Pair of Heywood Wakefield Nightstands, Encore Series
View Similar Items
Pair of Heywood Wakefield Nightstands, Encore Series
About the Item
- Creator:Heywood-Wakefield Co. (Manufacturer)
- Dimensions:Height: 26 in (66.04 cm)Width: 15 in (38.1 cm)Depth: 14 in (35.56 cm)
- Sold As:Set of 2
- Style:Mid-Century Modern (In the Style Of)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:1948-1955
- Condition:In house refinishing, Lacquer finish on natural amber toned wood.
- Seller Location:Crockett, CA
- Reference Number:Seller: 7911stDibs: LU91558202123
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 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
- Pair Heywood Wakefield Mid-Century Modern One Drawer Nightstands End Tables MintBy Heywood-Wakefield Co.Located in Rockaway, NJPair Heywood Wakefield Mid-Century Modern one drawer nightstands end tables mint.Category
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern End Tables
MaterialsBrass
- Pair of Amara NightstandsBy Louise Voyazis CollectionLocated in Los Angeles, CATake the edge off with the graceful lines of our Amara night stands. Strong and sinuous, they are hand carved from solid oak, with turned saber legs, undermount soft-close glides on ...Category
2010s American Mid-Century Modern Night Stands
MaterialsOak
$9,900 / set - Pair of American of Martinsville NightstandsBy American of MartinsvilleLocated in Los Angeles, CAPair of oak American of Martinsville night stands, c.1950s, USA. This minimal design features black laminate surface, two drawers with curved brass drawer pulls and an open shelf bet...Category
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Night Stands
MaterialsBrass
$3,500 / set - Pair of Cerused Oak NightstandsBy Paul LaszloLocated in Rockaway, NJPair of American Mid-Century Modern cerused oak nightstands.Category
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern End Tables
$3,800 / set - Pair of Vintage Walnut NightstandsLocated in Brooklyn, NYThis stunning pair of vintage walnut nightstands features sculpted door fronts, tapered legs, and spacious interior cabinets. Adjustable shel...Category
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Night Stands
MaterialsWalnut
$1,600 / set