Politics

Restoring a Chair Is Easier Than You Think. Ask the Brownstone Boys.

Furnishing your home with antiques doesn’t have to be expensive — not if you’re willing to do a little restoration work. Take it from Jordan Slocum and Barry Bordelon, better known as the Brownstone Boys.

“If you get a piece someone has already spent a lot of time and effort restoring, it’s going to be expensive,” said Mr. Bordelon, 43. “But there are many pieces out there that need a lot of love, and to be restored, that you can get for a lot less. We do that a lot.”

The Brownstone Boys — Jordan Slocum, left, and Barry Bordelon — restore furniture they find in vintage shops, architectural salvage yards and among piles of trash on the sidewalk.Credit…Tony Cenicola/The New York Times

The Brooklyn-based designers — whose new book, “For the Love of Renovating,” is out next month — are always on the hunt: in vintage shops along Atlantic Avenue, in architectural salvage yards, even among piles of trash on the sidewalk.

“We’re fortunate to live in New York, where stooping is a thing,” Mr. Slocum, 41, said.

Recently, they rescued a wood side chair with a ruined seat and gloppy paint from the curb. To restore it, they employed many of the same techniques they use on woodwork in historic brownstones.

Liquid paint stripper makes it easier to remove old paint.Credit…Tony Cenicola/The New York Times
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