FAMILY PRACTICE...

From talent and ambition to culture and kindness, the Flurry family practices what they preach

Produced, directed, written and styled by Brian Patrick Flynn with photography by Sarah Dorio

Watch THIS. In my humble opinion, it’s the most finely-crafted movie trailer ever made, not to mention 2010′s most inspiring piece of creative work. Experiencing a great movie trailer, especially in the theater, makes me wanna bust through the doors, grab my bag of tricks and do something spectacular. To be able to convey a great story in only 90 seconds requires a meticulously-orchestrated arrangement of music, sound bytes and jaw-dropping imagery. A full-day lifestyle shoot in Athens, Ga. with the Flurry family felt just like that, getting a sneak peek at something, inspiring, profound and magical. Both Mom [Amy] and Dad [Alan] are kind human beings with professional accomplishments certain to impress even the stuffiest of Ivy League scholars. Kids, Ellis [son] and Camille [daughter], are both creative individuals who give the youth of America a good name. Basically, the Flurrys are the antithesis of those love-to-hate-’em family members we watch on Bravo; they’re entertaining, inspiring and heart-warmingly pleasant.

Amy is a freelance magazine writer, having served as a regional editor for Lucky. She has also contributed to Country Living, O, House Beautiful, Conde Nast Traveler, and InStyle. The haute momma is also co-founder of Paper-Cut-Project, a creative endeavor for which she and partner Nikki Salk conceive campaigns and styling elements in paper for fashion productions. Alan, an author and communications guy for the fine & performing arts at the University of Georgia, also writes a useful and informative blog, whatdoesgreenmean.net, which has an impressive niche following. For years, my photographer and I have worked with The Divine Mrs. F. on various local and national shelter magazines; since both Momma and Poppa Flurry loathe the spotlight, it took some sophisticated stalking on my part to bust through the front door with a camera. Once inside with an armful of flowers, tripods and reflectors, it was time to leave the keyboard typing and picture taking to us, tasking all four Flurrys with the assignment of simply being subjects. How did it turn out? Well, considering how many great moments and spaces there were to shoot that we skipped lunch and dinner so as not to miss an opportunity, I’d say pretty damn good. Not to mention, we’ve got so many stellar images that Camille and Ellis are getting their own awesome article on kickass kids’ rooms. Whoever said too much of a good thing was bad—is totally wrong.

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I CAN SEE CLAIRE-LY NOW...

A few days shy of moving out, design blogger Claire Watkins takes us inside her High Gloss Blue and green apartment

Produced, directed, styled and written by Brian Patrick Flynn with photography by Sarah Dorio

“Every time a friend succeeds, I die a little” – Gore Vidal. While I find writers quoting other writers highly irritating, I find designers competing with other designers to be ten times worse. Sure, this makes for great reality-competition-television which I LOVE, but in real life, can’t we all just get along?

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FAUX HOLIDAY...

Bringing Christmas morning to a TV studio in the middle of September

Produced, written and directed by Brian Patrick Flynn with photography by Christina Wedge

Nothing pisses me off more than seeing Christmas commercials on my TV before seeing trick-or-treaters at my front door. Well, actually, there’s dozens of things that piss me off even more, starting with sticks in a vase shoved in a corner, but you get the point. After eight years working both FOR and ON the small screen, I kinda get the Christmas-cart-before-the-Halloween-horse thing: Nothing personal, just business. When you’re in the middle of dealing with concepts and designs that have 30-day shelf lives, it all starts to make a little more sense. Designers, inventors and marketing gurus have a small window of opportunity to get seasonal items out there—and make them sell.

As freelance Associate Producer [Design & Decorating] for a long-running Saturday morning series, I was given the task of showcasing the hottest toys for December 25th—in mid-September. Yeah, kinda hard to get into the holiday spirit when [a] it’s 89 degrees outside [b] stoplights are the only things sporting the green and red combo [c] store employees have yet to become familiar with red-nosed-reindeer.

