a bug-inspired coffee table

By the frankie team

26 August 2021

Nature is pretty clever, which is why it’s often credited with inspiring the brainwaves of engineers and designers (like Leonardo da Vinci and his bird-influenced flying machines). When furniture designer Radhika Dhumal was mulling over ideas for a table, she realised her doodles looked a lot like the humble beetle – a good thing in our books, and presumably hers, too, because she decided to go all in with the concept. Her completed design has glass inlay wings that fold in and out, much like that of a flying bug. Radhika even called her finished project the Elytra, after the hard exterior casing that protects insect wings. While you can’t buy the Elytra (yet), you can follow Radhika’s ongoing design work on Instagram.