James and Brenda Hess

Owners at Rundown Rustics in Riverton, UT.

We Handcraft Home Furnishings and Decor from Upcycled/Reclaimed Wood as well as giving new life to discarded, unwanted and often damaged Vintage Items.

Visit Facebook Visit Website

Contest Entries

2017 Entries

A Splash of French Parfume

By James and Brenda Hess, Owners at Rundown Rustics in Riverton, UT.

Winning Category

This vintage waterfall dresser didn't need much in the way of repairs.  After prepping this old gal for paint, she received a couple coats of Driftwood milk paint as the base.  We followed it up with a thinned coat of Antique White to give it the appearance of age.  We found an vintage French Parfume ad that would fit perfectly on the front of the dresser.  We then hand painted the details of the ad on the face of the dresser, followed by some additional distressing for an even more aged appearance.  The entire piece was sealed with High Performance Poly in Satin for protection.

Visit FacebookVisit Website View Profile

Fresh off the Farm

By James and Brenda Hess, Owners at Rundown Rustics in Riverton, UT.

Winning Category

Covered in cream lead base paint, this late 1800's piece was just sad.  During the stripping process we found it had been painted several times through the years.  Once we got down to the wood we found a gorgeous oak side board.  The drawers had fallen apart with broken pieces that needed a lot of work.  We found old scraps of oak and hand dovetailed them to match the original pieces.  We felt like a beautiful dark top with a white base would give it the perfect touch of country chic.

Visit FacebookVisit Website View Profile

Crisp and Clean with Stripes in Between

By James and Brenda Hess, Owners at Rundown Rustics in Riverton, UT.

Winning Category

Well this one was one of those, slathered in latex, broken drawers, loose glue joints, peeling/poorly repaired veneer, missing hardware etc. pieces.  "What were we thinking"!  Found on the side of the road, we were sure there was beauty waiting to be revealed.  We had no idea the work that would be involved and seriously considered burning it more than once.  After stripping and scraping all of the latex paint off the surface, this one required some pretty major repairs.  Of course by then, we had way too many hours into it to give up.

Visit FacebookVisit Website View Profile

Peek a Boo Maple

By James and Brenda Hess, Owners at Rundown Rustics in Riverton, UT.

Winning Category

This solid Maine Rock Maple Desk was just tired looking and needed a fresh new look.  It was so solid and sturdy that it required no repairs which is almost unheard of in a 60 year old piece of furniture.  There were only a few scratches in the original finish so all it needed was some light prep work followed by several coats of Midnight Blue chalk style paint.  We made sure to distress it in all the right places to let the maple peek through.  It added some much needed character to the desk.  Several coats of satin lacquer made this ready for even the roughest of little boys.

Visit FacebookVisit Website View Profile

Sometimes it Just NEEDS to be PInk

By James and Brenda Hess, Owners at Rundown Rustics in Riverton, UT.

Winning Category

This sad little desk was in need of some repairs and a splash of color.  And this one was calling for Coral Crush milk paint toned down a bit with Snow White.  We found a darling antique chair that paired up nicely with the desk.  The finishing touch was the paisley fabric that brought it all together.  Everything got a beautiful protective coat of satin lacquer.  This one makes a statement in any room.

Visit FacebookVisit Website View Profile

Saved from the Landfill

By James and Brenda Hess, Owners at Rundown Rustics in Riverton, UT.

Winning Category

This old oak veneer waterfall style dresser had definitely seen better days.  It was on it's way to the landfill when we saved it.  This piece called for something to tone down the yellow of the oak.  After some major repairs we prepped it for Candlelight gel stain down the front followed by Lamp Black milk paint on the body.  Of course the pulls needed to be refinished black to match.  A little light distressing to add a character, then everything got a final coat of High Performance Poly in flat.  That combination made a striking finished piece.

Visit FacebookVisit Website View Profile

50's Television Console

By James and Brenda Hess, Owners at Rundown Rustics in Riverton, UT.

Winning Category

When we found this piece it had already been converted from a 1950's television console into a dresser.  We thought it had great bones, but, a drawer was missing so we decided to convert it into a cubbie.  After adding some beadboard for interest, the cubbie got a pop of color using a custom mix of patina green as the base.  We love Snow White on mid century furniture because it is crisp and clean.  Several coats of color inside and out followed by our favorite top coat High Performance Poly in Satin.  This piece is ready to be used as an entry console, tv console or even a dresser.

Visit FacebookVisit Website View Profile