When Barry Bordelon and Jordan Slocum, together known the Brownstone Boys, met prospective client Wyatt Cenac at a Brooklyn bar in 2019, he was already well into the process of renovating his home. He had the space, he had the architectural plans, but what the actor, comedian, producer, and music lover needed to bring the project to life was a team with the technical expertise to make the reno happen and bring, for lack of a better word, vibes.
The drinks went well and the trio set out on the creative journey that made his four-story Bed-Stuy house a home. It eventually became a five-story home, but more on that later.
“They know these types of homes, in part because they live in a brownstone and went through that renovation process themselves,” Wyatt says of his decision to work with the Brownstone Boys. “And, being in the neighborhood, they’ve built relationships with neighbors, local businesses, and local contractors, who are also familiar with these homes and have a sense of pride in preserving what makes them special.”
“We don’t want to go in and design a space that a client moves into that they didn’t have a lot of input in, or didn’t take part in the design,” Barry says of that initial meeting. “I think [Wyatt] was looking for someone that could work with him in that way, because he had a lot of ideas in his head that he needed to figure out a way to make a reality. So, I think that it worked really well because it was definitely a collaborative process.”
The team was faced with a few structural issues in getting started, including a process that required literally straightening the entire building, which had started to curve. Wyatt wanted to turn the two-family home into a single residence, but otherwise, the wish list for the project included creating a big, bright kitchen that would open onto the backyard, salvaging as many of the original details as possible, and wiring a top-of-the-line sound system throughout the space.