The bench is comfortable to sit on,  even without a cushion. It fits in lively with my other black wrought iron furniture on the deck. However,  even though it sits under an awning and is fully protected from rain,  the bottom crossrail on the back piece has already started to rust. Ive had it for 1 12 months and weve had a dry summer. Also, not all the finishing ends fit the screws - the screws were too long. Because of those 2 problems Ive given the bench a 3.