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Poul Cadovius For Royal System Cado Danish Rosewood Four Bay Wall Unit

About the Item

Royal System “Cado” four bay wall unit in rosewood, designed by Poul Cadovius circa 1960s, Denmark. Purchased by prior owner in 1973. It features floor to ceiling wall panels, floor cabinets and numerous shelving options including a television platform and angled display shelves. Also includes three attachable light boxes. The legs can be removed from the cabinets if desired. Prior owner carved out space on the wall panels for electrical outlets, plugs, and a ceiling beam to fit their space (see final two images). These electrical areas have been outfitted with black outlet panels. The beam space can be obscured by hanging a shelf in that area, as shown here.

Creator:

Royal System (Maker),Poul Cadovius (Designer)

Dimensions:

Height: 93 in (236.22 cm)Width: 128 in (325.12 cm)Depth: 22 in (55.88 cm)

Style:

Scandinavian Modern (Of the Period)

Materials and Techniques:

Rosewood

Place of Origin:

Denmark

Period:

1970-1979

Date of Manufacture:

Early 1970s

Condition:

Wear consistent with age and use. As noted in description, back panels have some carve outs, such as for electrical outlets which are covered with black socket plates. Some faint speckles on surface of one of the cabinets from wall paint. Typical signs of wear from age and use.

Seller Location:

Peabody, MA

Reference Number:

1stDibs: LU888036886122

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Shop All Poul Cadovius

Poul Cadovius

While Poul Cadovius is most famous for his modular floating shelving system, his career in design didn’t actually start with wall units.

Born just outside of Copenhagen in 1911, Cadovius began manufacturing window treatments in the 1940s with his partner, Hother Brønner. He soon turned his focus from venetian blinds to furniture, finding success designing svelte pieces in teak, a richly colored hardwood favored by the Danish mid-century modernists.

In 1945, Cadovius founded the furniture manufacturer Royal System with his designs, including the 1948 Royal System shelving unit, a space-saving solution that underscored Cadovius’s penchant for problem-solving in a multifunctional way. Rather than balance shelves on wooden or metal legs, it held them to the wall with brackets. He followed it with the System Ultra in 1957, the System Cado in 1960 and the System Abstracta, which was installed throughout the exhibition halls of the 1962 Cologne Furniture Fair. All expanded on his idea of wall-mounted shelving that saved space while offering functionality, allowing for limitless combinations of storage, shelves, work surfaces and other units. The Royal System proved to be especially popular and is still produced by Danish furniture brand dk3 today, with early models continuing to be in demand.

Along with the shelving systems, Cadovius designed everything from lounge chairs to mushroom-shaped bus shelters, and he held over 400 patents. In addition to being a designer, he was also an entrepreneur with an eye for opportunity, such as purchasing Danish manufacturer France & Søn in the mid-1960s and folded it into CADO, a company he founded years earlier. He used this as an occasion to experiment with his designs, conceiving such unusual pieces as an aluminum-based dining table topped with rosewood and hand-painted by artist Susan Fjedldoe Mygge.

Cadovius’s innovations in shelving continued throughout his career, with examples like the sculptural Butterfly shelf and vertical pieces mixing shelving and storage. In 2018, to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the Royal System, dk3 reissued the celebrated shelving system as well as a more compact version reimagined for 21st-century homes.

Find a collection of vintage Poul Cadovius storage cabinets, seating and other furniture on 1stDibs.