HGTV’s Urban Oasis home in Indianapolis captures Broad Ripple’s vibe

HGTV’s Urban Oasis home in Broad Ripple isn’t what most Indianapolis-area residents would expect.

When you first see the home’s forest green exteriors, you might not guess it has bright mustard living room walls, contrasted by a crisp white fireplace.

Or when you stroll through the home’s main living spaces and soak in the blush tones, you might be taken aback by the 40-inch retro disco ball gracing the dining room.

And then there’s the drama in the guest bathroom, monochromatic black, from the tiles and floors to the bathtub.

See the photos: Here is this year’s ‘HGTV Urban Oasis’ home in Indianapolis

“The whole idea was to really capture that super carefree, happy, supportive vibe that you see in Broad Ripple,” said Brian Patrick Flynn, the Atlanta-based HGTV interior designer behind the house.

Each year, HGTV’s “Urban Oasis” contest gives away a remodeled, fully furnished home to one lucky winner, with the purpose of highlighting the “beauty and functionality of city living.” Previous locations have included Asheville, North Carolina, Minneapolis, Minnesota, and Portland, Maine. HGTV is accepting entries to win this year’s house until Nov. 22.

The home’s reconstruction and remodeling began in Dec. 2020, but Flynn truly immersed himself in Broad Ripple over the summer, spending about six weeks getting to know the area and playing “Queen’s Gambit.”

Looking for a new home? Enter ‘HGTV Urban Oasis’ sweepstakes to win an Indianapolis ‘cozy cottage’

That’s how the Flynn describes his creative process, akin to the Netflix show’s protagonist, Beth Harmon, and her imaginative chess strategizing — looking up at the ceiling and watching pieces on a chess board. For Flynn, interior designing a home can be just as three-dimensional and dream-like.

“You know, when all of a sudden her mind gets into that zone and you see the animation go in her brain? That is exactly how it works with me,” Flynn said. “I walk into a room, I immediately know where windows should be, where the door (should) be, where the light should access the room.”

He knew right away when he first walked into the Broad Ripple house last year that it should be more in the “funky world.”

He notes this last year “was not the best year,” so he wanted to do something fun and funky with the home, he says, turning to the “sexy modernism” of the late ’70s, early ’80s and ’90s.

“I just kept thinking about like, what would be hip and what would be young and what would be fun, that would fit like the millennials and the Gen Xers who live in the neighborhood,” Flynn said. “And also have a little bit of a nostalgic feel for people of my parents generation, the baby boomers, to be like ‘Oh, I remember that. I loved that.”

And while he is a fan of risky design choices and complex color schemes — he uses the analogy of the unused colors in his crayon box growing up — those bold creative decisions came with the potential homeowners and nearby community in mind.

“I try to think of things that would be cohesive to get together but would appeal to all different types of walks of life,” Flynn said, noting how the home’s bolder elements are balanced out with neutral, calmer aspects, including bleached white oak flooring and “very classic and simple” kitchen cabinetry.

Though the home is being highlighted on the national stage, there are Hoosier touches throughout, both in design elements and art.

Bespoke Construction, an Indianapolis-based company, led the remodeling of the home. Flynn commissioned Iron Timbers, a woodworking company in southern Indiana, to make a custom cocktail table for the back porch. A Carmel artist, Nathasa Rae, was hired to make warrior pen drawings near the dining area.

“I just thought of Broad Ripple as being super inclusive and also being something that just had like a really cool … almost like a sexy street vibe,” Flynn said. “I want people to walk into the house and see themselves entertaining friends there and also kind of pushing the envelope and feeling a little fashion forward.”

Contact Rashika Jaipuriar at rjaipuriar@gannett.com and follow her on Twitter @rashikajpr.