Chiselling a twist

Across contemporary studios, furniture is being shaped with a sculptor’s approach. Wood, stone and concrete are worked much like clay or metal, allowing the form to emerge from what each material can or cannot do. Many of these new designs experiment with unusual material pairings and quirky shapes.

At a studio focused on material experimentation, this idea is taken forward in a nature-inspired direction. Their Vana Lounge Chair follows a related idea. Forked wooden forms support a leaf-shaped seat, creating a structure that appears light but is carefully engineered to support weight. The designers at Intent Made studied how branches divide and distribute load in nature before translating that logic into the furniture.

“In many cultures, people gather under a tree for conversation and community. The branching structure of the Vana dining table reflects that image. It becomes a contemporary interpretation of that moment,” shares Swetha Vegesana, founder of the firm.

Material selection plays a central role in the Vana pieces. Metal allowed the designers to sculpt fluid branching forms while maintaining structural integrity. Marble introduced a visual contrast against the twisting, branch-inspired shapes of the base. Brass inlay adds a subtle layer of ornamentation.

The Vana designs feel asymmetrical and dynamic. Nature rarely follows symmetry, yet it always feels balanced. That observation guided the designers’ approach. The forms were intentionally made asymmetrical so that they carry a sense of movement and growth. What looks spontaneous is actually carefully balanced through structure, proportion and centre of gravity.

Their Sierra Sofa features twin curved backs that resemble mountain peaks. The sofa is built using bent wood techniques. Thin layers of wood are gradually bent and layered to create its sweeping curves, a method that makes those smooth, flowing lines possible. The curves are shaped to support the back comfortably.

Material matters

Teaming up with local artisans, Tectona Grandis Furniture (TGF), a furniture art venture, flips the focus onto materials. It all starts with reclaimed teak, pulled from 100 to 150-year-old beams and pillars salvaged from demolished buildings. Decades of ageing give the wood a natural strength. Reusing it keeps the material in circulation, giving it a new life instead of discarding it as waste, shares Dhruvkant Amin, co-founder of the firm. Across the collection, teak is paired with natural stone, marble, pigmented concrete, brass and metal. These unique material combinations are tactile and feel surprising.

This approach can be seen in the studio’s centre table collection. Ripple takes cues from the circular movement of water when a drop strikes its surface. The teak top is constructed through radial joinery that spreads outward from the centre, creating a visual rhythm. A marble insert sits within the wooden frame, and its natural veining stands out against the wood. The stone artisans fit it carefully so it has enough room to expand and contract as temperatures change, notes Amin.

In Wabi, the studio looks to natural formations and takes cues from wabi-sabi, where things do not have to be perfect or even, and those small irregularities are what give the piece its character. A curved stone top appears to hover, supported by carved teak legs beneath it. The form recalls rocks resting on tree roots or boulders balanced within a stream. The slightly lifted edges of the stone help ease its visual weight, making it feel lighter than it actually is.

In Oreka, balance is the central theme. A teak tabletop extends asymmetrically beyond its central axis, appearing almost as if it might tip. The visual tension is resolved by a sculpted wooden sphere that anchors the structure, while brass reinforcement ensures stability. The composition plays with balance and imbalance, something that shows up in nature and on a more cosmic scale, while also hinting at forms associated with the Shivling without being literal.

Another design, Piatto, looks at how landscapes can inspire furniture. Taking cues from terraced land and stepped terrain, the tabletop is made of layered surfaces. Stone and wood are shaped and arranged at different levels, so the surface resembles a small landscape. Creating this effect required close collaboration between stone cutters and wood carvers to ensure every layer aligned properly.

For complex forms, the designers use digitally guided milling, while the joinery and finishing are done by hand. The direction of the wood grain, the heft of stone, even how it subtly shifts over time, all shape the final form.

Shroom, a set of nested tables, borrows its form from mushrooms growing across a forest floor. At its centre is a pigmented concrete-based, texture with natural-looking fissures. From this stem rises a teak top arranged in a radial configuration that echoes sunburst grain patterns.

Designs like these blur the line between function and art. They’re made for everyday use, but still have a way of making you stop and look at them like a sculpture.