I suppose this serves its purpose, but it is very delicate.  Don't plan on using it for anything other than shoes or other very lightweight objects.  I had the intention of using it as a plant shelf, which it does work alright for, but you certainly couldn't put anything of substantial weight on it.  The wood is extremely lightweight.  I was extremely careful putting it together (which isn't the sturdiest design anyway), and still managed to split one of the spindles on the top shelf.  I used wood glue to fix it and it seems fine, but this is really not a good quality item.