Thankfully, the not-yet-released toys were sent directly from the sponsor; however, showing them in Christmas morning context was the tricky part. My mission, and I chose to accept it, was to showcase these soon-to-be-all-the-rage toys in a fresh, modern holiday setting. But there’s more: The on-set environment called for a Christmas morning feel void of branded-and-licensed reindeer, copyright-protected snowmen and the uber-expected green/red color scheme. Oh and yeah, it all needed to go up in about two hours—including walls. From working with a microscopic budget to giving test-runs to battery-operated mice, I brought my photographer in to capture the insanity of morning show set dressing. Will this project impress the upscale, residential-design-loving Elle DECOR crowd? No. Will it give morning show TV lovers a new understanding of how much work goes into creating a two-minute segment on Dance Star Mickey Mouse, Singamajigs and Stride To Ride Dinosaurs. Well, it better. Otherwise, I’m clearly in the wrong business.

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AFTER SCHOOL SPECIAL...

Decor Demon takes a rundown Rhode Island teacher’s lounge from detention to head of the class

Produced, designed, written, directed and styled by Brian Patrick Flynn with photography by Sarah Dorio

In the mid-1990′s, my Mom worked as an elementary school teacher’s aide and would bring home one of her behaviorially challenged students for after school care. His name was Drew, he was a twin and he annoyed the hell out of me. Like clockwork, his Monday through Friday 2:53 pm arrival started with his Nintendo-obsessed laser eyes zooming in on a seldom-used GameBoy perched atop my meticulously styled bedside table. By 2:54pm, excessive bad kid Super Mario noise would penetrate my bedroom walls, disrupting my act of pretend-studying while actually listening to Jagged Little Pill and reading the “Stars: They’re Just Like Us!” section of People Magazine. Since Mrs. Flynn was, afterall, responsible for this gentle terror’s daily home invasion, I’d quickly throw the side eye her way as she’d zone out to Oprah over non-fat, sugar-free Jell-O with Cool Whip. That hour of what I used to consider maternal self-indulgence has new meaning after having worked a full week alongside teaching professionals in something inaccurately referred to as a “teachers’ lounge”. I’d probably call it an oversized mop closet. In fact, the only lounge-like thing about it was that it looked like it should have been CLOSED during the day.

This all came about when The Editor at Large requested my participation in a Staples-sponsored project aimed at re-designing teachers’ lounges throughout the Northeast. Five of them. Simultaneously. For free. So, of course, I said yes. Wait, whaaaa? Well…there were several reasons I rose to the challenge: [a] to kinda-sorta walk a day in Momma Patrick Flynn’s shoes [b] The Editor at Large has a pretty, orange website [c] give back to people like Momma Patrick Flynn who put up with other peoples’ brats all day for 2 cents an hour.

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ROOM SERVICE...

Designer Scott Laslie redefines “terms of service” with the launch of Found Market

Produced, written and directed by Brian Patrick Flynn with styling by Scott Laslie and photography by Sarah Dorio

Actress Geena Davis made a U-turn from the Hollywood Hills straight to becoming an Olympic archery hopeful. The Terminator tossed his Sarah Connor agenda out the window, then emerged as Governor of California. Kathy Ireland traded Sports Illustrated swimsuit editions for a billion dollar empire’s worth of lighting, carpet and bedding catalogs. As this star-studded trifecta demonstrates, when it comes to business practices, a change can do you good. Atlanta-based interior designer, Scott Laslie, is no exception to the rule.

