When in doubt, paint it.

I've never met a piece of wood I didn't want to paint. Unless it is really really nice wood, I think it'd be better white. Or black, brown, green, blue....pretty much anything but its natural state. When I was a kid, it drove my parents crazy. They used to buy $5 bookcases at garage sales and get all upset when I wanted to paint them because they had 25 glass rings on them. I was supposed to appreciate the wood. Whatever. The obsession has proven to be valuable. I first put it into real action in the condo. The cabinets were gross dark brown from the 60's. I painted them all white, took off some of the doors, and painted the inside of those cabinets. I think it turned out looking much better than before. Now that we have the house, I've had a ton of wood to paint. There was a pink built in dresser and an ugly 1980s vanity in the upstairs bathroom, I painted them both a really dark brown so they would match and at least look ok enough that we wouldn't need to do anything more expensive for a while. Then I painted the cabinet above the toilet in the downstairs bathroom (big improvement!) Next I have to make the decision of whether or not to paint some of the trim in the house white. The majority of the trim in the house is white, and then there's some that is dark wood. It looks cool in pictures, but in person it is pretty beat up. It would be so much easier to sand, prime, and paint than it would be to refinish it all....plus then it would all match. I feel bad though, I guess I have developed at least some appreciation for wood. Bookshelves from garage sales should still definitely be painted though.