Fun Furniture #24: Heywood-Wakefield

After recently receiving some beautiful new Heywood Wakefield Modern pieces in our Manhattan showroom, we found ourselves fondly looking back at how this series of early American modern furniture came to be.

When the five Heywood brothers started crafting furniture in their family’s barn, they probably never guessed that their pieces would lead to a turning point in American furniture.

Following the Stock Market Crash of 1929, the Heywood-Wakefield brand stood strong, but on the merit of the furniture designs crafted before the turn of the century. In other words, the furniture they made looked dated.

Heywood Wakefield took note, and in (the mid-1930s) released the Heywood-Wakefield Modern series. The Modern series popped with it’s bright, solid Northern Yellow Birch. Pieces forwent ornamentation for smooth, rounded edges; steaming and bending the wood achieved this look. Modern industrial designers, including Gilbert Rohde, Russel Wright, W. Joseph Carr, among others, were brought in to help streamline production of the modern series throughout the 40s and 50s. 

Check out our current Heywood Wakefield selection here, or stop by our Manhattan showroom at 1261 Broadway, Suite 309!