Week 3 of "Ellen's Design Challenge" Season 2 saw the six remaining contestants in a battle over china. Not the country, but fine china plate settings. Their task, to come up with a dining table that will become the background for their tableware.
Sef Pinney, having won last week's outdoor challenge, had the first pick. He chose dishes with ornate, scrollwork patterns. He immediately envisioned a table with a surprise detail at the center: mirrored inset, reflecting a "hidden" damask carving underneath, similar to the plates' pattern. He and his partner craftsman Chip Wade used wood and custom-made metal brackets to add an industrial feel to his ornate design.
Miles Endo also came up with a "dining table with a surprise." After choosing plates with geometric patterns, Miles decided on a round wooden table with a gold trim. Its pièce de résistance: a hexagonal mechanical chamber at the center that can go up and down, and can store more dishes. Though the contestants only had three days, Miles was bent on making his mechanical system work.
Meanwhile, Kyle Huntoon picked ultra-feminine pink plates with delicate silver dots. He came up with a minimalist design in whitewashed wood to modernize the look. He incorporated metal rods in his dining to table to mirror the dots on his plates. On a side note, Kyle also got a new craftsman to work with this week, Matt Muenster from HGTV's "Bath Crashers."
Melissa River Torres' china had swirly patterns on them, and she decided to make a table that resembled the plates. Her design used dark wood for the table, with an embedded scrollwork pattern made of steel, along with curvy legs also made of steel.
Ready for another challenge today on Ellen's Design Challenge!! @hgtv @hgtvcanada @HGTVMag #EllenDesignOnHGTV pic.twitter.com/IjtLLZMf2W
— Melissa Rivera (@Unleashstudio) February 1, 2016
As for Vivian Beer, she chose a traditional, delicate set of china. Her final design featured curvy metal legs just like Melissa's. But she decided to paint the legs in white, matching the tabletop in lightwood. Lastly, Alexis Moran chose plates that she said inspired her to go on a vacation. Hence, she designed a coastal-style table with a checkerboard pattern. The result was a simple, minimalist piece.
Have you caught alumna Alexis Moran on Ellen's Design Challenge on @HGTV yet? https://t.co/yJstGVkmAa pic.twitter.com/skZgXitJRv — CA College of Arts (@CACollegeofArts) January 25, 2016
After three days in the workshop, the contestants faced judges Christiane Lemieux and Cliff Fong. Joining them was Wendy Goodman, design editor for the New York Magazine.
First up was Kyle's whitewashed table with metal "polka dot" rods. All three judges liked his idea, with Wendy even calling it "inviting" and "beautiful."
Vivian presented her white table using the word "classy" to describe it, but the judges did not seem to be convinced. Wendy called it to be sculptural, but not in an inviting way. Christiane liked the top, but felt that the legs looked like they're going to crawl off. Similarly, Melissa's table got the same reviews for its curvy metal legs.
Meanwhile, Miles was anxious to make his big reveal, and his "tablevator" worked, much to the judges' pleasant surprise. Wendy called it a "masterpiece of harmony." Cliff commented that Miles has set a high bar for the rest of the designers, and said he was willing to buy the piece right away.
Sef's hidden mirror surprise also get a nod from all three judges.
However, Alexis' simple checkerboard table was panned by the panel. Cliff said that her chosen china was lyrical but the table was not. The judges deemed her table as the most underwhelming, and Alexis was sent home.
Miles and Sef's wow-factor tables were the top picks for this week's win. In the end, Miles' mechanical surprise deservedly took home the crown.
Only five contestants remain and next week, they will be designing furniture inspired by different countries. World renowned designer Karim Rashid will be the guest judge.
"Ellen's Design Challenge" Season 2 "Ellen's Design Challenge" airs Mondays, 9 p.m. on HGTV.
