What’s a cage without a bird? Interior decoration, it seems. A range of recent products has reinvented the delicate ribs of the classic birdcage to create furniture, lighting installations and architecture.

Turkey-based design group Autoban has come out with the Nest Armchair. With a high back that arches overhead, its form takes inspiration from the shape of the traditional domestic aviary.

Meanwhile, Publique Living has created a line of disposable pop-up placemats called Popmats, which include silhouettes of commonplace objects such as a mailbox by a fence. One popular model is a birdcage on a pedestal – a perfect spot on your dining table to place a name card.

For a dining experience that really takes flight, The Yellow Treehouse restaurant in New Zealand lets the diner become the bird. A large-scale cage has been constructed in a tree; perching 40ft high and 30ft wide, it can house up to 18 guests.

Designers Caterina Moretti and Hector Mendoza, in a collaboration for the Mexican firm Peca, have produced a lighting collection crafted from plywood to resemble birdcages (pictured above). Available for online purchase, the pieces arrive in a flat-pack box. But don’t be put off by the DIY – they come to life once constructed, casting unique shadows.