Dipping into primal energies

Inspired by ancient crafts, a few designers are creating pieces of furniture that aim to rekindle our bond with nature's essential forces, discovers Sowmya Putran.

When modern life pulls us away from nature, these artful creations by some enterprising designers rekindle our bond with the earth’s essential forces. Through ancient crafts and inspired forms, each piece tells a story of life’s elemental energies, inviting us to experience art that is as tactile as it is meaningful.

Take the Panch Tattva table. It brings the five elements of nature to life through Koftgiri— an age-old Rajasthani silver-inlay craft. Joya Nandurdikar, the founding partner of an architecture firm, teamed up with artist Rahul Soni to create this unique piece. The table is made from concrete blended with Indian stone. It’s shaped into a circular base that supports five domes. Each dome stands for one of the five elements — earth, water, fire, air, and space — and is decorated with the rare Koftgiri technique.

Its companion, the Swarna Rekha chair, reflects the grandeur of royal thrones. It has a metal frame wrapped in white ash wood, and its arms, crafted in Koftgiri, appear to rise independently, making them look like swords propped beside a throne, referencing how the craft was originally used on sword hilts. Together, the table and chair represent the Circle of Life, symbolising how these elements exist individually but come together in harmony and balance.

Nature’s quiet bonds

Gobind Kapur, director of a furniture manufacturing company, found inspiration for the boat bench on one of his sailing trips. Watching the catamaran’s steady balance and the way it brought people together sparked the idea for a bench that captures that same strength and connection. Built around the visual language of chain links, the design speaks to how separate elements unite to form something strong and graceful. The bench’s composition echoes patterns seen in nature — branches weaving together, vines forming networks — and subtle visual cues that reinforce the idea of quiet support systems. “We wanted the textures and details to invite touch, to make people want to linger and feel the piece,” Kapur says. Warm oak brings a natural softness, while bronze-finished metal lends the piece timeless tones. The bench is a handmade blend of traditional woodworking and contemporary minimalism.

From forest to form

“In parts of Europe, some trees are nurtured with music, a practice believed to encourage healthy growth and bring out their natural character,” says Vrinda Kumari, creative director of a bespoke furniture company. This belief — that wood holds a life and story of its own — inspired her while designing the Tatami chair. Her focus was on letting the wood’s natural character shine through, with its open grain subtly visible beneath a satin matte finish. She paired it with leather to create a textured contrast.

Almost sculpted from a single piece of wood, and inspired by timeless Japanese design and the traditional Zaisu floor chair, this piece is designed without legs, resting directly on the floor to stay connected with the earth. Kumari’s instinct for such design grew during her time in Japan, where spaces felt minimal, open, and closely tied to nature — a feeling she wanted to carry into this chair. Its shape reflects that influence too, with soft, inverted U-shapes replacing sharp lines. At its heart, the Tatami chair is about connection to the wood and the earth beneath.

Geometry of nature

Swetha Vegesana, founder of an interior architecture firm, found her muse in the delicate beauty of a fox mat leaf drifting on the water. “At first glance, it looks fragile — but beneath the surface lies a powerful network of veins strong enough to hold a person’s weight,” she notes. That striking contrast between delicacy and strength is what inspired the Teratai centre table. The table is made up of several smaller units scattered and connected, just like the leaf’s natural web. Its legs stand at different heights, creating layers. Look closer and you’ll spot the hand-carved veins etched into the metal surface. The edges mimic the jagged, perforated look of real leaves, while the lathe-turned metal legs taper upward in a way that feels real.

Swetha’s Vana console draws from another natural marvel — the resilient tree fork, known for withstanding strong winds. Composed of three sections at varying heights, its layout evokes the feeling of looking through a dense forest canopy. When viewed at eye level, the gaps between branches resemble treetop openings. The copper surface is hammered, and the recycled aluminium branches are shaped from real tree limbs, showing the natural texture and little quirks of bark. Swetha calls this a “haptic narrative,” where texture tells a tactile story.

These pieces do more than just look good or serve a purpose. They bring nature’s hidden details — like the strength of trees and tiny patterns we miss — into everyday life. At the same time, they keep fading crafts alive. In a world that rarely pauses, creations like these nudge one to slow down, feel, and reconnect with the natural rhythms around us.