Heywood-Wakefield Colors: Yesterday & Today

Heywood-Wakefield colors make the pieces iconic. They are easily identifiable by their shape and color. While Heywood-Wakefield got its start producing bamboo rattan or wicker furniture, it quickly moved on to creating solid wood pieces.

Yesterday

With the exception of the 1930s Streamline Maple line, the vintage pieces were solid birch with either a Wheat or Champagne finish. The Wheat finish had a slightly darker, golden hue while the Champagne finish had a lighter, paler finish with a hint of rose blush.

While these were the most popular colors, Heywood-Wakefield has a history of using various colors:

Amber (1936-1939)
Bleached (1936-1939)
Wheat (1937-1966)
Champagne (1939-1966)
Platinum (1954-1961)
Westwood (1962-1966)
Modern Walnut (1936-1944)

Some darker finishes were occasionally used, including Winthrop, Priscilla Maple, Sable Grey, Walnut, Topaz, Windsor, Fruitwood, Tampico, Clove, and Sherry.

Today

Today, the new pieces are made of the same high-quality materials as in the past but have a lighter Amber finish. All Heywood-Wakefield furniture is made from 100 percent Northern Yellow Birch just like before. However, we use an even higher grade of lumber to give our pieces the most appealing natural look.

Thanks to advances in technology, this finish is more durable and offers higher protection than in the past. We use Milesi pre-catalyzed lacquer from Italy to provide that beautiful classic finish with a high level of protection.

Why do we have a new finish instead of using traditional wheat or champagne? The vintage pieces have been exposed to individual usage and storage conditions in the time since they were produced. So, even the same color finish could look vastly different from one home to another. The wood used in the vintage Heywood-Wakefield furniture has also darkened over time, which means that if we used the same finish, the new pieces would not match the old ones. The vintage finish was also more opaque than the current finish. It did not allow the beauty of the natural wood grain to shine through to the same extent.

To combat this issue, we created the Amber finish, specially designed to recreate the look of the vintage furniture’s natural wood color and allow the beautiful wood grain to be seen. If you were to strip off the vintage finish and put a clear coat of sealer and lacquer on your vintage piece, it will look like one of the newly manufactured pieces. The beautiful wood grain is revealed and can be enjoyed. The Amber finish also has a similar tone to the vintage finishes. This way, the new pieces can be mixed and matched with any vintage furniture you have at home. It’s the perfect way to complete any set!