I really like this storage ottoman however as others mentioned it is not black its more of a dark brown (expresso), seems very sturdy and looks great.  Although others love the trays that come with it, I don't as they are a reddish brown....I would prefer them to actually match the color of the ottoman at the very least, so its not something I would keep on top of the ottoman and not sure I'd use them at all because of the color.