Royal System®

Design by Poul Cadovius, 1948

The iconic shelving system Royal System® was designed in 1948 by legendary Danish designer and manufacturer Poul Cadovius and relaunched by dk3 in 2010. It was one of the world's first wall-mounted furniture systems and was created on the innovative principle to move the furniture off the floor and onto the walls.

Poul Cadovius saw a challenge in the heavy furniture, that took up a lot of floor space, and by introducing the new system he wanted to add more space and light into the furnishing.

As he put it himself:

"Most of us live on the bottom of a cube. If we put the walls even with the floor, we get a lot of space to live on".

Royal System® comes in various wood types and comprises wall-mounted rails, shelves with hangers in brass or stainless steel and various cabinets. Some of the cabinets are made with a handwoven veneer front, and the cabinets with sliding doors are available in either wood, clear glass or rippled glass. The LP storage cabinet offers elegant storage of record players and LP records, and the fine little writing desk with a built-in drawer invites to a quiet moment of writing or reading.


The system can be customized in multiple individual combinations, either as a classic shelving, a modern writing desk or a library with cabinets and drawers. Already in the sixties, Royal System® was known for its versatile design and was referred to as the shelving system with “up to 16 million combination options”. With its space-saving, flexible design, the timeless classic offers numerous possibilities for a personal, modern expression.

In the fifties and sixties Royal System® was manufactured at Poul Cadovius’ own factories in Denmark, and was also produced under license in more than thirty countries. The shelving system is still considered one of Danish furniture history's greatest successes ever, and therefore it was with both pride and modesty that dk3 could relaunch the iconic system in 2010.

Measurements (W x D x H)

Rail H70: 3,4 x 1,9 x 70 cm

Rail H101: 3,4 x 1,9 x 101 cm

Rail H200: 3,4 x 1,9 x 200 cm

Shelf D24: 80 x 24 x 1,9 cm

Shelf D30: 80 x 30 x 1,9 cm

Magazine shelf: 80 x 31 x 1,9 cm

Desk shelf: 80 x 60 x 1,9 cm

Cabinet w/ 2 push doors: 80 x 38 x 42,4 cm (doors w/ plain or woven front)

Cabinet w/ 2 sliding doors: 80 x 38 x 42,4 cm (doors in wood, clear glass or rippled glass)

Tall cabinet w/ 2 sliding doors in glass: 80 x 24 x 56 cm

Cabinet w/ 3 drawers: 80 x 38 x 42,4 cm

Cabinet w/ bar/desk drop front: 80 x 38 x 42,4 cm (plain or woven front)

Cabinet w/ bar/desk drop front and preinstalled workstation: 80 x 38 x 42,4 cm

(plain or woven front)

LP storage cabinet: 80 x 38 x 42,4 cm (optional cable routing)

Desk cabinet w/ 1 drawer: 80 x 38 x 13 cm

Materials

Oak, black lacquered oak, smoked oak or walnut

Rails and drawers: solid wood

Shelves, modules, doors, and workstation: veneered MDF

Surface treatment

Oil or soap

Normal oak and walnut also available in matt lacquer

Hangers and shelf supports

Brass or stainless steel

Screws same material as the hangers

Important information

Since brass is softer than steel, shelves w/ brass hangers are expected to "warp" more than shelves w/ steel hangers

The shelves may deflect slightly over time. To maintain a straight profile, we recommend a max load of 15 kg per shelf.

Tested at Danish Technological Institute EN16121:2013 / EN16122:2012 in 2016

New parts from dk3 are not compatible with old parts made before 1985.

We recommend that Royal System® is installed by professionals. Please also see our assembly instruction and installation video.

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