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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.
When it came to the layout, the team decided to tackle another major project: Excavating the basement to add another functional floor to the home that now houses a laundry room and home gym. This involved adding a few feet of height to the space and, after the crew encountered a boulder below the basement that was too large to be moved, they had to dig even further to bury it below the new floors. They decided to keep things straightforward in other ways, though, including keeping the kitchen on the garden floor in classic brownstone fashion.
Which brings us to the vibes. For Wyatt, his primary design was to showcase his favorite pieces and his extensive music collection. “Ultimately, it felt like it was important to create a space that could incorporate the items I already owned from furniture to my record collection,” he says. “A lot of the thought process was looking at those things and building out from there.”
In doing that, the Brownstone Boys worked from the ground up, stripping all of the wood in the home and working with Sawkill Lumber to painstakingly match the reclaimed walnut chevron floors to the various stains and tones used in the original detailing and restored pieces.
And when it comes to the decorative details, the partnership between Wyatt and the Brownstone Boys truly sings. Varying tile and wallpaper patterns were layered into each room, a delightful découpage of pattern, texture, and color. In the primary bathroom, which was inspired by Wyatt’s love of a black bathtub, three different grayscale tiles are laid against a black Tadelakt plaster wall and salvaged wood vanity to create what might be the most dynamic black-and-white bathroom to ever exist. Combining original and new, custom and salvaged, Barry and Jordan took cues from their client’s love of jazz and comedy to color outside the lines and bring his personality into their decision-making.
“[Wyatt] has all these little quirks that are really relevant in his home and we were able to base the design on,” Jordan says of the home’s playful spirit. “That is the bright pops of color, the little surprises everywhere. You turn one corner and you open up the pantry and it has the brightest wallpaper with little dogs everywhere. There all these little fun anecdotes throughout the home that are so symbolic to him as a person.”
Case in point: The ombré staircases throughout the home. “We honestly thought that Wyatt was insane when he brought up this idea of ‘Let’s paint them all different colors.’ Originally, every staircase was supposed to be a different shade,” Jordan recalls. “The middle ground was ‘Let’s do an array of five colors and every three stair treads are painted.’ I think the end result is gorgeous. It is definitely not for everyone’s taste, but that’s what I think makes this place so special. It’s just him to a tee.”
