Genuine Ladderax, designed by Robert Heal for Staples 1964, Teak and Black Steel.

A substantial original Ladderax three-bay modular shelving and storage system, designed by Robert Heal for Staples of Cricklewood and introduced in the 1960s.

One of the most distinctive British modular furniture systems of the post-war period, Ladderax combines slender black steel ladder uprights with warm timber shelves and interchangeable storage cabinets. The components are supported on steel rods hooked directly onto the ladder frames, allowing the entire arrangement to be reconfigured according to the space and its use.

This particularly generous three-bay system has recently arrived with us and includes four full-height black steel ladder uprights, multiple shelves and a particularly good selection of cabinet and storage elements, including drawer, cupboard and open storage components. We are currently cataloguing the individual pieces and establishing its most complete original configuration.

Although British in manufacture, Ladderax belongs firmly within the wider European modernist tradition of adaptable furniture for contemporary living — architectural, practical and deliberately light in appearance.

In the studio workshop

The complete system is now undergoing sympathetic cleaning and conservation in our studio workshop. The original finishes and signs of age will be retained wherever possible rather than refinished unnecessarily.

Further photographs, full dimensions and a detailed component inventory will follow once conservation and assembly are complete.

Why it works

Ladderax turns storage into architecture. The fine black framework gives a large piece of furniture an unusually open appearance, while the contrast between steel and warm timber places it naturally alongside Scandinavian and British modernist furniture of the period.

New into the studio workshop — enquiries and early reservations welcome.

H 200 cm
W 248 cm
D 32 cm (shelves)
D 42cm (cabinets)