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Ellen's Design Challenge Season Two: See McKenzie Gibson's Designs

See the furniture pieces dreamed up by designer McKenzie Gibson, a graduate student at Rhode Island School of Design, and carpenter Brooks Utley.

Photo By: Michael Larsen

Photo By: Ejen Chuang / AP Images

Photo By: Ejen Chuang / AP Images

Photo By: Ejen Chuang / AP Images

Photo By: Ejen Chuang / AP Images

Photo By: Chris Tsambis

Meet McKenzie Gibson

McKenzie is a furniture designer from Providence, R.I. She describes her design style as avant-garde and does not limit herself to traditional furniture norms.  Her work has been described as very playful and McKenzie says she wants people to touch and interact with her designs. In addition to working with woods and metals, she says she loves to incorporate various types of rope into her designs.

McKenzie + Brooks

Ellen's Design Challenge alum carpenter Brooks Utley is partnered with McKenzie for the first challenge: Create a signature bed. 

Lotus-Inspired Creation

Inspired by the free-form petals of a lotus flower, McKenzie and Brooks add painted elements to the "petals." 

Challenge 1: McKenzie's Bed

Here, the finished bed features a statement headboard filled with petals, accented by a simple frame and footboard. 

Challenge 1: Headboard Detail

To create the petals, Brooks cut petal-shaped pieces from one large board. Then, the team carved out the pieces to create a textured look. McKenzie finished the design with painted details. 

Goodbye, McKenzie

The judges thought McKenzie's premiere effort wasn't enough to keep her in the competition, so she was sent home after the show's season two opener. Here, she says goodbye to her fellow contestants. 

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