Cadovius Bar

Choose from an assortment of styles, material and more with respect to the cadovius bar you’re looking for at 1stDibs. Each cadovius bar for sale was constructed with extraordinary care, often using wood, hardwood and teak. Whether you’re looking for an older or newer cadovius bar, there are earlier versions available from the 20th Century and newer variations made as recently as the 20th Century. When you’re browsing for the right cadovius bar, those designed in mid-century modern and Scandinavian Modern styles are of considerable interest. Many designers have produced at least one well-made cadovius bar over the years, but those crafted by Poul Cadovius, Cado and Royal System are often thought to be among the most beautiful.

A cadovius bar can differ in price owing to various characteristics — the average selling price 1stDibs is $3,737, while the lowest priced sells for $1,264 and the highest can go for as much as $24,000.

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.

Cadovius followed the Royal System shelving unit 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.