T he ar T of restoration

Story by rachel Stone | Photos by Can Türkyilmaz

The house aT 405 s. ClinTon had exactly the qualities Robert Romano seeks: neglected, poorly renovated in the ’70s, listing foundation, a total mess.

“i look for those kinds of houses,” he says. “When you transform the worst ones, it makes the neighborhood transform all the more.”

Romano is not a typical builder, and he finds the term “house flipper” offensive, although he could fit loosely under either of those categories. he and brother Rex Romano own a company, Pro-seal, that preserves exterior wood, such as decks and fences.

Restoring old houses is their hobby, and they’re really, really good at it.

The house on Clinton is the fourth one they’ve renovated in our neighborhood.

Much of the home’s original arts-and-crafts details were stripped in the ’70s remodel, and a roof leak damaged the floors and ceilings. a 450-square-foot addition on the back of the house was unsalvageable and had to be torn down.

Chris and emily Ruth Cannon now live in the house with their 3-year-old son, sawyer. entering through the solid-wood front door, which looks original but isn’t, one would never guess their house has been completely renovated, from foundation to ceiling beams.

The Romano brothers hired carpenters to fabricate built-in shelving, crown molding, door trim and other details appropriate for the 1920s cottage, on site.

They built a fireplace in the home’s 850-square-foot addition, which includes a family room and master suite, and they didn’t use a firebox, the way most builders would. They built it the old-fashioned way, brick-by-brick with no prefabricated elements.

“I want to do everything my own way,” Robert Romano says. “I want it done right.”

He says he doesn’t care whether a house has a usable air-conditioning system or hotwater heater, for example. He wants his houses to have energy-efficient systems. The Clinton Avenue house also is wired for sound, with hidden speakers throughout the house and on a patio off the master suite. The Romanos would rather recoup less profit and make the house perfect to their standards, he says.

“My Realtor scolds me,” he says. “She says, ‘You’ve got to make some money!’ ”

But renovating houses truly is a hobby. Romano says they do make money, but it’s not really about that.

The Romano brothers grew up in the Northeast, where they lived in old houses all their lives. Robert Romano says he’s always admired architecture.

“It’s a true passion of mine,” he says of renovating. “I don’t think I’m very artistic, but that’s my little artistic outlet. I like to detail them and get them right.”

While the home’s new details are true to its age, some aspects are appropriate for the modern age. The kitchen features light-gray marble countertops and a stainless-steel version of a farm sink. Instead of ceramic subway tiles, which a builder in the 1920 might have used as a backsplash, the Romanos installed glass tiles that are similar size and shape to subway tiles. It’s reminiscent of the 1920s without seeming outdated.

The homeowners’ personal style is modern and artsy. Their dining room table is long and rectangular, made of recycled wood and flanked with molded fiberglass chairs. They replaced a café-style light fixture in the dining room with plainer, more modern pendant lamps.

Emily Ruth Cannon says she appreciates how thoughtful the Romanos were in recreating the house. A pocket door at the back of the master closet opens to the laundry room, for example. A breakfast nook between the kitchen and family room, which might’ve been nothing more than a hallway, with less imagination, is where the family spends the majority of their time. Everything in the house is perfect, she says.

Emily Ruth and Chris Cannon, with son Sawyer at right, are from the Dallas area but most recently moved to Oak Cliff from California. They couldn’t bear to part with a surfboard, far right, that sits in one corner of their bedroom. The master bath, below right, “could easily fit 10 people,” Emily Ruth says.

“There are all these little things that you can tell were difficult or inconvenient for them to accomplish,” she says. “But they did them anyway. Everything is perfectly consistent. You can’t catch him in an error.”

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Oratory excellence

Michael Jones , center, placed third in the 2012 Gardere MLK Jr. Oratory Competition finals in February. He is a fifth-grader at Louise Wolff Kahn Elementary School and is pictured here with his family, DISD District 7 Trustee Eric Cowan , far left, and interim superintendent Alan King .

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TEXAS RANGERS FRONT-ROW BASEBALL TICKETS

Share prime, front-row Texas Rangers baseball tickets (available in sets of 10 or 20 games) during the 2012 season. Prices start at $95 per ticket (sets of 2 or 4 tickets per game available). Seats are behind the plate and next to both the first- and third-base dugouts. Other great seats available starting at $55 per ticket; seats also available in the Cuervo Club. Entire season available except for opening day; participants randomly draw numbers to determine draft order so the selection process is fair for everyone. E-mail rwamre@advocatemag.com or call 214-560-4212 for more information.

