The original laminates featured fabric
bound in resin, but later comprised
paper encased in clear melamine. It was
heat-, fade- and scratch-resistant, and
the paper facilitated trendy colours and
patterns. In the midst of Australia’s
postwar building boom, what could be
more desirable than space-age finishes?
By the late 1950s, Laminex and its
imported rival, Formica, were household
names, glossy symbols of prosperity in an
age when anything was possible and what
resulted was a breeze to wipe down.
“Laminex was used on benchtops
and kitchen cabinets, dining tables,
sideboards, display cabinets, bedheads- anywhere that a wood veneer might
have been used previously,” says
Laminex product design manager Neil
Sookee. It offered endless customisation
HGINSIDER
58 | AUSTRALIAN HOUSE & GARDEN
Photography courtesy of Formica.Techniques learned in the auto industry set the world
on the road to surface paradise, writesChris Pearson.F
or more than a decade, Melbourne
entrepreneur Bob Sykes had been
producing fabric- and resin-coated
cogs for Ford and General Motors to
help their engines run smoothly. But by
1946, auto technology was overtaking
him and he needed a new ‘resin’ d’être.
In the US, electrical engineers Daniel
O’Conor and Herbert Faber had been
using a material similar to his fabric-
and resin-coating, called Formica, for
insulation products. They had also
discovered a much more lucrative
application: decorative laminates.
Sykes set sail for the US to investigate.
On his return, Sykes shifted the focus
of his company, Laminex, from auto
parts to decorative laminates – and in
doing so, turned the Australian furniture
and building industries on their heads.- homeowners would visit stores and
select their furniture, in the colour
they wanted. What a choice they had.
“Lovelier for a lifetime” Laminex came
in tantalising Batik, Basketweave,
Corroboree and Marble patterns, and
in hues such as Bikini Blue, Rose Coral,
Turquoise Fern and Daffodil Melotone.
It even took on the look of timber veneer.
By the 1970s, the colour palette had
become broader and bolder, though
pattern was out and laminate was largely
used for joinery and benchtops. Yet it
remained relevant and, in 1984, the
Laminex House display home opened
in Warrandyte, Victoria, to show the
material’s versatility and currency.
In 2002, Laminex became the Laminex
Group. Five years later, its owner, New
Zealand company Fletcher Building,
acquired the Asian, European and North
American divisions of the Formica Group
and moulded them with Laminex.
WHAT IT MEANS TO US
Laminex and Formica are sold in 64
countries on six continents, with sales
of decorative laminates exceeding 95
million square metres a year, says Neil
Sookee. Clearly, the appeal is still there.
“Digital technology has made it
possible to emulate the look and feel
of natural materials,” he adds. White
is tops, in nuanced variants, often
textured. So, too, are timber and stone
lookalikes. Other advances include
formability, where heat is used to bend
laminate for seamless benchtops.
Sydney architect Scott Weston uses
Laminex for decoration and kitchen
joinery, inside and out. “It’s a humble,
cost-effective material that provides
endless possibilities and stands the test
of time, enabling me to craft spaces
and joinery to each client,” he says. In
a recent project, his clients were mid-
century buffs so he designed a kitchen
resplendent in coral and turquoise – in
laminate, of course. #LAMINEX &
FORMICA
Design moment
Lovely to look at and easy
to care for, Laminex and
Formica were the height of
fashion in 1950s homes.