I made these a while ago, and went to Bill Clemmon's shop for a finish spraying lesson. The shelves are red oak, I used a water base stain, then sanded it as it was too dark. The wife liked the look of the dark stain and light colored parts after sanding, so Bill and I sprayed a few coats of shelac. Took me a while to get them hung but they look good. I have three more to build now.