Melissa Rivera Torres, a furniture designer and business owner born and raised in Mexico, describes her style as modern industrial. She now lives in Pleasant Hill, Calif. She says she loves to use bold colors and fun materials that allow her pieces stand out and make people smile. Melissa says she enjoys working with stainless steel, wood, PVC, acrylic and aluminum and isn’t afraid to try unconventional ideas — she once transformed a 28,000-square-foot warehouse into the stage for Hawaii’s first ever Fashion Month.
Melissa + Steve
Steve Zimpel, a carpenter from HGTV's series The Outdoor Room, will work to bring Melissa's designs to reality.
Challenge 4: International Inspiration
For the series' fourth challenge, Ellen asked the designers to create a space inspired by travel. Melissa's destination du jour? France.
Challenge 4: Melissa's Design
When thinking of France, Melissa's mind went straight to fashion icon Coco Chanel. From there, she decided to create a vanity as chic as one of the fashion designer's sleek dresses.
Channel 4: Melissa's Finished Design
Black, white and pink, like the colors in a classic Chanel suit, the vanity features ornate nailhead detailing and an upholstered bench, as well as three-sided mirror.
Challenge 4: The Judges' Take
While the judges' appreciated the piece's fine detail work, they felt the piece would be more at home in a teen's bedroom than in a modern furniture design competition.
Challenge 3: China-Inspired Design
For the show's third challenge, Melissa and Steve created a dining table inspired by a bone china pattern. Their design features scroll-work fabricated on a plasma cuter, along with curvy metal legs.
Challenge 3: Melissa's Finished Design
Melissa's table takes the stage in the Ellen's Design Challenge studio.
Challenge 3: Tabletop Inspiration
A tabletop view of the scrollwork on Melissa's table, set with the china pattern that inspired it all.
Challenge 3: Curvy Details
A closeup of the metal legs on Melissa's dining table, custom-made with a plasma cutter.
Challenge 3: The Judges' Take
Judges Cliff Fong, Christiane Lemieux and guest judge Wendy Goodman get a close-up look at the table by Melissa and Steve.
Challenge 2: Melissa's Outdoor Design
In challenge two, each designer is tasked with creating a piece for a different part of the backyard. What's an outdoor space without a swing? Melissa decides on a grown-up take on a tire swing, as seen in her sketch here.
Challenge 2: Catching Some Air
Melissa uses an air hose to blow carpenter Steve Zimpel's hair while they create the wooden shell of her tire swing-inspired design.
Challenge 2: Rolling Design
Rings of wood covered with wood veneer make up the shell of this design.
Challenge 2: The Finished Swing
Melissa's whimsical take on a tire swing is complete and ready for judging.
Challenge 2: Geometric Detail
A triangular, raised design in bright yellow mimics the tire treads on a traditional tire swing.
Challenge 2: The Judges' Take
Despite some minor issues with the comfort of the swing, judge Cliff Fong was a fan of this design. "If I looked in my backyard and saw that every day I would be very happy," he said during judging.
Challenge 2: Thumbs Up, Way Up
Melissa gives a thumbs up while sitting on her modern take on a tire swing.
Challenge 1: Cloud-Inspired Design
Who wouldn't want to sleep on a cloud? Melissa's vision for the Ellen's Design Challenge bed episode is a bubbly, upholstered bed that makes the occupant feel like they're floating on air. Here, Melissa and Steve work on the bed's frame.
Challenge 1: Melissa's Bed
The finished bed, upholstered in white leather, takes the Ellen's Design Challenge stage.
Challenge 1: Judge-Tested
Judge Christiane Lemineux tries out Melissa's bed. The judges think it has some scale issues: With Lemineux's petite stature, she would need a step-ladder to get into bed.
