A Brian Patrick Flynn Christmas

Few are more clever or creative than my friend Brian Patrick Flynn—aka Décor Demon. As I have mentioned before, Brian has a high-energy style and wicked sense of humor that is second to none—qualities that always come across in his writings and photos.

So, when Brian sent me an email account of his holiday decorating, I could not resist sharing our conversation. Hopefully it will serve as inspiration should you need any at this stage in the holiday game!

Brian Wrote:
"Although I'm a quasi-professional decorator, my own home is often neglected when it comes to seasonal decor. The idea of conceptualizing something with a shelf life of 30 days seems like more work than it's worth; however, I'll get in the yuletide spirit when designing holiday looks for others---if cold, hard, Christmas cash is involved. Otherwise, prying me off the sofa from Real Housewives marathons to stick a glittery star made of Styrofoam on a plastic tree ain't gonna happen.

Or at least that's what I thought. This year, a few days after Thanksgiving, I woke up early with the urge to produce and star in my own Christmas challenge---the audience being my dogs and my significant other. Could I conceptualize, then execute an outside-the-box holiday aesthetic void of green, red, silver and yellow-gold in just a few hours, shopping only for discount sale items at mega-retailers such as Target? Um, maybe? Four hours and 12 boxes of violet accessories later, I was out the door and back again.

By 5:30pm, everything was in place. For under $225, I'd put together a violet, brown, bronze and white wonderland made up of budget-friendly items ranging from a $39 white Christmas tree to $.99 ornaments. Sure, I pulled it off but the Ebenezer Scrooge in me can't help focusing on the fact that it all has to be taken down, packed up and put away in just a few weeks. Bah Humbug."

Despite Brian's Bah Humbug approach (I lean more toward the Clark Griswold school of Christmas)...I still think he is the bee's knees.

For more photos visit HGTV.com's Design Happens and for the perfect ‘brown’ accompaniment, Brian suggests a Southern Living recipe for Hot Chocolate With Almond Liqueur.