Product Spotlight: Arborite

Arborite. A decorative laminate for affordable green countertops and furniture.

This versatile product provides a quick and easy way to update your tired countertop without re-doing your kitchen. Arborite laminate is yet another option in the realm of green kitchen remodels, if you are looking to go green but the offerings of recycled glass and recycled paper counter products do not fit into your budget yet (it's ok to put in something that you like now, to save for the kitchen that you LOVE later!). For those of you who have used much of your budget purchasing your [first?] new house, or making necessary upgrades and repairs elsewhere, at its lower pricepoint, Arborite will help enable you to create the cooking and dining space that you desire for less!

What is it? Arborite is a decorative laminate. It comes in 4' x 8' sheets, and needs to be adhered to a solid surface (substrate). It can be fabricated as a countertop, as well as a covering for furniture.

What is a laminate? Laminates were very popular in the 50's and 60's for covering everything - counters, furniture, floors...try to picture the Formica (a popular laminate from the past) in your grandmother's kitchen). Arborite has been making its own laminates for just as long. It used to have a retro look and appeal, though the great thing is that they are now offered in an array of fresh, modern looks.

An Arborite ad from the 1950's! Seen here on cabinet faces and the counter. As we said, it's now offered in updated looks, but has been popular for over half a century!

How is it applied? Arborite needs to be glued to a substrate. The recommended substrate is chip board or particle board, though if we've taught you one thing it is that the common hide-out for glues with formaldehyde and VOCs in building and remodels is in particle board and plywood. SO, when our fabricators construct your Arborite counter, we will use one of our green substrates - most likely wheatboard. VOC-free and made from a highly renewable grass byproduct.

Does it come in colors? As mentioned above, Arborite comes in many different colors, as well as textures! You can opt for a faux wood grain, bright solid colors, a marbled look, or you can even choose a laminate that takes on the appearance of a quartz or ceasarstone top. The looks are many - you must take a look at the swatches for yourself!

This is a look at some of the color collections. To view the complete array of color swatches, go to the website and browse!

Ok, it sounds kind of neat, but what makes it green? Right..we know this was an important question. So, first of all, laminates (ie Formica and the rest) are typically made from plastic. And, we all know the problems with petrochemically-based plastic. One of the green aspects of Arborite is that their laminates are made with a minimum of 50% paper, rather than plastic. Also, the Arborite laminate is Greenguard Indoor Air Quality Certified, which provides assurance that Arborite will not off-gas harmful contaminants. This is a claim that other plastic laminates cannot claim.

You say it's affordable? How much is it, really? Of course there are always variants, but fabricated and installed, its cost is in the ballpark of $37/sq.ft. As the least expensive green countertop offered, costs about 25% of the cost of many of the other products! If you've been discouraged about green countertops in the past, please come back to 'g' and check this out!