craftgrrl | i married the right man

i use overlock thread for my sewing machines instead of regular spooled thread because it's cheaper and more likely to be of better quality. well, i cant exactly put those huge cones up on top of my sewing machine and expect to sew...so i started shopping for a thread stand. i told my husband about it and to my delight he said "pff! i can make that." better yet, he kept his promise. we went shopping for supplies and he made one even better than the one i was hoping to buy.

it has an adjustable (vertical & pivot) lever/arm so i can use it on a variety of table heights & at different directions from my sewing machine. It also has two hooks to lead the thread along the bottom of the lever & can hold up to six cones of thread. i'm in love. oh, i love it.

my question is, what to paint it? i'm a big fan of natural wood stains, but i think this piece in particular needs more color than that. i'm afraid of it looking tacky..oh, i'm stuck. i havent even bothered to sand it down yet. any suggestions?