We were lucky to catch up with Brian Patrick Flynn recently and have shared our conversation below.
Brian Patrick, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Earning a full time living from one’s creative career can be incredibly difficult. Have you been able to do so and if so, can you share some of the key parts of your journey and any important advice or lessons that might help creatives who haven’t been able to yet?
Interior design was, like, NEVER supposed to be part of the equation. I’m a huge independent film fan, and I planned on becoming either a cinematic art director or a live action film director, and I even went to film school in South Florida {for film & TV} to chase that passion and turn it into a career. To pay tuition circa 2001-2003, I would grab curbside furniture neighbors were throwing out, watch Bob Vila on TV and learn how to strip and refinish wood, then sell all the transformed pieces at month yard sales. Prior to graduation I was offered a job as the art direction assistant on a home remodeling show, took it, and I learned everything I needed to know about designing for the camera. Job offers kept coming both as a producer for design shows and also a behind the scenes set decorator for commercials and print ads, and then KAZAM! some of the bosses noticed my passion and asked if I would take a stab at rooms in their own homes. I said yes, and the third one ended up getting published in three different magazines in one year, and I just knew interior design, both residential and for production, was what I was meant to do. My only regret is not having taken any try illustration classes and learning how to draw plans and render rooms properly.
Brian Patrick, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
I’m an interior designer who specializes in both private residential projects as well as production design which means I am hired to design spaces, interior and exterior, to look super homey and comfortable and/or jaw dropping and unforgettable for TV, film, print and/or advertising. More or less I get hired to make a set feel more like an actual lived-in, high-end home that evokes some sort of emotion or mood. In the residential world, most clients hire me to bring their personalities out in every room while also injecting an unexpected use of color or pattern. I think what sets me apart from others is how loose I keep my design plans. They’re set to something I call the 70/30 rule in which 70% of the design is set in stone and meticulously thought out, and the other 30% is left loose so I can have some wiggle room to adjust things as needed so a room feels balanced, warm, lived-in and not too serious. I think I’m most proud of my show on Magnolia Network, Mind for Design, which follows my career and my team around our projects in Atlanta. My design firm is FlynnsideOut and I’ve set it up so that almost everyone who works with me understands how to work on private residential interiors in which no production is involved at all, but conversely everyone also knows how to work on projects that are going to be filmed with dozens of crew members around for weeks on end. I would say 80% of my projects end with myself and my two lead interiors photographers/friends, Robert Peterson who lives here in Atlanta, and Joey Bradshaw who drives down from Nashville where he’s based. The photography part is the most important aspect of my career. Without spectacular imagery, I don’t have anything to show for all of my team’s hardworking and my clients’ patience.
Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?
Wanna hear the worst situation in which to start an interior design business, EVER? February of 2009, in the beginning of a massive economic downturn. Me, yep, that’s when I took the leap from TV producer to full-time interior designer. I’m completely self-taught too, so that made it all more frightening. But here’s the cool thing, the terrible timing made me pivot and get even more resourceful. I’d spent tens of thousands of dollars having all of my work, even low-end DIY content, professionally photographed for the sake of pitching my work to magazines. And in 2009, home and garden magazines were shuttering by the week due to the housing crisis. The high-end magazines found my DIY stuff too lowbrow; the more attainable design-based publications found my work too bold or “hipster”, and since I was new, I didn’t really have houses with spectacular enough architecture to land me in the big-time shelter publications. But…this was when the digital world of interior design was born. So I took all of my photography, started a blog that was super honest about my complete lack of formal training, what I would have done different in each space and why, and also used the blog to show people how I would mix super affordable things with much higher ones for the perfect high-low mix. It worked. People loved its honesty and I caught the attention of some folks at HGTV who brought me on to do exactly what I was doing both for their website and also a producer on a reality-competition show. Soon thereafter, Robert Peterson who was a wedding photographer and personal trainer back, came on board with me to learn the ropes of interiors photography. Both of us being super scrappy and also obsessed with efficiency, we started shooting projects almost everywhere, from Atlanta to Seattle, The Hamptons to Norway, and from Iceland to Patagonia, knocking out killer imagery and really unique styling…at lightning speed. We’ve been shooting projects for HGTV and Magnolia Network non-stop ever since. He’s even part of the cast on my show, Mind for Design.
We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?
The biggest lesson I learned as an interior designer and a small business owner is that comparison is the thief of joy and therefore NEVER, under any circumstance, compare your work or your place in life to anyone else’s. It’s apples and oranges and a complete waste of energy and only causes insecurities to thrive and creativity to suffer. When I scroll through social media and see a fellow designer-friend land the cover of House Beautiful or Elle DECOR, I’m absolutely thrilled for them and I always keep in mind there is enough room for all of us, and we should celebrate each others’ wins and lift each other up. Just because someone has hit a massive benchmark does not mean that it’s been taken away from the rest of us; it’s just a matter of time until everyone is lifted up and has great things happen to one another by working hard, staying true to themselves, and authentically supporting one another. When you seen someone you look up to score a great endorsement deal or put out a new book, just think of how it’s possible for all of us, and be happy, excited and proud for them. Karma, dude, karma!
Contact Info:
- Website: www.flynnsideout.com
- Instagram: @bpatrickflynn
Image Credits
Portrait Zeke Ruelas @zekeruelas White Stairwell Wall Robert Peterson @rusticwhiteinteriors Technicolor Backsplash Kitchen Robert Peterson @rusticwhiteinteriors Black Cabin Exterior Robert Peterson @rusticwhiteinteriors Moody Brown and Mustard Room Robert Peterson @rusticwhiteinteriors Aqua Bedroom with Wallpaper Ceiling Robert Peterson @rusticwhiteinteriors Walnut bookcase wall Joseph Bradshaw @josephgbradshaw Yellow chair breakfast nook Joseph Bradshaw @josephgbradshaw