This bookcase is beautiful! It holds my books while still showing off my stenciled wall, which was exactly the point. At first I was disappointed by the cherry color on the underside of the shelves (see second picture) and was planning on painting it, but it is growing on me. Instructions were minimal, but not many were necessary. I would only suggest that you make sure the holes to attach the cross are in the back when you are building the unit. We had to pull everything apart and start over when we realized we had the holes on one side in the front.