Both my sister and I live with laminate at home—she has it on her floor while mine is on my kitchen countertops. As far as I’m concerned, with the exception of a little buckling near the sink and a few chipped edges, the countertops have held up quite well over the past 16 years, so I really can’t complain.

However, as so often is the case with this job, I’ve seen better. Most recently, one such superior option is that from Arpa, an Italian manufacturer of high-pressure laminates (HPL) and surface materials. The company, along with Trespa, a maker of architectural panels for exterior facade cladding applications, opened a new design center in New York (back in May), which is where I happened to see the laminates in “the flesh.”

There, in addition to a wall display of the myriad textures and colors offered in the Arpa for Kitchen collection (much like the image above), I also saw a version of the Curiosity Kitchen, which was designed by Alexander Pelikan and features—you guessed it—thin laminates galore!

Sure, the kitchen was interesting, but it was the countertop possibilities offered by the Arpa for Kitchen collection that left an impression on me and made me feel a little less satisfied with my own somewhat shabby kitchen situation (not a new feeling, believe me).

As to my sister, she seems happy enough with her laminate flooring, but then again, she hasn’t seen some of the latest—and not so latest—products, such as Pergo‘s introductions from a few years go, which I remember included some “beachy” options (the latter would have suited her, as she lives near the ocean in L.A.) that looked and felt pretty good when I saw them at a press event.

And then there’s Armstrong’s latest, the Rustics Premium New England Long Plank, which boasts a hand-scraped, oil-finished hardwood look and lengths that measure more than 7 ft. long. Textured for a realistic, well-worn appearance, the planks come in coastline clam, Boston tea, maritime gray and river boat brown.

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