Extremely comfortable chair. The velvet is very smooth and soft, and it's the perfect balance of plush bottom cushion and firm back cushion. It came decently packaged -- the exterior box had a hole in it, but the chair itself wasn't damaged. The gold legs are bright and shiny. I took one star off ONLY because the color isn't mauve. As another reviewer mentioned, it is definitely pink.. and not a blush pink either, but a baby pink.