If everything around us is striving for new clothes, new telephones, new restaurants drives forward when the selection of the old feels a little subversive. This is exactly what Jordan Slocum and Barry Bordelon (also known as the Brownstone Jungen) drives a design career for the renovating ideas for New York historical houses, DROADBOARDS by Crakeny Drodardboard.
Her own Bed-Stuy Brownstone, which was built in the 1890s, was the beginning: three floors full of quirks, water damage and charm. Like most old owners, they quickly learned that the protective character contains a steep learning curve-and often equally steep repair calculations. But instead of wiping the slate cleanly, they leaned and found out how to navigate wobbling layouts, save historical materials and hug ideas for old house decoration that celebrate the original soul of the house.
It is a balancing act that you have mastered. Since the beginning of your restoration trip in 2018, you have had a temporal-sensitive design language that is both timeless and timelessly-no stuffy, quiet hike of an earlier life. From ERA-based color pallets to cooperation with Nustory (which somehow looks like it always exists), Jordan and Barry developed a toolkit so that houses have rooted in person, character and rooted in the place.
(Photo credit: Brownstone Boys)
Homes & Gardens in conversation with the Brownstone Boys to restore soul and style
Here we talk to the duo about restoring historical houses with integrity, realizing the soul into old and new rooms, and the essentials on which they have learned to swear on the way.
Houses & gardens: Why historical houses? What made you restore historical Brownstones for the first time?
Jordan & Barry: For us it started with our own Brownstone. What pulled us into history was the story that the house already told; Every creak in the planks, every piece of plaster work felt like a connection to the past. We love the idea that we are only the current caretaker of something much larger than we are. After we started peeling back and uncovering original details, we were addicted. There is nothing better than bringing these details back to life.
(Photo credit: Browstone Boys)
Homes & Gardens: If you are working on these projects, what are the challenges of which you are standing? Is it revised tricky layouts, the procurement of timelines or the navigation of logistics in a dense, busy city? Can you lead us through the realities of these challenges in a typical project?
Jordan & Barry: Historical houses are full of surprises. Layouts do not always go with modern decoration ideas. It is always a challenge to find out how to open a room without losing the character. Materials can also be difficult. Sometimes it takes weeks for the rescue stations or vintage shops to be sought to find the correct agreement. Working in the city is not an easy task! But these challenges are part of what makes every project so rewarding. The more difficult the work is, the more special it feels when everything comes together.
(Photo credit: Brownstone Boys)
Homes & Gardens: For homeowners with a more professional, historical layout, how they advise to make rooms easier and more open – – Without necessarily carrying out a full renovation?
Jordan & Barry: We tell the home owners, they should just start: refresh the color palette, exchange heavy window treatments for beer or linen and play with mirrors to jump around natural light. Layered Lighting ideas are another game channel. Even playing with furniture to create clear lines of vision can feel more easily and at the same time keep its character intact.
Houses & gardens: Which design styles, color palettes or materials usually play best with original wooden details?
Jordan & Barry: Wood should be the star. We love to combine it with soft, subdued pallets -think of creamy white, sage greens and earthy tone -that highlight the wealth of the grain. Natural stone, non -sociable brass and structured materials such as linen or wool also work beautiful. It is about balance to have the wood anchoring the room while everything else is adding instead of competing with it.
(Photo credit: Brownstone Boys)
Homes & Gardens: Which seven specific products or tools that are lucky enough to own a historical house do you recommend keeping its charm? Please let me know why everyone works so well in famous rooms.
Jordan & Barry:
1. Wood spots remover
Why we love it: Years of color or damage can hide the beauty of the original wood. Benco is our stripper for the industrial stripper for professional jobs, while Ecostrip is a safer DIY-friendly option for coat, doors or furniture.
2. Sutherland Welles Möbelwachs
Why we love it: This brand has an incredible product range that help to protect and improve natural wood. Their stains and refinement growth bring depth, heat and long-lasting protective perfection to preserve the original floors and furniture.
3. Hardware
Why we love it: The details make the difference in historical houses. We draw timeless pieces from rejuvenation and dear art & forge's Williamsburg line. For something with true character, vintage hardware on eBay or Etsy is unbeatable.
