To Paint or Not to Paint

I have mentioned before that I enjoy blogging to share my ideas/inspiration with you all, but also (and mabye even more?) to get your feedback and input.  Today, I present you with my latest quandry.  It involves Colton's bathroom.  The entire bathroom had been remodeled at some point, and in doing so, it left us with this little nook:

Since I first spotted it, I have envisioned adding shelves to the top and using it as an open closet.  My husband shares this vision, but while he is good at many things, tackling things on a to-do list is not one of his specialties.  Like, Colton could be graduating high school before Josh gets around to building a few shelves in that little nook.
Well, last week, one of my friends offered to give us one of these Crate and Barrel leaning shelves that she no longer had use for:

With Josh's permission, I quickly snatched it up from her to use as a temporary solution to our problem.  I originally planned to paint it to go with the bathroom.  Usually, I have no qualms about painting a piece of furniture, but this one is in such pristine condition, in a really pretty dark ebony color that I am having second thoughts.  Especially becasue if I do leave it dark, we can ue it elsewhere if/when Josh ever gets around to building our real shelves. 
So...here is where I need you all (please, I'm counting on you!).  What do I do with the bookshelf?  Leave it dark?  Paint it white?  Paint it some fun color to go with the bathroom?  Other suggestions?  Please, please, please....leave me a comment and let me know what you think!