Our families were trucked out to the wild west coast this week for the Toyota Crate Furniture task. No, they weren't making furniture out of crates but they did have to make a piece of bespoke furniture, an artwork or decorative fitting from a box of mystery materials in either copper, timber or acrylic. 

Chris Johnston, industrial designer and this week's expert judge was after a "thoughtful piece that evoked a powerful response" and here were his tips...

Tip #1 Your material should have maximum impact
Tip #2 Design green with minimal environmental impact and make sure you're piece is desirable
Tip #3 Good design should be useful and enhance your home

The Pearces were hungry for a win this week and even though they were last to arrive at Murawai beach and left with the box the other teams were too scared to take they absolutely blitzed the challenge by creating a stylish and sturdy acrylic and wood chair. Their happy-go-lucky attitude and the way they all worked together on this week's task paid off and saw them win a $15,000 mystery prize which included some much needed cash plus a week of on-site man power from Our First Home series one winner Tom Schreuder. Ka pai Pearce family. 

Having taken the scenic route The Roughans were first to the beach and had their pick of materials. Deciding on copper, designer Steph chose to create a side table for their upstairs bedroom using off-cuts of timber as the table top (a very green design choice) with copper piping for the legs. It was touch and go as Pat and Steph bumped heads over the design but as Pat pointed out Steph's plans always work in the end. The funky side table was complimented by two copper bowls which were beaten into shape with a hammer - a good way to get some of that renovation frustration out!

A little concerned their mystery box would contain timber off-cuts from a building site (not something they were shy of at their place) The Wotton's were thrilled to uncover beautiful slabs of native totara to work with. In his handy-man element with this task Josh took the reigns and created an outside bar to be fixed to the house - a perfect prop to put a couple of cold beers on to bribe the judges!