Thanks to this go-fug-yourself, sink-or-swim economy, Mr. Laslie and business partner, Alex Guerrero, opted to completely re-evaluate the firm’s existing design services, then willingly brave the market with their own new joint venture. Just two short years ago, sprawling southern estates, sexy high-rises with sweeping views and high-dollar vacation homes were all part of Scott’s daily agenda. Nowadays, with most full-scale projects benched in purgatory, the designer is taking it one-room-at-a-time. Largely inspired by Betsy Burnham’s groundbreaking concept for Instant Space, Scotty beamed himself up in a similar direction but with a slightly different approach. Although, for now, Mr. Laslie’s reputable, scaled-back, full-service firm thrives in this identity crisis of an industry, he refuses to become design roadkill in the years to come. So what’s the difference between Scott’s firm and Found Market? While Scott Laslie Interior Design often implements the Scott Laslie aesthetic into client’s homes, Found Market, well, notsomuch.

Laslie and Guerrero are hell-bent on each Found Market space strongly resembling its client. Albeit a single room execution or a simple object hunt, each task is treated as its very own full-service design project. Example: imaginary businesswoman, Puffie van der Snuff, has a gorgeous living room sofa, heirloom rug and drapery fabric; however P-Snuff is [a] stumped on tables, lamps and accessories [b] indecisive in choosing a wall color. Found Market makes a beeline for budget-minded retail stores, trade-only design showrooms and discount outlets with a fan deck and snappy point-and-click in hand. Once the missing pieces to each decorating puzzle are found, Laslie painstakingly puts each and every one in place either himself [if the home is local to Atlanta] or via step-by-step, do-it-yourself plans [for out-of-towners]. NOTE TO SELF: hyphen-overload in previous sentence. To see Laslie’s new service in action, my photographer and I spent an afternoon with the designer himself along with his client, Leigh, and her two dogs, Luigi and Wayne Newton. The result? All design talk aside, when it comes to the creation of a niche business, Laslie and Guerrero have FOUND their MARKET.

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DESIGN WITH AN EDGE...

Jewelry designer Mark Edge adds a historic Atlanta bungalow to his portfolio of polished, one-of-a-kind gems

Produced, written, directed and styled by Brian Patrick Flynn with photography by Mali Azima

“If you can’t say something nice, come sit by me.” – Olympia Dukakis, Steel Magnolias. Decor Demon’s own mantra is somewhat similar; however, YOU is swapped with THEY in reference to thanks-but-no-thanks publications who’ve scouted, then passed up homes with unapologetic styles. So what if said publication ran out of room for you at their brand-specific table? Even more reason for you to, well, come sit by me. Much like co-star Shirley MacLaine’s red velvet armadillo cake, dark and eclectic interiors are often labeled too “edgy” or, in some cases, considered “too difficult to photograph”. ENTER Mark Edge, a jewelry-making man about town whose elegant, masculine home was passed up for national consideration when, dubiously, the only “edgy” thing about it is its owner’s last name. Mark’s stunning Midtown Atlanta project came Decor Demon’s way when our editor friend, Lisa Mowry, passed it along knowing its overall dark aesthetic would never fly with her affiliated brands. Two things [a] Lisa is pretty, tall and generous [b] finders keepers.

A soft-spoken, exquisitely dressed Southern gentlemen, the talented Mr. Edge purchased his dream home, a historic bungalow in Midtown Atlanta, with plans to reinvent it as a showstopper fit for a man’s man. Much like the raw stones in his jewelry design studio, Mark stripped all 4,000 square feet of house to the core before busting out the polish, then adding his magic touch. With some help from designer/friend Amy Wikman and her studio, Bjork Antikt, Mr. Edge would spend the next 18 months invading flea markets, estate sales and thrift stores in search of one-of-a-kind pieces from which to create something unique and easy-on-the-checkbook. Modern? Sure. Traditional? Hell yeah! Dark colors? Y-E-S. Photo shoot nightmare? Um, no. Like, not AT ALL. Two lighting kits, three buckets of flowers and one brilliant photographer later, the same home deemed too dark and edgy for others became an editorial gold mine for us.

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HOLLYWOOD ENDING...

