What?? Why on earth would you paint that? I think that would ruin the point of the whole piece? It seems that the color of it would fit in fine with your scheme now, with the exception of perhaps your wall color...

Please don't paint this- you will ruin this beautiful wood.
It's perfect as it is.

I'm with keeping it paint-free! It's such a gorgeously unique, funky piece that it would actually look really weird painted. You might get sick of the painted color too. The natural wood is timeless.

If you're sick of the way it looks, maybe it's not meant for the bedroom. Try it in the living room or maybe entrance way.

i wouldn't paint it - the wood grain is gorgeous.

There are a variety of products at any hardware store that could seal this, if you decide to preserve the wood as it is. Some would give it a shine and some would simply protect it from water stains and drying out. Try that first, and if it doesn't become beautiful to you, then paint it.

Replace this shelf with something already painted, or plastic, and give it to me! PLEASE don't paint it!

I wouldn't paint that at all.

The grain and color on that shelf are amazing! I'm in NY, if you want a painted shelf I'll build you one in exchange for the one you have. Please don't paint that one.

Oh please don't paint that shelf! Its so unusual, that if you paint it out you're going to lose its uniqueness. The wood grain and natural edge elements are fantastic.

If you are set on having a small coloured shelf next to your bed, please store this beauty and buy another shelf to put there.

How about using that in the entryway with a tiny bowl as a key holder? Then you can find something more to your liking for the bedroom? I have this fear that that piece painted is going to look like a badly cut piece of plywood.

dont be silly. its lovely like it is.

wood needs to breathe its organic, so Dont paint.

I believe the dark furniture you have should offset this really well.

I agree, don't paint it. I think that it'll just look like a very badly made shelf if painted. However, if you want to make it a bit more modern and less rustic, I suggest applying a vinyl decal (e.g. Bilk) -- an outline of a plant on the vertical portion, perhaps.

I'm assuming that the shelf is relatively small, so Bilk decals are probably too big. I'd look on etsy for some smaller decals, or you can even get a local print shop to make a custom one.

It would be a travesty to paint that.
Where's it from? I want one...or three :)

man, I swear there in one of these posts every week.

We get it! You all like wood grain... The person didn't ask if they should or should not paint it, it sounds like they have made up their mind on it, and they want to paint it. They asked for suggestions of colors, not a million comments on how horrible they are for wanting to paint it.

But yeah it's a cool shelf, but I can see it only working in a very limited amount of areas in it's natural wood. Without seeing some photos of the rest of the setup, wall color, bed, all that, it's really hard to have a color suggestion.

Well, I checked in from the Google Reader (where I don't see comments) to make my point, and am happy to see so many others already have. Please don't paint that! And please tell us where you got it! It is gorgeous as is, and honestly I think it would look horrible if painted.

Hello all!

I'm Courtney :) And glad to say you just helped me "win." My girlfriend was all about painting, and I was more hesitant. I let her word the ask in our question. But I STILL came out on top. She doesn't read the site, so don't tell her I'm bragging! But I'm so excited to keep our shelf natural - I'm a tree addict.

Best part: this shelf is CHEAP (every capital warranted). See "earthwoodgems" on etsy, her page is here: http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=83124

And tell her that her satisfied customer CloserToTheOcean sent you!

Paint it brown and use a wood-graining tool to give it a nice faux finish.

You "let her word the ask in our question"?
That's good!

gordon - by that i mean i wrote it, and she objected to my lean towards the "leave it naked" side. so i let her word the "ask" (and still won!)

Sweet! I just ordered one from the Etsy store. Thank you for telling us the source!

don't paint it! seal it! this will contrast well and stand out as a little designy touch.

Glad to have pointed you there 22209! Long live the etsy find!

I can't imagine how this would look painted, but it seems like it would replace anything good it has with utter ill. Please don't paint it.

Etsy is great :) I plan to put an inconspicuous hook into the vertical section and use it by the front door for keys, and maybe a small ceramic something on the base. The base of the one I purchased is not quite as spectacular as yours, but I like it nonetheless :)

Don't paint it and mix some of the lighter brown colors from the shelf with creams and whites for bedding. That way you'll bring the lighter wood tones together with the darker MALM bed.

We have the MALM too. It's one of those beds that looks great in the store and then you sleep in it for a year and wish you had something at a more grown-up height. Does anyone know a decent way to (securely) raise the MALM a good foot or so?

I am one of the ones who always says that it's ok to paint wood, but in the case of that shelf, no way. Still, when your girlfriend wants to paint some hideous dark wood table, don't let this experience go to your head.

Good to know that it won't be painted. I was going to suggest buying a couple other natural wood items to contrast the boxy angularness of the MALM, like the tree stump items.

Sort of like these:
http://www.thatsagoodidea.com/shan-mu-bowls-p-5.html

I hadn't seen them until the new T.J.Maxx opened locally, and they had several items to choose from. Like the basket, vase, and bigger container that could be lined with a glass vase and filled with blossoms.

Thanks for directing me to those bowls, True Blue!

...TJ Maxx is carrying similar items, you say? How strangely wonderful!

Paint a square on the wall to bring the color behind it. Your girlfriend gets color, you get to keep the wood.

no paint!

I like how you wrote this without even a suggestion of keeping it natural but everyone agreed to keep it the wya ti is. The shelf by itself sets the stage for keepin gthe all-Malm room out of the picture. Something that unique should stya unique. Adding more color to your room can be done in other ways. Why not buy something that you can paint in one of those greens and put that on teh shelf to bring the color in?

*way it is - goodness... my fingers must have had a spasm while typing!

ryanmarie, i think i love you. i brought your suggestion to my lady and she's a big fan.

better yet, put a green plant on the shelf for some green!

Add me to the list of "don't paint it" sayers.

You could lightly stain it a funky color if you want and still keep the grain... but I'd keep it natural. Color can come from whatever object you place on it.

BTW, lol @ KidTwist's comment.

I agree with everyone . Wy on earth would you paint such a beautiful piece of wood. People pay 100's of dollars for that look. DO NOT PAINT! You could paint an oval or a rectangle on the wall behind it. That will make it pop.

If your girlfriend is still keen on paint, get her to mask out a rectangle on the wall BEHIND that gorgeous piece of tree and fly at it!

this sounded more like an ad for this etsy shop, than an honest question.

davis-
it is my first ever order from that shop, and i'm located in boston. a quick look just now and i see that the seller is in conifer, colorado... where i have never been and assure you i know no one. i didn't mention etsy at all until there had been several comments from people saying they loved the shelf and wanted one. i reap no benefit from telling them where they got it other than contributing to a community i am excited to be a new a part of. and should my directing people to a good product come back around with a dose of good karma, great. i don't see how that's much different than AT shining the spotlight on etsy-inspiration here as they sometimes do.

sorry the long winded clarification. i have a lot of respect for, and get a lot of joy from, AT and don't want to have a rotten rep' from the start.

i'd rather you hate me for my decorating ;)