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.
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
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
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
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
Gebrüder Thonet Vienna GmbH Hold On Side Table in Wenge and Marble Top
By Adolf Loos, Gebrüder Thonet Vienna GmbH
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
$1,432Sale 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
$8,874
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
$2,382Sale Price / item|20% Off
H 28.75 in W 18.12 in D 16.54 in
L-Side Table by Tellurico: Customizable Modern Design Side table
By Tellurico
Located in Eindhoven, NL
The L Side Table belongs to Ollain, Tellurico Design Studio's collectible furniture collection, originally launched in 2020 as a series of three side tables—Small, Medium, and Large....
Composition
Jugendstil Burled Birch Nightstand with Marble Top, 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
French Bobbin Wood Side Table
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Lovely carved wood two-tier side table from France, 1940s. Circular top with triangular lower shelf and four carved bobbin legs. Original finish shows nice age and patina. Perfect be...
Oak
MIGO – Side Table in Solid Oak 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, Oak, Plywood
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
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
$2,519
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
An art nouveau “Palm” side table by Jacob and Joseph Kohn in bentwood. Designed in Vienna, Austria around 1910. The table top has a dark circled wear mark (see pictures) This table ...
Wood, Bentwood
$2,995
H 17.75 in W 22 in D 22 in
Tile Top Side or End Table With California Catalina or Taylor Style Tiles
By Catalina Pottery
Located in Topeka, KS
Gorgeous Catalina, California, Taylor, or Mission Arts & Crafts style Spanish tile top side or end table. Comprised of a square top with four ceramic tiles inlaid in an oak frame...
Ceramic, Oak
Art Nouveau Side Table with Brass Accents, circa 1900
Located in Darmstadt, DE
Elegant side or salon table from the Art Nouveau period, around 1900, made of beautifully grained walnut. The circular top rests on four column-shaped supports that rise from a stepp...
Brass
MIGO – Side Table in Walnut 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, Walnut
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