4 .. Orac decorative molded parts
Why we love it: The light resin form parts from Orac are a brilliant replacement if the original plaster crown is not repaired. They are easy to install, durable and deliver this period-authentic charm.
(Photo credit: Brownstone Boys)
Jordan & Barry [continued]:
5. LimeBash Paint
Why we love it: Portolas Limewash colors create depth and texture that flat color simply cannot replicate. Their earthy colors feel timeless and work particularly well in old houses where walls earn a soft, natural finish.
6. Cool covers
Why we love it: Radiators are functional, but they don't always add beauty. We often design custom covers, but we are also happy to search for artistic vintage vintage on Ebay or Liveauctioneers, which immediately raise a room.
7. Relief architectural pieces
Why we love it: Nothing brings the soul back into a room like salvation. We are often old iron rescue and demolition depot, but we also find treasures for Ebay, Etsy and even the Facebook marketplace. Coats, doors and lights can add all authentic history to a home.
Homes & Gardens: What is the number one error that you see in the renovation or decoration of a historical house? What should you avoid?
Jordan & Barry: Avoid tearing out original details. We saw beautiful woodwork, fireplace ideas and gypsum strips on behalf of the modernization. Our biggest advice is to slow down. Live in the room, understand what makes it special, and then design it. You will almost always regret removing the things that give the home your soul.
(Photo credit: Brownstone Boys)
Homes & Gardens: There are elements or details to which you keep returning in your own projects – – Little 'brownstone boys signatures' that the readers could recognize when they look closely?
Jordan & Barry: We love to emphasize the original architecture, regardless of whether this restored a ceiling medallion, released bricks or keeps a chimney coat intact. You will also see how we use patterned tiles in entries or bathrooms, add customs that look like they belong and mix a few vintage lights. These details make a room rooted in its history and are still practical for our living today.
Houses & gardens: If you integrate modern elements into a historical home, what is your approach that you feel intended? Are there any trends that you currently love for 2025 that work particularly well in older rooms?
Jordan & Barry: Our rule of thumb is to leave modern elements like a conversation with the old one as a replacement. If we design a slim kitchen, we will warm it up with hardware, the patinas or a marble that feels timeless. For 2025 we are dressed by curved furniture, warm bronze surfaces and brave natural stone. They all feel fresh, but still at home in older rooms. It is about creating layers that respect the past and at the same time make the home worth living for the present.
Our wish list from Brownstone Boys-Inspirted pieces
rejuvenation
Wildwood single hooks
Thanks to its complicated four-leaf silhouette, a single Wildwood hook from the rejuvenation makes an oversized statement that is cast out of a hand-carved wooden shape and inspired by the handicraft movement from the middle of the 19th century.
Cobilboutics
Luxury cooling cover on measurement
A custom cooler cover sounds like a pleasure, but Etsy manufacturers can often deliver less than they think. This has an antique style on the front and a flat top, which serves as a display edge for a gilded frame or a tiny object that they wanted to present.
anthropology
The Eloise-Jakobschachel-MilchGlas Halfblus-Blücke light
Anthropology's Eloise Flush Mount is not afraid of his vintage references. The increased acanthus detail, frosted glass shadow and oiled brass finish could have been pulled out of an old Parisian apartment, but feels unexpectedly in a hallway or a kitchen.
Orac decor
Printed white polyurethan formation with high density, 10 “x 7.25” x 78.75 “
This prefabricated molded parts has the whole charm of traditional plaster minus maintenance. It is not distorted or cracking – even in old houses – and works just as well as it tries to mix or emphasize.
Limeshash colors usually live in the beige family, but this burned brick shadow provides an atmospheric moment. Use it in an unexpected place – doors, ceilings, trim – for a soft, weathered patina.
Double
Reclaime antique French hand -carved wooden door panels, 2 -set of 2
You really don't do it that way. This pair of wooden doors from the 19th center has two dragon carving and enough wonderfully worn wood to stop a preservation gate in their traces. Remarkable intact in view of their age and very ready for an act.