Brownstone Boxes, Paul Valembois

Medium: Reclaimed 1890s Brooklyn brownstone lumber, wood (fabricated I-beam framework), high-gloss varnish

Brownstone Boxes is a collection of furniture and home goods incorporating lumber salvaged from 1890s Brooklyn brownstones during renovation projects. It is a study in contrasts of forms, materials, and textures. The end table, which suspends a reclaimed lumber box in a perforated I-beam framework, juxtaposes high-tech industrial imagery with rustic barn textures. Applying a high gloss polished varnish to the rough cut reclaimed lumber reframes it as a luxury material. Fabricating the I-beams (a shape normally reserved for steel) out of wood similarly subverts material expectations.

Reclaimed lumber is a material which is simultaneously abundant and rare. Slow growing trees cut from wild forests in the 19th and early 20th centuries yielded higher quality lumber than fast growing contemporary farmed lumber. Yet this old growth lumber is often casually discarded by construction crews. While this material is copious and free for the taking, gathering it in a reusable state (free from nails and undamaged by heavy machinery) is challenging. It requires a collaborative effort involving homeowners, architects, contractors, and furniture makers working together to ensure that this high-quality material doesn't go to waste.

I designed this end table in the Pratt SCPS Furniture Design Certificate Program in fall 2025 and have continued to explore variations of the design. This version incorporating reclaimed lumber was built in summer 2026. The input from the faculty and the guest critics was instrumental in developing this design from an idea to a full-scale prototype.

Photography by Nate Mumford, Fabrication Assistance provided by Jonathan Yoder