The announcement was made on Tuesday that Greenlaw Town Hall would benefit from a £500,000 grant, while Mellerstain House near Gordon will receive just over £100,000.
The two projects are among eight in Scotland to have benefited from the £1.6 million of grants released by Historic Scotland, with Greenlaw Town Hall the largest recipient of funding from the Scottish Government agency.
The money will go towards partly restoring the structure of the building and turning two of the wings into offices.
Further development will take place if funding can be secured from the European Development Fund.
Chairman of the Greenlaw Town Hall Project Committee, Peter Leggate, is hopeful that the Historic Scotland grant can be the first move towards their overall dream of renovating the whole hall.
Mr Leggate said: "We are delighted - this is a huge stepping stone.
"It is the first time we have received a grant for a scheme that we should be able to deliver. We have a tight timescale and tight conditions but we are willing to work hard to achieve this.
"In general terms it is about saving the building. We are also applying for funding from the European Development Fund, which we think we will get and will also have to do local fund raising.
"This is a stepping stone for this project and more funding needs to be in place by the summer."
Work is expected to start - so long as all permissions and delivery conditions are met - at some stage this year. If further money is secured, the second phase of the renovation will include restoring the rear of the A-listed building.
The hall has had many previous uses before it became unused in the mid 1990s. In its time it has served as a swimming pool, World War II billet and courthouse, and plans for its future have included a theatre.
However, having fallen into a poor state, the building was entered in the BBC TV programme 'Restoration' in 2006 in an attempt to win funding.
Yet, despite the support of Oscar winning actress and former Duns resident Tilda Swinton, who described the building as "beautiful and elegant", Greenlaw Town Hall lost out in a public vote.
Last year the Project Committee received funding for an option appraisal - needed to achieve funding from Historic Scotland - to study the potential of the hall, with the main aim being to halt the decline of the building and discover what long term options were available.
It is now hoped that this first successful grant application will see the hall used for events once the full restoration is complete.
However, doubts have been raised over how viable such a project would be, with final costs expected to be several million pounds.
Culture Minister Linda Fabiani MSP said: "Greenlaw Town Hall captured so many people's imagination when it was shown on television, but at that time there was sadly no end use identified for it. It is an immediately striking building with an interesting history, but its sheer size made it a complex project.
"I am delighted that the Greenlaw Town Hall Trust has now found a way for this elegant county building to play a part in its community again."
The grant of £100,000 for Mellerstain House will pay for work to begin on roof repairs that will help to maintain the A-listed buildings' famous William Adams ceilings, which took 53 years to rebuild from 1725-1778.
It will also allow the house to remain open to the public and view the collection of paintings, furnishings and historic needlework on display.
Administrator of the Mellerstain Trust, Jeanie McLean said: "We are delighted they (Historic Scotland) are supporting us through this project.
"This work is part of ongoing roof repairs and will help the protection of Adams's famous ceilings.
"We have been working with Historic Scotland for a number of years. We are a charitable trust so this will help as the money we get from visitors does not cover the costs."
The work is expected to start in December this year so as not to disrupt the summer opening hours of the house.