Heywood Wakefield Mid Century Maple Wheat Twin Headboard
About the Item
- Creator:Heywood-Wakefield Co. (Manufacturer)
- Dimensions:Height: 34 in (86.36 cm)Width: 43 in (109.22 cm)Depth: 1.5 in (3.81 cm)
- Style:Mid-Century Modern (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:Unknown
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use.
- Seller Location:Countryside, IL
- Reference Number:
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.
- ShippingRetrieving quote...Ships From: Countryside, IL
- Return PolicyA return for this item may be initiated within 3 days of delivery.
- Heywood Wakefield Mid Century Maple Wheat Full Storage HeadboardBy Heywood-Wakefield Co.Located in Countryside, ILHeywood Wakefield mid century maple wheat full storage headboard This headboard measures: 55.5 wide x 9.5 deep x 37 inches high ...Category
Vintage 1970s American Mid-Century Modern Beds and Bed Frames
MaterialsMaple
- Heywood Wakefield Mid Century Maple Wheat Step Side TableBy Heywood-Wakefield Co.Located in Countryside, ILHeywood Wakefield Mid Century Maple Wheat Step Side Table This table measures: 30.5 wide x 20 deep x 21 inches high All pieces of furniture can be had in what we call restored ...Category
Vintage 1970s American Mid-Century Modern Side Tables
MaterialsMaple
- 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
- Heywood Wakefield Mid Century Maple Wheat Nesting Tables - Set of 3By Heywood-Wakefield Co.Located in Countryside, ILHeywood Wakefield Mid Century Maple Wheat Nesting Tables - Set of 3 The table measures: 21 wide x 15 deep x 24 inches high All pieces of furniture can be had in what we call re...Category
Vintage 1970s American Mid-Century Modern Nesting Tables and Stacking Ta...
MaterialsMaple
- Heywood Wakefield Sculptra Mid Century Wheat 6 Drawer DresserBy Heywood-Wakefield Co.Located in Countryside, ILHeywood Wakefield Sculptra Mid Century Wheat 6 Drawer Dresser This lowboy measures: 56 wide x 19.25 deep x 31.25 inches high All pieces of furniture can be had in what we call rest...Category
Vintage 1970s American Mid-Century Modern Dressers
MaterialsWood
- SOLD 05/06/24 Heywood Wakefield Mid Century Maple Step Corner TableBy Heywood-Wakefield Co.Located in Countryside, ILHeywood Wakefield Mid Century Maple Step Corner Table This table measures: 34 wide x 34 deep x 21 inches high All pieces of f...Category
Vintage 1970s American Mid-Century Modern Side Tables
MaterialsMaple
- 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 '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
- 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
- Mid-Century Modern Heywood Wakefield Double Bed, Wheat Finish, circa 1950By Heywood-Wakefield Co.Located in Big Flats, NYA Mid-Century Modern double or full size bed by Heywood Wakefield offers birch construction in Wheat finish, maker and finish marks as photographed, circa 1950 Measures- Headboa...Category
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Beds and Bed Frames
MaterialsBirch
- Mid-Century Modern Heywood Wakefield Double Bed Frame, Wheat Finish, Circa 1950By Heywood-Wakefield Co.Located in Big Flats, NYA Mid-Century Modern double bed frame by Heywood Wakefield offers birch construction in Wheat finish, maker mark as photographed, c1950 Measures- Headboard 35''H x 59''W x 2''D; Foo...Category
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Beds and Bed Frames
MaterialsBirch
- 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
