Restoration Values
A decade ago, John H indm an couldn’t buy the windows and doors
needed to restore vintage homes; he had to make them.
Today, his devotion to traditional methods and materials has
culminated in an ingenious handcrafted
‘
bungalito. ’
S T O R Y B Y
Julie K. Hanus
P H O T O G R A P H Y B Y
Jody Horton
W H Y DO PEOPLE LOVE OLD
h ou ses? M a y b e it’s b ecau se
th e y rem in d us o f som e long-
ago, lo n g -lo st hom e. M a y b e it’s
th e ir q u irk y ch ara cte r. It’s c e r-
ta in ly n o t b ecau se th e y ’ re an y
less e x p e n s iv e o r easier to m ain -
tain than n e w h ou ses.
A s k Joh n H in d m an o f R e d
R iv e r R e sto ra tio n s, and h e ’ll
g iv e y o u a d iffe re n t an sw e r:
O ld h ou ses rem ind us th at
th e re ’s an o th er w a y to liv e .
“ O u r society' has ch an ged a lo t
in th e past io o y e a rs ,” he says,
p au sin g. “ ‘A lo t’ is to o sm all o f
a [ph rase] fo r h o w m uch it’s
ch an g e d .” A cu ltu re o f ch eap
and fa st has c ro w d e d o u t v alu es
lik e q u ality , d u ra b ility , and
craftsm an sh ip . A n d it’s th o se
valu es th at H in d m an is ou t to
re sto re , on e b u ild in g at a tim e.
A u s tin , T e x a s-b a se d R e d
R iv e r R e sto ra tio n s and F in e
W o o d w o r k in g , fo rm a lly fo u n d -
ed in 2003, in itia lly g r e w o u t o f
n ecessity'. “ M o s t o f w h a t y o u
n eed [to resto re] an o ld h ou se,
y o u can ’t b u y ,” H in d m an says.
W in d o w s , d o o rs, trim - w h a t-
e v e r it is, “ it’s n o t th e rig h t size ;
it’s n o t th e rig h t k in d o f w o o d ;
it has to b e m ad e.” S o h e started
m akin g. H e b egan w ith custom -
b u ilt w o o d -fra m e scre en s, b u t
The craftsmanship
in the “bungalito”
outbuilding is a
perfect example of
John Hindman’s
drive for slow,
mindful production.
Opposite: Erin and
John Hindman,
with Jack, hang out
at the bungalito
John and his crew
built as a prototype.
th e y d id n ’t h an g p ro p e rly o v e r
th e m od ern w in d o w s p e o p le
k e p t in stallin g , so H in dm an
re a lize d th e re w a s a n eed to
re sto re sa sh -w eig h ted w in -
d o w s, to o . W in d o w s and trim
le d to d o o rs, d o o rs to screen
d o o rs. “ N o th in g lo o k s b e tte r
on a h a n d cra fte d h ou se th an a
h a n d cra fte d d o o r in th e sty le
th at w o u ld h a ve b een th ere
o rig in a lly ,” he say's.
A s w o rd g o t o u t, his co m -
p an y g re w into a b u stlin g n eigh -
b orh ood -b ased b u sin ess, d o in g
w o r k fo r d esig n ers, co n tra cto rs,
and a rch itects, alo n g w ith h om e-
o w n e rs w h o se b e lo v e d C ra fts -
m an-style h ou ses d o t th e c ity ’s
streets. T h e sm all o u tfit, w h ich
n o w cou n ts seven e m p lo ye es
plus H in d m an in its ran ks, also
has b een called in to w o r k on
fo u r m useum s in th e area.
S o m etim e s, in th e m id st o f
a p ro je c t, so m e o n e w ill m ake a
h isto rical d is c o v e ry ab o u t a
stru ctu re - nam es and dates or
th e origin al b u ild e r’s nam e p e n -
cile d o n to th e trim - p ro v id in g
its o w n e rs w ith n o t m erely' re s-
to ra tio n o r rep a ir, b u t a p ie ce o f
th e ir b u ild in g ’s s to ry , H in d m an
says. It’s cle ar th at he has d eep
re sp e ct fo r w e ll-cra fte d stru c-
tu res, in clu d in g his o w n .
056 american craft
fcb/m arn