How a collaboration between design and filmmaking dudes led to a budget-friendly Hollywood ending

Produced, designed, written and styled by Brian Patrick Flynn with live action direction by Eric DeFino and photography by Sarah Dorio

As an ambitious, Nintendo-obsessed young boy, my mother often preached “Make us proud by finding something you love to do, then get paid for doing it…just as long as it’s not appearance-based OR in show business.”. I am [a] an interior designer [b] a TV casting producer. FAIL.

Four design series, three well-decorated homes, two rescue dogs and one spread in O at Home Magazine later, Mommy Dearest snuck an amendment into her little mantra. Could this have anything to do with SonnyBoy’s access to furniture at wholesale prices, high-end rug remnants and steep media discounts? Perhaps. But I prefer to think it’s my five years treading the entertainment industry waters without a shark attack. This conclusion rings especially true since my father equates success with “how you triumph over adversity and conflict”; based on his collection of elk, hammerhead and sailfish taxidermy, the dude knows a thing or two about triumph. Regardless, by land or by sea, I’m doing TWO things which I absolutely love…and people give me money FOR doing them. WIN.

When a new production company waltzed into town seeking smoke-and-mirror magic for their creative lounge, my team made a beeline for the set faster than a fluffer to flacid talent. Although the writer/producers wanted something dramatically Hollywood, each envisioned a different use of the space. One person saw the lofty 24 x 18 as a sophisticated writer’s retreat while others saw it as a place to throw back Hennessy with hot chicks and clients. Soon thereafter, ideas and requests multiplied like Gremlins after midnight: a TV director needed graphic backdrops for shooting reality-style interviews, two laptop-clutching writers insisted on power outlets galore, sound engineers preferred the concrete floors NOT to echo, and the staff editor wished for a sofa on which to kick back and scan raw footage. For a bunch of dudes unsure of what they’d DO in the space, they surely agreed on what they’d SPEND on it—very, very little. FAIL.

As a fan of conducting business for the sake of, I dunno, MAKING MONEY, another gated community-caliber design on a community theater budget wasn’t too enticing. Suddenly, my imaginary lightbulb flickered. The Decor Demon team had been gearing up to shoot a series of web videos and, coincidentally, our prospective new clients own cameras, sound equipment, lights, cranes and editing software. Two dumpster dives, eight reupholstery jobs and five weeks later, cameras rolled on THEIR new space…and on OUR new series. WIN/WIN.

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WESTERN CIVILIZATION...

Thanks to stellar design skills and great parenting, all remains civil in the teen quarters of designer Betsy Burnham’s Los Angeles home

Produced, written and directed by Brian Patrick Flynn with styling by Burnham Design and photography by Sarah Dorio

Ever since my teenage brother stabbed me in the foot with a sharpened number two pencil, I’ve [a] hated him [b] avoided teenagers [c] used a keyboard. When my tortured tween sister was dealing with Floridian mean girls, I’d intervene at the bus stop—to disastrous results. At fourteen, I attempted karate moves in my own bedroom—resulting in my foot through a wall—hours after my mom had the sheetrock redone. During my senior year of high school, my “friends” disowned me claiming I was psycho for naming my Clownfish after their girlfriends. My point…and I do have one, is that dealing with teenagers is usually a nightmare—unless you’re Los Angeles designer Betsy Burnham.

The California-by-way-of-Connecticut fashionista invited us to photograph her latest work—the bedroom suites of son, Will, and daughter, Carson, at her family’s Hancock Park Mediterranean Revival. In two shakes of a lamb’s tail, my photographer and I were perched like eager puppies waiting for treats at Burnham’s back door. Both of us huge fans of her work, we jumped at the chance to see her team in action. While Carson made an after school appearance, Will, much like his stunning mother, preferred as much distance from the lens as possible. In true Los Angeles fashion, both the family AND their breezy abode were cool, calm and collected—not to mention insanely fit [says the guy sipping a glazed Christmas ham through a straw].

