We moved into a new apartment and thought it had an island like the model we saw. It didn’t. So we needed something that wouldn’t take up a lot of space in our small place. This is perfect. I debated between this version and the one without the shelves. I like the look of this one to hold wine glasses and wine. There’s still plenty of room for 2 people to sit for a meal. The only downfall is it’s pretty thin - helpful to save space, but you’re very close to another person who sits across from you. Also, it came little damaged on one of the corners. Otherwise very good.