Poul Cadovius Furniture

Danish, 1911-2011

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.

Poul Cadovius furniture for sale on 1stDibs.

Poul Cadovius furniture are available for sale on 1stDibs. These distinctive items are frequently made of wood and are designed with extraordinary care. There are many options to choose from in our collection of Poul Cadovius furniture, although brown editions of this piece are particularly popular. We have 118 vintage editions of these items in-stock, while there is 5 modern edition to choose from as well. Many of the original furniture by Poul Cadovius were created in the mid-century modern style in europe during the 20th century. If you’re looking for additional options, many customers also consider furniture by Dyrlund, Arne Wahl Iversen, and Cado. Prices for Poul Cadovius furniture can differ depending upon size, time period and other attributes — on 1stDibs, these items begin at $200 and can go as high as $15,000, while a piece like these, on average, fetch $4,204.