I decided to do my new office with a lot of dark gold accents. I bought an antique gold metal and glass desk, and found a gold metal vanity chair. I found short square gold metal and wood tables for my printer and as a side table for a natural upholstered chair with gold legs and nails. So I was on my way to being done. But I could not find gold shelving at a price to fit my budget. They were either all in the thousands of dollars or cheap, cheap. Then I ran across this piece. I hoped that with some touch-up work, I could get these shelves to work for me. And I'm real happy with my purchase!I took a chance and bought two of them. I have not been disappointed!-- I took a chance that a piece made of so many wood parts--at this decent, low price--would align properly and come together without much effort and time. It did! There are five shelves and 20 solid round wood poles. Each pole has the correct length long screw. Each pole screws into a shelf. You start assembly with the top shelf--laid upside down on the floor. I laid it on a carpet, but you could use a towel to protect the wood. If you are as tall as the bookcase, you will not have a problem when you get to the last pieces--the feet. Otherwise, you may need a ladder or have to lay it on its side for the final screw-in feet.--I took a chance that the color of the wood was true to what was pictured. It is! There is a slight gold-ish, green-ish wash over the natural wood. (It is not a white wash.) All I needed to do to make these metallic gold enough to match the rest of my décor was to lightly spray paint the poles. I did it from about a foot away, so the coverage is not dense or solid--just a semblance of metallic gold. I used this