By Emma Taggart on July 15, 2020

“I truly believe that the best designs are found in nature.”

Nature is an endless source of inspiration for many artists and designers, many of whom reimagine natural forms and colors as part of their own work. Radhika Dhumal, a furniture and interior design student at India’s National Institute of Design, found inspiration from the insect world. Dhumal designed a coffee table–titled Elytra—that’s based on the form and movement of a beetle.

“The design of the table started out with a blank piece of paper and intensive scribbles and doodles,” Dhumal tells My Modern Met. “By the end of this process, one of the scribbles resembled the opening of the wings of a beetle.” The talented designer then began creating a “biomimetic and dynamic” table featuring two glass-inlay “wings” that can be opened out to expand its surface. This sleek feature cleverly mimics the movement of a real beetle that’s about to take flight.[…]

More: Beetle-Inspired Coffee Table Features Fold-Out “Wings”