Essentially dubbed the Frank Llyoyd Wright of Europe by Wright himself, Adolf Loos possessed a talent for architecture and interior design as potent as his outspoken criticism of Art Nouveau and excessive ornamentation. A forerunner of the International Style, Loos exercised immense restraint in his building projects as well as his designs for chairs, tables, storage pieces and other furniture, and wrote prolifically on his disdain for taking a decorative approach to architecture.
The son of a stonemason and sculptor, Loos was born in 1870 in what is now Brno in the Czech Republic. He studied architecture in Dresden in 1889, completed a year of military service and moved to the United States by 1893. He visited the World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago and came to appreciate the American approach to design over his three-year stay before returning to Vienna.
An avid proponent of simplicity, Loos hated fluff above all else. In his best known essay, “Ornament and Crime,” he states “the evolution of culture is synonymous with the removal of ornamentation from objects of everyday use” — a principle evident in both his architectural work and furniture. His writing was profoundly influential for practitioners of the International Style that would emerge later as well as the likes of prolific Swiss-born French architect and modernist prophet Le Corbusier.
Loos challenged the prevailing architecture and decorating styles of his time, and disliked the ornate work associated with the Vienna Secession and Gesamtkunstwerk — the concept of a house as total work of art — an ideal pursued by a collective born from the Secession called the Wiener Werkstätte. To Loos, design should prioritize function, and any ornamentation devoid of a structural purpose was childish and unnecessary.
Loos’s furniture — alongside the work of fellow Austrian architect Josef Hoffman — was the subject of an exhibition at the Museum of Applied Arts in 2014. His architecture projects, including the Viennese Goldman and Salatsch building, the Austrian Steiner House and the Villa Müller in Prague, are celebrated by design enthusiasts all over the world.
Find vintage Adolf Loos seating, lighting and other furniture on 1stDibs.
Gebrüder Thonet Vienna GmbH MOS Side Table in Wood with Brass Feet
By Adolf Loos, Gebrüder Thonet Vienna GmbH
Located in Brooklyn, NY
MOS is the family of storage units designed by GamFratesi with console, bookcase and side table, which can also be used as a bedside table, that incorporates the style of the bench o...
Wood
Jugendstil side table with blue tiles top by Adolf Loos
By Adolf Loos
Located in Hronská Breznica, Banskobystrický kraj
Jugendstil side table with blue tiles top and brass leg endings designed by Adolf Loos in very good original condition.
Brass
Adolf Loos Elephant Trunk Table, Wood and Copper, Austria, 1910s
By Adolf Loos
Located in Brussels, BE
Adolf Loos elephant trunk table, wood and copper, Austria, 1910s.
Wood
Gebrüder Thonet Vienna GmbH Hold On Side Table in Wenge and Marble Top
By Gebrüder Thonet Vienna GmbH, Adolf Loos
Located in Brooklyn, NY
This table completes and enriches the company’s first line of upholstered pieces with sumptuous elegance. The folding structure in ash wood post has a round top available in such pre...
Wood
Jugendstil side table by Adolf Loos
By Adolf Loos, Friedrich Otto Schmidt
Located in Hronská Breznica, Banskobystrický kraj
Jugendstil side table by Adolf Loos professionally stained and repolished.
Brass
Thonet - by Michael Thonet - Side table - Beech
By Thonet, Michael Thonet
Located in Budapest, HU
Thonet - Michael Thonet - Side Table - Beech Austria, Jugendstil (Art Nouveau) - Circa 1900-1910 This beautiful side table, designed by the renowned Michael Thonet, exemplifies the ...
Beech
$2,604
H 29.14 in W 21.66 in D 15.75 in
J. & J. Kohn art nouveau side table in bentwood, Austria ca. 1910
Located in Meulebeke, BE
Austria / 1910 / side table / Jacob & Joseph Kohn / bentwood / art nouveau / jugenstill / rustic / mid century An art nouveau “Palm” side table by Jacob and Joseph Kohn in bentwood...
Wood, Bentwood
$680Sale Price|73% Off
H 15.75 in Dm 15.75 in
Enoki Black Marble-Top Side Table by Philipp Mainzer in Stock
By Philipp Mainzer, E15 Furniture
Located in New York, NY
CT09 ENOKI, side table 400x400 Beige Red Base with nero marquina marble top With the smart and playful side table ENOKI, e15 introduces marble for the collection, applying it to no...
