-- The Distressed Look Comes to Kitchen Countertops; Wilsonart Has the Patterns --

TEMPLE, Texas, Jan. 26, 2005 – The public’s taste for distressed or worn and aged-looking materials has made its way to kitchen countertops and Wilsonart® Laminate meets this trend head on with its new Roca Collection.  The collection features six designs that resemble the beauty of time-worn stone.  The patterns celebrate the natural aging and irregularities that occur to surfaces over time.  This look provides a sharp contrast to the multitude of highly polished granite, marble, stainless steel and engineered stone countertops.

“There is an attraction to things that are earthy and organic and to surfaces that have the feeling of age, history and patina,” explains Ken Charbonneau, Color Marketing Consultant to Wilsonart Laminate.   “This gives people a sense of something that has history.   It’s stable, it’s been there and it’s not going to come and go.  It’s not trendy.”

To ensure that the Roca Collection does not exhibit slick machine-made perfection, Wilsonart purposefully created this line with an irregular rustic beauty.  “It’s nearly impossible to find repetition in the patterns within the Roca line,” says Charbonneau.  “The designs truly look like continuous slabs of aged, time-worn stone.  And, these aren’t cold looking designs.  They are very warm and work well with wood tones.  Additionally, adding contrasting textures to a room – featuring distressed materials against smooth materials – creates interest.” 

Roca is available in six soft, earthy color combinations with contrasting undertones that include the following:

• Natural Roca – A soft, creamy hue with hints of white, taupe and pink.
• Tumbled Roca – Subtle taupe and beige with delicate grey-blue undertones for perfect harmony.
• Villa Roca – Warm golden-amber softened by traces of blue-grey.
• Terra Roca – Flecks of green add life and versatility to this combination of bronze and chocolate.
• Antique Roca – Layered orange, red and brown contrasted with a discrete blue-green.
• Coral Roca – Clear shades of orange, from light to dark, are balanced with soft violet-grey undertones.

Wilsonart International, based in Temple, Texas, is a leading manufacturer of decorative surfacing products, including Wilsonart® Laminate.  The company’s laminate was a nominee in the Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum's National Design Awards. 

For more information about Wilsonart Laminate or any Wilsonart product, please call the Customer Service Hotline at 800-433-3222, or visit www.countertop.com

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LHA012504

	Kitchen featuring Coral Roca