Just got back from Seattle doing an HGTV.com piece on one of the greatest, biggest holiday street shows in the country, Snowflake Lane at the Bellevue Collection in Washington state. For those of you not familiar with the area, Bellevue is to Seattle what Beverly Hills is to Los Angeles. They shut down an entire street every night between Thanksgiving and Christmas, for a spectacular, 20 minute show with drummers drumming, ladies dancing, lords a leaping, etc.  If that doesn’t put you in the Christmas spirit, nothing will.

I was able to chat with event founder Kemper Freeman, the man behind the Bellevue Collection, the very chic shopping, business and entertainment destination where Snowflake Lane takes place. Our interview was conducted in a holiday setting designed by John Hilscher of City Flowers, who is responsible for a lot of the holiday looks at the Collection itself, as well as in the homes of the Seattle area’s most prominent citizens–you know the types — Titans of tech and Seattle-based businesses. With clients like that, John has to stay on top of, if not set, the latest trends.

So what’s new and fresh when it comes to holiday decorating? Deep reds and forests greens have been done to death, so Hilscher is popping up his clients’ homes and businesses with lime (Grinch) green and fuchsia. Oh, and he’s adding blue in there as well — not the traditional midnight color, but a bright turquoise! You have to admit, it does look festive. Who woulda thunk? He’s also into whimsey big time, inserting surprises like Christmas pigs into settings with more traditional polar bears and penguins. I admit to picking up a few delightful decorations for myself and friends in his shop–I mean, how often do you find reindeer in stilettos to hang on your tree?

You can see more of Hilsher’s designs in my feature on HGTV.com, where you can also read my exclusive piece on Snowflake Lane. And let me know what you think of these bold color combos. Happy holidays!