Heywood Wakefield Bedroom Suite
View Similar Items
Heywood Wakefield Bedroom Suite
About the Item
- Creator:Heywood-Wakefield Co. (Designer)
- Sold As:Set of 5
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:1960s
- Condition:
- Seller Location:Brooklyn, NY
- Reference Number:Seller: 7939-P10040722RJ1stDibs: U1210129218375
Heywood-Wakefield Co.
Created by the 19th-century merger of two venerable Massachusetts furniture makers, Heywood-Wakefield was one of the largest and most successful companies of its kind in the United States. In its early decades, the firm thrived by crafting affordable and hugely popular wicker pieces in traditional and historical styles. In the midst of the Great Depression, however, Heywood-Wakefield reinvented itself, creating instead the first modernist furnishings to be widely embraced in American households.
The Heywoods were five brothers from Gardner, Massachusetts, who in 1826 started a business making wooden chairs and tables in their family shed. As their company grew, they moved into the manufacture of furniture with steam-bent wood frames and cane or wicker seats, backs and sides. In 1897, they joined forces with a local rival, the Wakefield Rattan Company, whose founder, Cyrus Wakefield, got his start on the Boston docks buying up lots of discarded rattan, which was used as cushioning material in the holds of cargo ships, and transforming it into furnishings. The conglomerate initially did well with both early American style and woven pieces, but taste began to change at the turn of the 20th century and wicker furniture fell out of fashion. In 1930, the company brought in designer Gilbert Rohde, a champion of the Art Deco style. Before departing in 1932 to lead the Michigan furniture maker Herman Miller, Rohde created well-received sleek, bentwood chairs for Heywood-Wakefield and gave its colonial pieces a touch of Art Deco flair.
Committed to the new style, Heywood-Wakefield commissioned work from an assortment of like-minded designers, including Alfons Bach, W. Joseph Carr, Leo Jiranek and Count Alexis de Sakhnoffsky, a Russian nobleman who had made his name in Europe creating elegant automotive body designs.
In 1936, the company introduced its “Streamline Modern” group of furnishings, presenting a look that would define the company’s wares for another 30 years. The buoyantly bright, blond wood — maple initially, later birch — came in finishes such as amber “wheat” and pink-tinted “champagne.” The forms of the pieces, at once light and substantial, with softly contoured edges and little adornment beyond artful drawer pulls and knobs, were featured in lines with names such as “Sculptura,” “Crescendo” and “Coronet.” It was forward-looking, optimistic and built to last — a draw for middle-class buyers in the Baby Boom years.
By the 1960s, Heywood-Wakefield began to be seen as “your parents’ furniture.” The last of the Modern line came out in 1966; the company went bankrupt in 1981. The truly sturdy pieces have weathered the intervening years well, having found a new audience for their blithe and happy sophistication.
Find a collection of vintage Heywood-Wakefield desks, chairs, tables and other furniture on 1stDibs.
- Heywood Wakefield 'Champagne' HeadboardBy Heywood-Wakefield Co.Located in Brooklyn, NYBlonde Champagne color headboard by Heywood Wakefield. Headboard has two side cabinets attached. Open storage and hidden door storage on either side. Please confirm location NY or NJCategory
Mid-20th Century Mid-Century Modern Beds and Bed Frames
MaterialsMaple
- Heywood-Wakefield Full Size Headboard with NightstandsBy Heywood-Wakefield Co.Located in Brooklyn, NYThis stylish champagne finish maple headboard features iconic Heywood-Wakefield style and quality 1950s craftsmanship. The unique design of the piece o...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Beds and Bed Frames
MaterialsMaple
$1,120 Sale Price30% Off - Burled Maple and Brass Nightstands after Heywood WakefieldBy Heywood-Wakefield Co.Located in Brooklyn, NYExceptional nightstands in the unmistakable style of Massachusetts' Heywood Wakefield furniture. A beautiful burled maple veneer elevates the nightstands to a higher tier of luxury d...Category
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Night Stands
MaterialsBrass
- Midcentury Walnut Bedroom Suite by Coleman of VirginiaBy Coleman FurnitureLocated in Brooklyn, NYBeautiful Mid-Century Modern five-piece bedroom suite by Coleman Furniture, circa 1960s. Featuring attractive walnut veneer with solid wood construction, dovetail joints and tapered legs, this matching set would make a strong midcentury statement in any environment. Headboard 56.5" W 39 H, nightstand 24.25 W, 16 D, 24 H, mirror 27...Category
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Bedroom Sets
MaterialsWalnut
$4,200 Sale Price / set30% Off - Vintage Burl Bedroom Suite with Dressers and Queen BedLocated in Brooklyn, NYThis stylish five piece bedroom set comes with highboy dresser, long low dresser, queen-size headboard, and a pair of dressing mirrors. This ma...Category
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Bedroom Sets
MaterialsChrome
- Stylish Vintage Walnut Bedroom Suite with Sculpted Front DetailLocated in Brooklyn, NYThis stunning walnut bedroom set features matching highboy, low dresser, pair of bedside tables, and two dressing mirrors. Sculpted walnut drawer fronts add to the midcentury eleganc...Category
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Bedroom Sets
MaterialsWalnut
$3,640 Sale Price30% Off
- Heywood Wakefield Mid Century Bamboo Leg NightstandBy Heywood-Wakefield Co.Located in Countryside, ILHeywood Wakefield mid century bamboo leg nightstand This nightstand measures: 18 wide x 16 deep x 25 inches high All pieces of furni...Category
Vintage 1970s American Mid-Century Modern Night Stands
MaterialsBamboo, Wood
- Mid Century Encore Headboard by Heywood WakefieldBy Heywood-Wakefield Co.Located in Cincinnati, OHA full sized Mid Century headboard in the champagne finish with sliding double doors having tapered solid brass pulls . The doors can be position...Category
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Beds and Bed Frames
MaterialsWood
- Heywood Wakefield Mid Century Maple Wheat Twin HeadboardBy Heywood-Wakefield Co.Located in Countryside, ILHeywood Wakefield Mid Century Maple Wheat Twin Headboard This headboard measures: 43 wide x 1.5 deep x 34 inches high All pieces ...Category
Vintage 1970s American Mid-Century Modern Beds and Bed Frames
MaterialsMaple
- Heywood Wakefield Full Size Headboard with Attached Tambour NightstandsBy Heywood-Wakefield Co.Located in Brooklyn, NYFor your consideration is this Mid Century Modern Heywood Wakefield full size headboard with tambour doors attached nightstands. This solid wood...Category
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Beds and Bed Frames
MaterialsMaple
- Heywood Wakefield Two-Tier Two-Drawer Cinnamon Bedside TableBy Heywood-Wakefield Co.Located in Germantown, MDHeywood Wakefield mid Century style Two-Tier Two-Drawer Cinnamon nightstand Bedside Table in great condition. All solid wood with dovetail drawer construction. Measures 19.5" wide, 1...Category
Late 20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Night Stands
MaterialsBrass
$971 Sale Price25% Off - Mid Century Modern King Storage Headboard by Heywood WakefieldBy Heywood-Wakefield Co.Located in Freehold, NJThis mid century modern king sized headboard by Heywood Wakefield features hardwood construction, original champagne finish, with a combination of drop front storage cabinets and ope...Category
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Beds and Bed Frames
MaterialsBirch, Maple