THE LEARNING curve
Restorers are an unusual breed. What motivates these unsung heroes of preservation to take on a decades-or centuries-old house for the first, second, or umpteenth time? I asked that question of more than a dozen folks who’ve been featured for their good work in OHJ.
Some responders are serial restorers who say they get antsy as one project nears completion. Others have renovated properties in different locales, whenever life took them to a new place. One or two have invested in a house with deep roots, and are still hard at work restoring homes that have been in the family for decades.
Then we have Alex and Wendy Santantonio, who admit to naively thinking they’d finish their first renovation (of an 1885 row house in
