Heywood Wakefield
refinishing.

Why Heywood Wakefield is a specialty.

Most wood restoration shops don't distinguish between makers. Heywood Wakefield does. The solid birch used on the Modern line behaves differently from walnut and teak — cool undertones, tight grain, a tendency to pull green under yellow toners. The signature Heywood tones ("Wheat," "Champagne," "Sable," "Amber," "Sahara," and a handful of short-run colors) are not interchangeable. A Champagne table next to a Wheat chair reads wrong.

Getting these matches right takes knowing what the toners actually are — dyes, not pigments — and understanding how they interact with birch's cool baseline. It takes building the finish from a clear sealed base, spraying sheer passes, and judging the color in natural light, not shop light.

The Aged Heywood Wheat toner recipe.

Developed in-house for a Wishbone table job where a new apron had to blend with sixty years of original patina:

• 3 drops TransTint Honey Amber per pint of thinned clear lacquer — the golden baseline.
• 1 drop TransTint Medium Brown per pint — the aging agent; the reddish-amber depth mimics sixty-plus years of oxidation and neutralizes the green undertone in raw birch.
• Double to 6:2 for a quart.

Full write-up with application technique, why the brown matters, and the Champagne variant is in the Workshop journal: The Aged Heywood Wheat toner recipe.

Pieces I restore.

• Wishbone table — the M-197C and variants. Apron splits and leg joint failures are the common issues; the finish match is the hard part.
• Dog Bone chair — the M-1548 and M-154 dining chair. Often needs glue block repair and new upholstery coordination.
• Encore & Sculptura series — the more sculptural sideboards and cabinets. Veneer stabilization is frequent.
• Crescendo series — the later, more modernist line. Often comes with failed lacquer crazing that needs a full strip.
• Trophy & Cadence — bedroom pieces, highboys, dressers. Drawer slide tuning is a standard add-on.
• Niagara & Kohinoor — earlier transitional lines that sometimes appear with original Streamline-era hardware.

What a Heywood restoration costs.

A single dining chair with joint repair and refinish typically runs $400–$700. A Wishbone or pedestal table refinish is $1,200–$2,200. A six-foot sideboard or credenza with full strip, color match, and hand-rubbed finish lands between $1,800–$3,500 depending on condition. Custom color matching for new parts adds $500–$1,500.

Every project gets a flat-rate proposal before work begins. 50% books the slot, balance on completion.

Serving Heywood Wakefield collectors across DFW.

Shop pickup and delivery included within 25 miles — Dallas, Oak Cliff, Park Cities, Highland Park, Lakewood, Plano, Richardson, Irving, Fort Worth. For significant pieces, travel can extend farther into Texas. I also work directly with DFW-area MCM dealers and estate buyers on consignment pieces.