever get it?

http://www.pastense.com/surfaces.html

 

[xraytech]

I cant believe that gray cracked ice is available in a reproduction now. That is my favorite formica pattern

 

[112561]

We had a grey cracked ice Formica dinette set, each leg was double curved tubing, there was a thick grooved aluminum band around the table, and the four chairs had been recovered at least twice, so I don't know what they were originally. The set was given away to a friend's family when Mom got her maple Tell City table and six chairs, which are still here.

Speaking of Formica-what is the name of the white Formica with tiny gold flecks, and gold threads running through it? Kelly/mixfinder has it in his home. We had it here.

 

[petek]

Hmmmm I don't see the picture

 

[112561]

I didn't post one

I have to swipe one of Kelly's, which since I own this mixer now, I sort of have rights to the image.
(photo by mixfinder) Formica is white, with the gold flecks and threads, just like ours was.

 

[bugsyjones]

Danemodsandy

If you are referring to the Foodarama manual, I got it and it's great! Thanks!

~Tim

 

[joeekaitis]

Direct image upload

for those on image-impaired connections.

 

[westingman123]

I love cracked ice!

I've been negotiating with the Past tense people for a while now, I want to put cracked ice counters in my post-war kitchen but "WHEW" the price! Somewhere in their paperwork it mentions that the formica is manufactured in St Louis, but it appears to be a trade secret as to where. The hunt continues...

 

[circlew]

The "Cracked Ice" pattern must be a made to order exclusive for PastTense, as I've not seen it on any of the laminate companies catalogs in recent years. My old bathroom had it in gray on the countertop. My mom had selected it when the new sink and top were installed in '57. It was also on the kitchen tops in the house I lived in until I was two. Mom had it put in when the kitchen was updated in '53, so it was around at least that early. Our babysitter also had a kitchen table with it, only in red, with matching red and gray chairs.

 

[danemodsandy]

Tom:

The house I grew up in was built in '49, and it had grey cracked ice on its original kitchen countertops. In early '59, we had a fire that necessitated replacement of the kitchen, and the new countertops were turquoise spatter-pattern Formica. The old cabinets were cleaned of smoke and repainted and put in the garage, where Dad swore he'd get around to hooking up the sink someday, and never did.

 

[chuffle]

Your table and new chairs...

are wonderful!

With the exception of table top color, I have the very same table. My parents were married in 1954, I came along in 1956, and somewhere in there, the table arrived (I have baby photos, taken in the kitchen, and the table is in use).

The finish on the Formica top is now a dull matte surface (that's not a stain on the table surface, just a strange reflection of the light, due to the dull table finish), thanks to many years of use. The chairs have had new seats and backs added at least twice that I can remember. The current backs came from Sears, back in the 1970s, as did replacement seats. The seats didn't last, and so my father had a local craftsman make new seats in the 1990s. The chair legs have seen better days. I swear, my mother must have used Brillo pads on the chair legs if they became soiled!

I have the extension leaf for the table too, though when I use it, one can barely move in the kitchen.

Enjoy your table and chairs!

Joe

 

[112561]

Don't throw it out-fix it!

Those were the days! I love the checkerboard floor and the dinette set. Neat icebox too.

 

[chuffle]

Almost everything in my house has a story behind it...

Thanks...
The icebox belonged to my grandparents (electricity did not come to this house until the 1940s), and has always been in this house. It is great for storage!

Joe

 

[112561]

I love house history

Mom had a bookcase made in 1957 for our rented house in Logan, WV, it's finished in a dark red stain, has knotty pine on the sides, and sat in the front doorway, to the left. Now it sits in the house they had built in '61, and fits the small wall between the hall closet and the dining area like it was built for it. My parent's bedroom set from '52 is still in the back bedroom, and a couple of unfinished furniture pieces from the '50s followed us here from numerous moves. Not as exciting as a Pennsylvania farmhouse, but it's kind of cool nonetheless. I love Pennsylvania, I like Krumsville, Kutztown, and Allentown, as well as Pen Argyl. Had a grandmother in Doylestown.

 

[jkarrigan]

Here in west central minnesota these tables are set out on the curb on clean up day cause you can't get anyone to buy them. I just gave two away to a friend for his workshop. I personally like the wood and enamel top tables with the leaves that pull up and out on the ends, I have one and would love one more. Maybe I will have to start collecting formica tables and sell them, but don't think it will work because the shipping charges would be to much.