Furniture From Mushrooms? Meet the Couple Turning Waste Into Pieces That Can Return to Soil in 180 Days

In a sunlit apartment in Mumbai, a sleek console table sits quietly against the wall. At first glance, it seems like any other contemporary piece of furniture — minimal, elegant, functional. 

But look closer, and you realise the base isn’t wood, stone, or metal. It’s made from mushrooms!

For Huzefa Rangwala, co-founder of Mumbai-based ‘MuseLAB’, a design practice specialising in luxury spaces, this felt more than just a furniture purchase.

“We bought two consoles for a client project in Mumbai,” says the architect. “They’re lightweight, easy to move, and functional without overpowering the space. The base is made of mushroom columns, while the top is wood, so it’s both familiar and experimental.”

Huzefa, whose practice often works at the intersection of design and sustainability, was intrigued when he first heard of mycelium-based furniture.

Furniture that ‘grows’

Mycelium, the root network of fungi, has long been studied as a material with remarkable potential. Globally, it has been used in packaging and textiles. But in India, its application in furniture is still rare.

“At first, mushroom furniture sounds unusual,” he admits. “But the design industry contributes significantly to global warming. So, whenever fellow designers work with circular materials, I believe it’s important to support them. What convinced me was the honesty in material innovation,” he says.

His clients, too, were intrigued. “Not everyone is immediately forthcoming, but sustainable design is now a conscious choice,” he explains. “Like slow fashion, sustainable furniture is becoming a movement. Some clients appreciate the raw, wabi-sabi aesthetic, while others need time to adapt. But for those who value circular design, it’s meaningful.”

The furniture, he notes, is surprisingly durable. “It is capable of supporting body weight up to 70–80 kg. If the same piece were cast in concrete, it would be extremely heavy. This is one-tenth the weight yet strong,” he says.

For Huzefa, mushroom furniture goes beyond aesthetics or functionality, it creates a sense of community. “Supporting such innovation helps us collectively move toward sustainable futures. Designing a material is more impactful than designing a style. That’s why this excites me.”

The designers behind these mushroom consoles are Bhakti Loonawat and Suyash Sawant, founders of ‘Anomalia’, a Mumbai-based practice that is quite literally “growing” furniture.

Turning mushrooms into a material of the future

Bhakti and Suyash’s story begins in 2010, at an architecture school in Mumbai, where they first met. After graduating in 2015, they both pursued advanced studies at the Institute for Advanced Architecture of Catalonia (IAAC) in Barcelona.

Their paths diverged briefly, with Bhakti working with the Spanish architect Ricardo Bofill, and Suyash practising in Lisbon, before converging again in 2022 when they returned home to Mumbai. That September, the couple launched Anomalia.

What united them was a shared discomfort with the enormous waste generated by the construction and design industries. “We were always conscious of reducing waste and reusing materials,” Bhakti recalls. “Mycelium’s regenerative, circular nature aligned with our vision. It serves its purpose and then biodegrades instead of ending up in landfills.”

Their first experiments were humble.

During the pandemic, confined to their home, they grew mushrooms in cupcake trays. “That’s when we realised how lightweight yet strong the material could be,” Suyash says.

From there, they graduated to experimenting with bricks, partitions, textiles, and eventually, furniture.

Building blocks of change

At Anomalia, the couple does not construct furniture but grows it. Their first collection, ‘Grown Not Built’, uses modular “microblocks” made from agricultural waste bound with mycelium. Each block weighs just 1.5 kg but can withstand 1.5 tons of compressive load. These blocks can be assembled into stools, tables, shelves, or partitions.

The second line, ‘MycoLiving’, explores mycelium textiles as vegan alternatives to leather. Thin sheets of mycelium grown in “overgrowth stages” are peeled, processed, and used for seating and upholstery.

“The beauty of this material is that it’s both strong and circular,” says Bhakti. “Most furniture ends up in landfills after 10 to 12 years. Ours can safely return to the soil within 180 days.”

To improve durability, the couple bakes or sun-dries the grown blocks, rendering the mycelium inactive and structurally sound. For outdoor use, they apply natural coatings like beeswax or lime plaster.

From Mumbai to Venice and Seoul

When Bhakti and Suyash launched Anomalia in 2022, they could not have imagined how quickly their fungi-based experiments would travel the world. Within just three years, their work found a place at the Venice Biennale in 2025, one of the most prestigious platforms for design.

In Seoul, they went a step further — presenting a striking 4m x 2.4m mycelium facade that showed the material could stretch beyond furniture and enter the realm of architecture. The response, they recall, gave them confidence that their vision could scale globally.

Back in India, the interest is smaller but steady. They have sold six to seven furniture units so far, nearly 100 blocks in total, across Mumbai and Surat. Each piece is made to order. “We want to keep production exclusive and consciously scaled, not mass-produced,” Suyash emphasises.

For now, they partner with MYCL in Indonesia, one of the world’s largest producers of mycelium materials. At the same time, they continue to test local facilities with the hope of setting up manufacturing in India. For them, each collaboration is a step closer to making mushroom-based materials part of everyday life here.

From crop waste to craft

At a time when the global furniture industry is dominated by mass-produced MDF (medium-density fibreboard), laminates, and plastics, mushroom furniture offers a radical alternative.

“It’s biodegradable, strong, and made from crop waste,” Bhakti explains. “Farmers often burn agricultural residues, worsening air pollution. Instead, we repurpose that waste into something valuable. It’s a win-win.”

Anomalia’s approach also blends familiarity with innovation. Many of their designs combine mycelium bases with wood or metal tops, making the furniture both practical and elegant. “We don’t want it to look like ‘eco furniture’. We want it to look elegant and timeless,” Bhakti says.

Globally, mycelium is no longer seen as an experiment but as a serious material of the future. In fashion, luxury houses such as Stella McCartney have already introduced mycelium leather. Automakers are exploring it for seating, and companies like Ecovative are proving its commercial value in packaging.

For Bhakti and Suyash, the most immediate opportunity lies in furniture — an industry they believe is ready for circular alternatives in India.

The challenges of working with fungi

Working with a living material has its hurdles. Contamination during growth is common, which sometimes forces them to discard entire blocks. Moisture is another limitation, and untreated mycelium doesn’t perform well outdoors.

“Designing with mycelium is not like clay or cement. You’re not in complete control,” Suyash explains. “You need to account for airflow, shrinkage, and growth patterns. It’s part science, part patience.”

Financially, too, the journey has been demanding. The couple invested personal savings and relied on fellowships and grants like Godrej’s to scale. Their architectural practice also supports the research arm. “We’re bootstrapped, but we want to grow consciously,” says Suyash.

A movement beyond furniture

For Anomalia, the goal is not only to sell furniture but to shift mindsets. “We don’t want viral products,” Bhakti says. “We want a grounded approach that engages farmers, reduces waste, and makes materials accessible.”

For Bhakti and Suyash, mushrooms hold the blueprint for tomorrow. Already, their vision stretches beyond interiors. They dream of growing an entire house from walls, roofs, to partitions made entirely of mycelium. 

“We dream of growing an entire house from fungi. “That would prove its structural potential,” Suyash says.

They hold a simple yet radical belief: materials should live their purpose and then return to the soil. As they put it, sustainability begins at home — in what we choose to use and what we choose to grow.

Edited by Khushi Arora; all images courtesy: Anomalia