The Brownstone Boys Share Their Best Fixer Upper Advice

Barry Bordelon and Jordan Slocum, a.k.a. the Brownstone Boys, have been friends of Living since our beginning, dishing out advice on how to style your mantel to how much to spend on a sofa. Of course, their expertise is in restoring brownstones (including their own)—and they’ve put all their hard-earned renovation knowledge into their book, For the Love of Renovating: Tips, Tricks & Inspiration for Creating Your Dream Home, published a year ago this month. 

We chatted with them about their book, and asked them all our pressing questions all about fixer uppers. 

Realtor.com: First of all, what an absolutely gorgeous (and helpful) book. What motivated you two to write this book six years into your renovation and design journey? 

Brownstone Boys: When we renovated our house back in 2018, we had a hard time finding the exact information that we needed for working on our historic home. So, we started a blog to document our process and all our learnings along the way. We quickly formed an online community of DIYers, renovators, and designers looking for this type of content. Over the past several years, we’ve continued to collect so much experience from our projects and we knew we needed to download all the information from our minds onto the page. 

R: Who is your book for?

BB: Anyone who wants to pick up the hammer and do the dang thing! Whether you’re a renter, a homeowner, just starting the home-buying process, or have lived in your place for several years, there’s something for you in our book. 

R: Your whole ethos is about buying homes that need lots of love. What does someone need to consider before buying a fixer upper? 

BB: Structural integrity, square footage, budget, location, and renovation history. You’ll want to make sure that you understand the full scope of what you’re signing up for and that in the end, you’ll be happy with the amount of space you’ll get. Going into your search with clear parameters around budget and location also helps so you understand how much you’re willing to invest in the project and the type of compromises you’d be willing to make regarding location to stay within your total budget. Finally, it’s important to know the history of how the property has been maintained over the years. For example, how recently was the roof replaced? These types of questions that dig under the surface of what you can see at face value help to uncover the potential of a space and future hidden costs.

R: Who should someone bring with them to look over the property before deciding if an offer is worth it?

BB: We always recommend that our clients have a general contractor take a look at the property before closing. Although there are a lot of things you can’t anticipate, it should be possible to get a rough idea of how much work will be required. Depending on the size of the project and what information you learn, it could be worth bringing in additional specialists like an electrician or plumber to do further digging. This could help you get a more accurate quote. In certain cases, like in older homes, you might also want to do a deeper dive into things like testing for mold or lead paint, just to make sure there are no surprises.

R: Is a renovation or restoration project ever not worth it, in your opinion? 

BB: When you would need to replace more than you would keep in the home. At that point, you’re essentially building something brand new and there’s less value in starting with the original structure.

R: Let’s say someone is buying a historic home but there is no budget to restore all the architectural details. Advice?

BB: We always recommend donating or selling old pieces like historic doors or original moldings because oftentimes, someone else might want to take on that work.

R: What’s the most surprising space you and your team have renovated?

BB: One of our favorite projects was Clinton Hill Carriage House, which was formerly a home for horses and carriages! Preserving that home and all of the rich history inside of it was very special. Today, it’s a gorgeous space with plenty of transitional indoor and outdoor spaces. You can see this in the book, actually.

R: Do you have any “must-adds” for renovating a kitchen in a historic home?

BB: Storage, storage, storage. When you’re designing the kitchen, it’s so important to account for not only the things you have today but also the things you’ll accumulate down the line. There’s nothing worse than running out of space and feeling like you don’t have room to comfortably work in your kitchen, so be sure to plan for the future. Also, plenty of working space! This is often overlooked but so important.

R: Let’s say someone is buying a historic home but there is no budget to restore all the architectural details. Advice? 

BB: We always recommend donating or selling old pieces like historic doors or original moldings because oftentimes, someone else might want to take on that work. 

R: What’s the most surprising space you and your team have renovated?

BB: One of our favorite projects was Clinton Hill Carriage House, which was formerly a home for horses and carriages! Preserving that home and all of the rich history inside of it was very special. Today, it’s a gorgeous space with plenty of transitional indoor and outdoor spaces. You can see this in the book, actually. 

R: Do you have any “must-adds” for renovating a kitchen in a historic home?

BB: Storage, storage, storage. When you’re designing the kitchen, it’s so important to account for not only the things you have today but also the things you’ll accumulate down the line. There’s nothing worse than running out of space and feeling like you don’t have room to comfortably work in your kitchen, so be sure to plan for the future. Also, plenty of working space! This is often overlooked but so important.

R: And for bathrooms?

BB: Increase the square footage, if you can. This will always return value. And just like for kitchens, storage! No one likes a messy bathroom, so we like to make sure that there’s enough room for a built-in or hidden storage unit. 

R: Historic building or not, what is the most impactful thing you can do or add to a home during the renovation process?

BB: Not necessarily adding space but getting the most out of every space! Things like creating an open layout kitchen so it feels bigger or making a bathroom larger by stealing from a hallway or another room, or adding a walk-in closet are all better ways to use space without necessarily adding square footage. 

Buy it: For the Love of Renovating: Tips, Tricks & Inspiration for Creating Your Dream Home, $37.50 at Barnes & Noble

Images reprinted with permission from For the Love of Renovating by Barry Bordelon and Jordan Slocum © 2024. Published by Union Square & Co.