Here, we ask designers to take a selfie and give us an inside look at their life.
Name: Barry Bordelon and Jordan Slocum
Occupation: Interior designers, preservationists, authors, and founders of The Brownstone Boys.
Instagram: @brownstoneboys
Hometown:
Barry: New Orleans, Louisiana
Jordan: Las Vegas, Nevada
Studio Location: Last year we set out to find an office space as our team was expanding, but everything on the market was a blank box. We then stumbled upon an 1890’s carriage house in Clinton Hill, Brooklyn. We converted it into The Brownstone Boys studio. Adding work spaces, a dedicated materials library to take meetings in, and a proper coffee station, while the original arched windows, and tin ceilings stay untouched. The selling point for us was the garage door we can open up to the street. It’s a great way to introduce ourselves to the community.
Describe what you make: We always lead our design work with bringing back what would have been there originally which I think sets us apart from other interior designers. We look at the building and the surrounding neighborhood for inspiration and how that row of brownstones would have been built back in the 1800s. We look back at catalogs from the time period of the building to see the molding profiles or the different architectural elements of the front work to see how we can pull those details into the smaller pieces like furniture and rug profiles.
A new or forthcoming project we should know about: We’re in the renovation process right now on a few Brooklyn homes, but this month we’re also hosting events! We just had our third Stoop Sale in our Studio, bringing together some of our favorite local vintage dealers, makers and designers for a day of community and shopping. On the 24th we’re opening our Studio doors again for our first-ever Studio Session! We wanted to bring our community into the conversations at the heart of our work, so Session One will focus on Renovation 101 and will cover everything from budgets and timelines to navigating contractors and the unexpected challenges that come with restoring older homes. We want our community to come in with their questions, contracts, paint samples! We’ll be live streaming through our YouTube channel too so people can join from anywhere. It will be a quarterly programming that will continue to roll out in 2027.
A new or forthcoming project we should know about: We just finished a renovation project on Adelphi Street that we’re super excited about. We’re in the process of getting it photographed so looking forward to sharing it with our community. We’re also partnering with TileBar! We’ve been using their products for years, so it was a natural fit to come together in a collaborative way. We’re also in the process of designing cookware and kitchen accessories with il Buco Vita that will be coming in 2027.
What you absolutely have to have in your studio: Our materials library, a really good cup of coffee, and a table big enough for everyone to gather around. We’re incredibly tactile designers, so being able to lay out stone, tile, wallpaper, wood, and fabric samples together is essential to our process. Some of our best ideas come from those moments when the whole team is around a table, moving materials around and discovering combinations we hadn’t initially considered.
What you do when you’re not working: We’re usually doing some version of what we do at work, just without a deadline! We love exploring flea markets, antique shops, architectural salvage yards, and historic neighborhoods wherever we travel. We’re endlessly curious about how people live and the stories behind the objects they collect. But some of our happiest moments are the simplest ones, spending time at home, cooking dinner, hosting friends, and taking long walks around Brooklyn with our dog, Sailor. After spending our days creating homes for other people, there’s something really special about enjoying the one we’ve built together.
Sources of creative envy (dead or alive): We’ve always admired designers who create spaces that feel deeply personal and impossible to replicate. Axel Vervoordt’s ability to make history, texture, and restraint feel so effortless is endlessly inspiring. We also love the layered, lived-in worlds of Robert Kime and the fearless use of pattern and color in the work of Renzo Mongiardino. More than anything, we’re inspired by designers who aren’t afraid of imperfection and understand that the most interesting rooms often feel collected rather than designed all at once.
The distraction you want to eliminate: The pressure to move so quickly. Between running a design studio, managing renovations, and creating content, it’s easy to feel like everything needs to happen immediately. But the work we love most requires patience, whether that’s restoring original plasterwork, sourcing the right antique, or waiting for an idea to fully develop. We’re constantly reminding ourselves that thoughtful design takes time, and that slowing down can sometimes be the most productive thing we do.
Concrete or marble? Marble. Preferably with a little history and a lot of veining.
High-Rise Or Townhouse? Townhouse. Was there ever another answer?
Remember or Forget? Remember. The past is where so much of our inspiration begins.
Aliens or Ghosts? Ghosts. We work in 150-year-old houses. We have to believe in a few!
Dark Or Light? Dark. Give us a moody room with beautiful lighting any day.