Not only were the teen rooms fresh, fun and practical, but like all Betsy Burnham creations, they were layered, worldly and effortlessly chic. High-end elements such as custom draperies were counterbalanced with checkbook-savvy West Elm purchases. Splurges on beds were justified by area rugs from IKEA and accessories from flea markets. After ten hours of shooting teen-related content, talking about inverted box pleats and chasing down gourmet sandwiches with red vines, I found myself pleasantly re-living the teenage experience…this time without Clownfish named Tina and Jennifer.

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BLONDE AMBITION...

Decor Demon brings some much needed glamour to FOX News reporter Stacey Elgin‘s home office with a medium size budget and ambitious timeline

Produced, designed, written, styled and directed by Brian Patrick Flynn with photography by Sarah Dorio

Finally! After five years designing homes, I’ve been able to use this sentence: “My client is in Spain with Cameron Diaz learning how to drive stunt cars so we’re gonna have to push the purple ceiling installation back two days until she’s done interviewing Tom Cruise, then stops by Austria.”. These words don’t stem from being delusional or obsessed with A-Listers or Scientology but rather from the fact that my new FOX News reporter client, Stacey Elgin, has the coolest day job in the galaxy. Referred to as The Road Warrior [in reference to her live, out-in-the-field morning news show of the same name], the stunning southern belle is tasked with assignments ranging from movie premieres and press junkets to American Idol finales and the latest and greatest in fashion and fitness. The well-spoken blonde bombshell hired my team to infuse glamour into her lackluster home studio. What the hell does a news reporter need a home studio for? Well, when this Road Warrior is off the road, she runs a website hocking high-end women’s workout gear and custom jewelry. The only sucky part of the project? Getting it all done in about a week. The un-sucky part? My client’s hands-off approach and super fun taste. Her three decorating must-haves? Pink, black and mirror. This situation can best be described as a designer’s wet dream.

While the girl on TV braved 100 mph loop-dee-loops around Spanish race car tracks with Golden Globe and Oscar nominees, my team braved 100% humidity-infused drives back and forth from Home Depot with trim color candidates. Although we aimed for Bergdorf caliber high fashion, the proposed budget was more of a fit for Dress Barn. Thanks to an amazing wallpaper website, we scored a Halston-esque 1970′s pattern for the walls without breaking the bank, then the rest fell into place. We saved on storage and seating, splurged on floors, trim and custom draperies, then went Wisteria wild for our finishing touches. At the tail end of the project, I realized one minor detail. I never ran this pretty in pink concept by Stacey’s blue-and-brown-loving man’s man of a husband.

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LOFT IN TRANSLATION...

How an energetic, six-foot-five designer translated his love of 1960′s cinema, space travel and farmhouses into the design of his downtown loft

Produced, designed, written, styled and directed by Brian Patrick Flynn with photography by Sarah Dorio

You know that old line “if you don’t have anything nice to say, paint your stuff green and move to a farm on Mars”? Neither do I. But if that actually was a saying, my downtown loft would be the root of its existence. At only 920 square feet, the former downtown Atlanta milk factory lent itself to an “anything goes” method of decorating. While at first this was a designer’s dream situation, too many options rendered me my own worst client. Making decisions for others? A total breeze. Making decisions for myself? A total bitch.

After an unfortunate situation involving a what-was-I-thinking shade of blue and silly rod-pocket drapery panels, I opted to start over. No trends. No neutrals. No being safe. No picture frames. No mirrors. There would be no inclusion of my beloved charcoal, blue-grey or orange. It was time to be totally experimental without asking for anyone else’s opinion. Should I mix space age and farmhouse styles? Well, of course! Pair kelly green and black-brown with ultra-white and Christmas red? Sounds neat! Invite David Hicks and Andy Warhol in to finish it all off? Yup. The outcome? My most loved, hated, talked about and publicized project to date. Apparently, giving the rules of decorating the middle finger works quite well.

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