My TV Stand Makeover

A stand with serious potential

I had always heard a lot about the famous furniture restorers/refinishers in camp, Mr. Mohammed Ameer and his son Daniel. I know many people who have been incredibly happy with their work, and Lucia, from Finding Antiques in the EP, actually used their services for multiple antique pieces in her home – the kind of stuff you’d be crazy not to get a professional for.

So when I picked up a second-hand wooden TV stand from a family in Dhahran, I figured this was a good time to try out their services and see if they could help me with my vision.

Daniel Ameer (left), Mohammed Ameer (right)

Mohammed Ameer, originally from Chakwal in Pakistan, has been in Saudi for over 40 years and has been refinishing and restoring furniture for Dhahran camp residents for almost 38 years! He’s actually done work for many of the families that I grew up with here. His son has now been in the family business for about 15 years, and is just as talented as his dad.

BEFORE

I had been using an IKEA TV stand for about 4.5 years because I just couldn’t find something that fit my style or my budget. The stand was functional, but too modern for my space, and I was desperate for something more on the traditional side.

My functional, but too sleek, IKEA TV stand

I bought a fairly normal looking TV stand off of our local classifieds for about SR 250 ($66) as it had a more traditional look. It was in pretty good shape, but it was missing some knobs and the finish felt a little too 80’s. Not really my style.

BEFORE: There is supposed to be a drawer but it had to be taken out as it didn’t have a handle

AFTER

I decided to go with a stain that better suited my home – black-brown – and ordered a couple of trendy 6-inch oil-rubbed bronze handles from Restoration Hardware to help modernize the look a little.

After a whole bunch of stripping, sanding, staining and lastly, an almost matte finish, this is the beauty that we ended up with! While I didn’t really make any structural changes to the design, a simple stain change and new handles make it look better than I could have ever imagined!

Not only was I thrilled with how the stand looked, but I was super happy with how wonderful Mr. Ameer and his son were to work with. They were very meticulous, thorough and seemed to care about the furniture just as much as I did!!

It was a wonderful experience overall! I kinda can’t wait to work with them again 🙂

For any wood refinishing or restoration work,  please contact Mohammed Ameer at: 050 589 2618

Don’t be surprised if they say that they won’t be able to do your work for a couple of weeks or even months. They’re very very busy so keep that in mind! 

Here are a few of the MANY projects that they’ve also finished for other Dhahran camp residents!

I hope you loved the change as much as I did 🙂