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ESTATE SALES & LIQUIDATION SERVICES

Moving, Retirement, Downsizing. One Piece or a Houseful. David Turner. 214-908-7688. dave2estates@aol.com

The Dallas Zoo accepts volunteers to help care for animal and plant collections and educate visitors about nature and wildlife conservation. Volunteers must be at least 18 years old and provide a negative tuberculosis test. No prior experience is necessary. Contact the Volunteer Services Department at 469.554.7450 or amy. glover@dallaszoo.com.

The city reports that it earned $186,450 from the $15 garage sale permit fee residents have been required to pay during the past fiscal year. According to the city briefing, more than 12,430 permits were issued, and the city also dished out 720 violation notices and 17 criminal citations.

Turner House, the storied landmark mansion in Oak Cliff’s historic Winnetka Heights neighborhood, celebrated its 100th birthday with a salon series party featuring Matt Tolentino and his Hot Five Band, which played energetic tunes from all decades of the early 1900s, including a crowd favorite from 1912. Future salon series events will continue the theme of “Turner House: Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow” with a silent film program and an early 20th century architecture program.

Neighbors are raising funds to create a memorial for firefighters Vince Davis and Todd Krodle of Station 26, who died in the line of duty. Krodle died this past summer after falling through the roof of a burning building at Ridgecrest Terrace Apartments. Davis was killed in February 2002 after a wall fell on him as he was fighting a fire at an apartment complex on Jefferson near Plymouth. Neighbors, including Nola Rae Smith, have established a memorial fund to pay for a memorial that costs about $3,300. To donate, make checks out to the CFA (Christian Firefighters Association) Memorial Fund with account No. 1775790 in the memo line. The address is City Credit Union, 7474 Ferguson Road, Dallas, Texas, 75228.

People

Councilmember Scott Griggs presented KatherineHoman of Handley Drive a proclamation for having the city’s first comprehensive green home. Homan and her late husband, Richard, envisioned and built the home long before the word “green” became trendy in construction lingo.

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True Crime

The back door was kicked in.

Allen Watkins lived in Oak Cliff for 28 years. He recently sold his home and moved out of the area, but still owns a house on Hollywood that he rents.

“Right now, people are having a hard time getting loans, so there is a lot of rental activity,” he says.

The Victim: Allen Watkins

The Crime: Burglary

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And then someone saw an opportunity. Watkins and his workers decided to leave their tools inside the home until they had the last bit finished inside. After leaving, someone kicked in the door and stole more than $3,000 in tools. Every tool in the home was stolen.

Date: Between Wednesday, Feb. 15, and Friday, Feb. 17

Time: Between 4 p.m. (Feb. 15) and 4 p.m. (Feb. 17)

Location: 1600 block of Hollywood

After his tenants recently moved out, Watkins began readying his house to lease again. While he says he’s a bit too old to do all the work himself, Watkins supervises. He added new paint inside and tile in the kitchen. The house has wood floors throughout and was looking much better after the remodeling.

“It was a mess after the previous tenants moved out,” he says. “We just about had it finished.”

Watkins says he was frustrated by the burglary and also about having to repair the door and door jam after putting so much work into the home and it almost being finished.

Dallas Police Lt. Gil Garza of the Southwest Patrol Division says home remodels and empty homes can be problematic in terms of protecting property.

“We see items from tools, air conditioning units, and appliances taken from empty locations.”

Garza recommends removing tools everyday if at all possible, or renting a secure storage container that will make it difficult for others to take property or tools. Asking trusted neighbors to look after the property also can be a great help in preventing crime, he says.

Sean Chaffin is a freelance writer and editor of pokertraditions.com. If you have been a recent crime victim, email crime@advocatemag.com.

Total amount of money stolen during a burglary at Bolsa Mercado March 10 in the 600 block of West Davis; the suspect shattered the front glass door to gain entry after hours.

03.06

Date when an assault occurred at Family Dollar in the 300 block of West Jefferson after the suspect attempted to shoplift items and then punched a female employee in the face after she confronted him 1

Number of people hospitalized after a car was sideswiped in the 200 block of South Zang; the other driver fled the scene

Source: Dallas Police Department