Marble
$1,439Sale Price|41% Off
H 12.6 in W 16.15 in D 16.15 in
Vintage French Square Side Table with Ceramic Tile Top by Jacques Blin, c. 1950s
By Jacques Blin
Located in London, GB
Mid-Century French square side table with ceramic tile top by Jacques Blin (circa 1950s). Earthenware tiles in Blin's burnt clay colour are de...
Ceramic, Wood
Jugendstil Burled Birch Nightstand, Sweden 1900
Located in New York, NY
Adorned with elegant burlwood veneers on all visible sides, both nightstands showcase a sophisticated aesthetic. The interior storage is generous, and the construction is impressivel...
Birch
MIGO – Side Table in Solid Ash Wood with Fabric Strap
By Daniel Schofield
Located in Lisboa, Lisboa
Minimal in its components, the MIGO table consists of two parts: a tabletop and a conical-shaped base whose upper edge ends with a subtle strap, allowing it to be lifted with ease. ...
Wood, Plywood, Ash
MIGO – Side Table in Solid Ash Wood with Leather Strap
By Daniel Schofield
Located in Lisboa, Lisboa
Minimal in its components, the MIGO table consists of two parts: a tabletop and a conical-shaped base whose upper edge ends with a subtle strap, allowing it to be lifted with ease. ...
Wood, Ash, Plywood
$7,814
H 28.35 in W 33.08 in D 33.08 in
Original Gambling Table in the Style of Adolf Loos 1910 with Brass Chip-Bowls
By Woka Lamps, Adolf Loos
Located in Vienna, AT
Beechwood stained, round brass-base, chased with Hammer-finish, four collumnar table-legs, on four corners extendible chips-bowls in brass - compare haberfeld table, knize tables.
Brass
$5,200
H 21.65 in W 47.05 in D 25.59 in
Ring table, Gebrüder Thonet Wien GTV, Jugendstil, Adolf Loos, Vienna, Austria
By Gebrüder Thonet Vienna GmbH, Adolf Loos
Located in Wien, AT
A table - pure extravagance. The design for this table comes from Adolf Loos and the execution was carried out by Gebrüder Thonet Vienna, Austria. This design object is pure Art Nou...
Beech, Mahogany
$25,398Sale Price|35% Off
H 26.19 in Dm 28.15 in
Adolf Loos Elephant Trunk Table, Brass & Wood, Viennese Design, 1910
By Adolf Loos, Friedrich Otto Schmidt
Located in Klosterneuburg, AT
The famous Viennese architect and designer Adolf Loos was one of the pioneers of modern architecture. In particular, his hollistically designed residential projects, in which he drew up both the building and the interior furnishings, receive special art historical attention today. Loos first used this design, called the "elephant trunk table...
Brass
1930s Spanish Tile-Top Wrought Iron Side Table
Located in Stamford, CT
1930s Spanish tile-top wrought iron side table. Ceramic tiles depicting Don Quixote and the Windmill. Black wrought iron table base. No m...
Wrought Iron
Handmade Tile Top Lith Side Table, by Lynnea Jean
By Lynnea Jean
Located in Aitkin, MN
The Lith Collection by Lynnea Jean Inspired by a love for vintage tile tables and the desire for hands-on creation, the Lith Side Table was born. T...
Ceramic, Oak
Sold
H 26.78 in Dm 31.5 in
Adolf Loos Six-Legged 'Haberfeld' Table, F.O. Schmidt, Brass Wood, Austria, 1899
By Friedrich Otto Schmidt, Adolf Loos
Located in Hausmannstätten, AT
A fantastic and extremely rare 'Haberfeld' table with six legs manufactured by Friedrich Otto Schmidt, Vienna, in 1900s. It is made of walnut stained wood with brass shoes and a bra...
Brass
Sold
H 29.93 in Dm 29.53 in
Adolf Loos Round Black Shellac and Brass Austrian Art Nouveau Side Table, 1910
By Adolf Loos
Located in Roma, Lazio
A perfect "Status symbol" side table with a clean architecture is a surprising elegance, synonymous of Adolf Loos. All polished with black shellac and enriched with brass details. T...
Brass