My hotly anticipated new floor lamp has been delayed, so I thought I'd dredge up another apartment-related issue. And that's ... this thing.

What is this thing? Well, this is a thing I picked up out of a trash can in Brooklyn last year. I've long been seething with jealousy at those people on Design*Sponge who are always finding Knoll credenzas and Finn Juhl chairs on the street and I can't help wondering why that never happens to me. Perhaps this sense of inadequacy made me overly eager to pluck this metal branch from its fate and carry it home (plus, it was easy to carry). I had this idea that I would paint it a super high-gloss black and it would be this cool sculptural thing in my apartment. But the months have passed and I haven't done anything with it (I know this photo is really old because it predates my CD organization project).

So, I ask you, my few readers, to give me your opinion. Is this thing hideous, tacky and useless — and should be returned to the ash heap immediately? Or, if I were going to give it a black lacquer makeover — how exactly should I go about it? All responses welcome.

ETA: I've now learned it's a jewelry stand from Urban Outfitters (thanks Grace!), but my question still stands. Worth the effort?