For being made of composite wood, it's surprisingly sturdy. We were a little disappointed that the shoe compartments were small and barely fit anything bigger than sandals or small ballet flats - we were hoping to store some tennis shoes inside. Anything bigger than flip flops or ballet style shoes need to be one per compartment and the small boots shows in the photo certainly don't fit. The color was also darker than anticipated - we ordered espresso brown, which we knew was dark, but it's pretty much black, and the handles on the drawers are cheap plastic. The cushion on top was well constructed though and looks very nice. Overall, it will work for now as an alternative until we can get a solid wood bench that fits our needs better.