We basically wanted a toy box so the kids could keep a few toys in the living room, since that's where they usually play, rather than the "play" room. But when we found this, it made sense...a place where the kids can sit AND play. And it looks very cute. Assembly was only a little bit of a head ache...not too bad really, but definitely took a few minutes. The packaging was a nightmare...lots of that styrofoam (spelled incorrectly) that falls into little pieces. The box arrived with a big dent in it, so I was worried something would be damaged, but everything came out fine, except for broken bits of styrophoam (wrong again) everywhere! Apart from the foam, the only complaint I have is about the little horses on the back of the seat. They spin, which is cool. But one of them is shaped so that when it drops to the bottom of that little metal rail, part of the horse is below the wood of the seat back and if a child tries to spin it there, it hits the seat back...the wood isn't solid wood, so it could easily chip or damage the back. My girls are six and older, so I was able to explain to them the need to be careful with that one, but I could see a younger child damaging the chair with that. I guess you could just super glue it, so that it doesn't move. Otherwise very nice storage bench.