Vintage view: Formica

Lovable old Formica is as versatile as ever, writes Kya de Longchmaps.

Heat-resistant, wipe-clean and available in a range of bright colours, Formica was a thing of wonder to the 1950s housekeeper scrubbing down rough wooden surfaces in the kitchen or hysterically protecting finer ones in the other downstairs rooms.

First made in 1912, essentially Formica is a plastic laminate. It’s composed of layers of heavy paper or fabric bonded with a melamine resin, given a decorative layer and topped with another protective layer of melamine before being compressed with heat and weight into a tough surfacing.