Oh boy, where to start; this set absolutely exceeded my expectations. The wood is dark and lustrous. The contrast of the black padded seats is great - have never seen such real looking fake leather. The set is somewhat traditional compared to the glass table I’m replacing, but the X shape of the seat back and the way the legs curve give a more contemporary feel. The whole set is solid-it’ll last a long time. I love it. Highly recommend it. Oh one thing is that the chairs do not all push under the table at the same time. If you prefer that look you could remedy it by moving one end chair to a side wall. I chose just to leave the end chairs out by about a couple of inches.