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Cado Shelves and Wall Cabinets

Danish

While Danish furniture company Cado is popular among collectors of Scandinavian modern furniture for its well-crafted chairs, sofas, coffee tables and dining tables, the brand is best known for its sculptural wall shelving systems created by renowned Danish designer Poul Cadovius (1911–2011), Cado's founder.

The Copenhagen-born Cadovius initially studied to be an upholsterer and saddler before pursuing furniture design. He began his career in the 1940s making Venetian blinds and other window treatments before shifting his focus toward designing versatile furnishings that could be adapted to all sorts of interior spaces.

In 1945, Cadovius founded the furniture manufacturer Royal System intending to produce his designs for postwar homeowners. His visionary works included 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. The wall unit was practical and functional, but it was also decorative, made of rich and exotic woods like walnut, rosewood and teak, a favorite wood of Cadovius’s and a highly sought-after material among mid-century modern designers. 

Cadovius established Cado in the late 1950s. The manufacturer followed the Royal System shelving unit with several other modular storage designs including the System Ultra in 1957, System Cado in 1960 and System Abstracta in 1962. Two years later, with more than 400 patents to his name, Cadovius purchased premier Danish furniture manufacturer France & Søn and incorporated it into Cado.

Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, Cado collaborated with influential Danish and European designers of the era such as Steen Østergaard, best known for his stackable Cado 290, a Space Age fiberglass-and-polyamide nylon lounge chair; Finn Juhl, a stylistic maverick who embraced expressive, free-flowing shapes in chair and sofa designs much earlier than his colleagues; and Ole Wanscher, who drew on Shaker furniture and Chippendale forms and created the widely loved Colonial chair and coffee table for P. Jeppesens Møbelfabrik

Cadovius’s designs — as well as the other works manufactured by Cado — are widely coveted by vintage furniture enthusiasts all over the world. In 2018, the Danish brand dk3 reissued the Royal System as well as a more compact version.

On 1stDibs, discover a range of vintage Cado case pieces and storage cabinets, seating and tables.

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Creator: Cado
Poul Cadovius Mid- Century Modern Modular Teak Wall Unit Shelving for Cado, 1960
By Poul Cadovius, Cado
Located in The Hague, NL
Danish modern teak wall unit designed by Poul Cadovius, Denmark, circa 1960s. This piece is contains 7 shelves and one sliding door cabinet, a drawer cabinet and a display cabinet....
Category

1960s Danish Mid-Century Modern Vintage Cado Shelves and Wall Cabinets

Materials

Metal

Modular Wall Unit in rosewood by Poul Cadovius for Cado, Denmark, 1960s
By Poul Cadovius, Cado
Located in Ranst, VAN
Danish modular wall unit by Poul Cadovius for Cado, Denmark 1960s. This rosewood setup has one storage cabinet, two display cabinets, one desk...
Category

Mid-20th Century Danish Mid-Century Modern Cado Shelves and Wall Cabinets

Materials

Wood

Danish Modern Teak & Glass Shelving System Abstracta by Poul Cadovius, 1960s
By Cado, Poul Cadovius
Located in Odense, DK
Ingenious minimalist shelving or display unit SYSTEM ABSTRACTA designed by Poul Cadovius, Denmark, in the 1960s. The system consists of black metal...
Category

1960s Danish Scandinavian Modern Vintage Cado Shelves and Wall Cabinets

Materials

Metal

Teak Desk Royal System Wall Unit by Poul Cadovius for Cado, Denmark, 1960s
By Cado, Poul Cadovius
Located in Kirchlengern, DE
Article: wall unit teak wood Cado system. Designer: Poul Cadovius Producer: Cado, Denmark Description: Original Danish wall unit designed by Poul Cadov...
Category

Mid-20th Century European Mid-Century Modern Cado Shelves and Wall Cabinets

Materials

Wood, Teak

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Cado shelves and wall cabinets for sale on 1stDibs.

Cado shelves and wall cabinets 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 Cado shelves and wall cabinets, although brown editions of this piece are particularly popular. Many of the original shelves and wall cabinets by Cado were created in the mid-century modern style in europe during the mid-20th century. If you’re looking for additional options, many customers also consider shelves and wall cabinets by Kai Kristiansen, Poul Cadovius, and Mathieu Matégot. Prices for Cado shelves and wall cabinets can differ depending upon size, time period and other attributes — on 1stDibs, these items begin at $702 and can go as high as $7,182, while a piece like these, on average, fetch $6,382.

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