Designed in Sweden in 1949
Find them vintage or still buy them new today $$
Brainstorming storage ideas for my home office studio remodel, I have become mildly obsessed with midcentury wall storage systems. So, I was immediately entranced when I saw this photo, above, uploaded by Jan in our new gallery of photos of 300 reader living rooms.
She called it a “String Shelf”. I went to investigate and sure enough, String Shelves are a Big Thing. The String System was created by Swedish architect Nils Strinning in 1949. He had created the Elfa wire storage system three years earlier, and built upon that idea to design bookcases for a design competition. He won, the system was put into production, and it’s still available today. Moreover, I think these are a great item to watch for, vintage, where you might find a fabulous deal now that you know what to watch for.
Yes, the String shelf system is still available today, made in Sweden by String Furniture. The company website, with lots more info, photos and details on all the designs is here.
In addition to the classic String System, they also seem to have innovated with other designs playing on the same concept. Above: String Plex (for plexiglass sides). Pretty!
And, there is String Cell, above, with its little bead-like things on wire. All the rooms shots here (except for Jan’s at the top) are from the String System / String Furniture website. Yummy!
Where to buy String Systems: You cannot buy direct from String Furniture — you must find a local or online retailer. I did some basic poking around the www, and in the U.S. it seemed like Finnish Design Shop was a good place to start.
Be forewarned, the pieces are not cheap. The cute, basic little string shelf (shown in pink, above), starts at $149. The small, sliding door cabinet is like $500. Use your search terms — shop around.
Look for vintage String Shelf Systems
This seems to be a great item to hunt for, vintage at thrift stores, vintage shops and estate sales now that you know what to look for. String System Shelves — very collectible. Don’t you want one now?
Thank you, Jan, for turning me on to them!
Laura's Last Ditch--Vintage Kitchenwares says
I just wonder what they’re made from. Are they wood?
Marion says
ekby gallo from Ikea has some similarity to it as well
Paula Webb says
I have been obsessed with similar systems since last summer and lucked into one for $400 off craigs list in January. They are out there if you keep your eyes open.
Marion says
Ikea’s Enetri system is about as close as I’ve seen to this.
I think it’s been discontinued, I’m not sure what (if anything) replaced it – but it pops up in Google searches, so I imagine you can find it from ebay, craigslist, etc
Chad says
So airy looking! And really exciting that they fit flush with the wall, even in a house with big baseboards. These are officially in my imaginary living room.
Jay says
Thanks Pam for another Design101 class. I would think that IKEA has their own version of this at a cheaper price.
Cee says
I’ve seen these on the blogs I follow of a few ladies from Scandinavia! I’d always wondered what they were and assumed it was another awesome Europe thing. Wonderful to finally know, although I won’t be able to buy any anytime soon!!
Gitte says
Strinning designs are really something special. Love to see the pictures.
Silvercat says
Very cool! I could see it being especially useful in a kids room, where it could change as their interests change. I love the little cabinets.
steve66 says
I really like the look of that! The white and plexiglass would go really well with classic Kartel storage units. It’s strange that it’s not sold by the Container Store, since they sell Elfa.