Resol was solution blended with vinyl acetate-2-ethylhexylacrylate (VAc-EHA) resin in aqueous medium, in varying weight fractions, with hexamethoxymethylmelamine (HMMM) as crosslinker, and data was compared with a control. The present work was aimed at getting an optimum combination of tensile strength, dynamic mechanical strength, impact strength, and toughness by synthesis of an interpenetrating network (IPN) of the resins. The control gave a semi-IPN system, in which the resol crosslinked, while the acrylic did not, whereas the blend, where HMMM was the crosslinker, gave a full IPN system. Full IPNs of the resol/VAc-EHA system had higher moduli and ultimate tensile strength than the semi-IPNs. Dynamic mechanical study showed that full IPN systems have higher T, values than semi-IPN systems. The impact strength increases with increasing proportions of VAc-EHA copolymer. (C) 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 90: 1765-1771, 2003.