Designer Turns Manhole Covers Into Stunning Furniture

When Anurag Bhandari left his family business in 2017, he had little money but an abundance of discarded materials lying around his farmhouse. The 38-year-old designer saw opportunity where others saw junk.

Fallen trees, broken chairs, old cupboards, and TMT steel bars cluttered a spare room on his property. Instead of hauling it all to a landfill, Anurag decided to turn these forgotten pieces into handcrafted furniture through his studio, Ek Kalakaar Designs.

His first creation was a bench crafted from discarded wood and supported by a wooden trunk. Months of experimentation and feedback from friends helped him refine the raw design into something polished enough to sell.

Today, Anurag visits scrap markets most weekends, sourcing metal corrugated sheets, plastic pipes, old tires, and construction byproducts. He leaves wood in its natural state, even preserving termite damage as part of the artistic character.

Without formal interior design training, Anurag doesn't follow trends. "I make things from my heart," he says, creating pieces with strong stories behind each design.

When he launched online in 2019, customers responded enthusiastically. The pandemic gave him even more time to perfect his craft, spending hours in his studio developing timeless pieces that elevate home aesthetics.

The Ripple Effect

Anurag's approach tackles two problems at once. He diverts waste from landfills while creating affordable, unique furniture that doesn't require harvesting new trees or manufacturing new materials.

Each piece carries the history of its previous life, whether as a manhole cover or a fallen tree. His work proves that sustainability doesn't mean sacrificing style or settling for less.

The designer describes his creations as "flawed and fabulous," embracing imperfections as beauty. What others discard becomes functional art in homes across India.

Anurag's journey shows that sometimes getting pushed out of your comfort zone leads you exactly where you belong.