****** - Verified Buyer
4.5
I really like this bench but part of it was broken and one side has the paint chipped. I didn't want to deal with sending it back so we fixed it ourselves but it does suck spending the money for something that is already broken.It’s really good for it price, was a pain to put together though. My daughter loves itMy wife and I have a toddler who is amassing quite the collection of toys. So many, they're overrunning the family room. We have storage bins that we've been putting them in, but they're piling up and we don't like how our family room looks with all these bins laying around.So we looked for other storage measures. We bought one solution with shelves and colorful bins, but took that back to the store. It looked ridiculous in the family room. I then began researching other options. We spent time on Amazon going through every possible storage solution we could find. It was during this search that we bumped into the Badger storage bench with built-in baskets.It arrived today and it's everything we hoped it would be in the pictures on Amazon. It fits perfectly in our family room and actually matches the other furniture in the room. The storage bins are a nice size and soft to the touch. There are no sharp corners on the storage baskets that might injure our child. Baby can easily walk up to it and pull out a basket to reach his toys. There are no hinged tops or areas for his little fingers to get hurt. The top is made of a good inch or more of simulated leather-covered foam that is soft and cushiony. It's very comfortable to sit on. It's low to the floor, so our little boy can sit on it when he gets a little bigger. In fact, our friends and family can sit on it during parties and other gatherings. The manufacturer recommends 200lbs or less on the seat. I'm 195lbs and the top felt very solid to sit on. I don't feel any slack or give to the assembly; it's very solid.The assembly process was really quite straight forward. Usually I assemble any furniture we purchase that requires it, but today my wife actually assembled it herself. And my wife is Chinese; English is a second language to her. She told me it was the first thing like this she ever assembled, so rest assured, with some patience along with the assembly instructions, there's no reason to be intimidated about assembling the bench.We're absolutely thrilled to have found a functional storage solution that not only looks great in our family room but also doubles as another area for people to sit and relax. It looks attractive and holds a nice quantity of reasonably-sized toys. It can be used for anything that fits in each basket, so as our child grows, we can store linens, bed spreads, magazines, etc. in the storage baskets.Stylish, functional, and comfortable, it's a storage solution worthy of consideration.When I purchased this bench, there was no other review yet. I usually buy on the basis of others' reviews so this purchase was a bit of a leap of faith for me.I can only say I am pleased with my purchase. The bench is sturdy, sturdier than even I expected during assembly as the 2 center divider pieces are not screwed to the 2 lower rails so I was worried this would be flimsy -- it isn't.We bought this for our toddlers' play area so they had something slightly higher to stand on to look outside the window in this area. We had low step stools that weren't quite high enough, and this turned out perfect for what we wanted (plus the top is well padded in case of a fall). We turned the back towards the front for now so they're not pulling out the storage bins all the time -- at this age, they want to climb in them / play in them and the bins won't stand up to this. The back is finished well so it looks OK when turned around this way. As I mentioned, this is primarily a step bench and the storage feature is just a nice secondary attribute. The top can be lifted off for placing things in the bin if you are putting the front against a wall as we are for now.Some things I think are important to know before buying:- the pieces are not labeled with the letters referred to in the instructions, so you have to be careful to correctly identify the upper and lower front and rear rails when assembling. Otherwise, assembly is pretty easy (only a screwdriver is needed).- the bench top is not attached to the base -- it just rests on top, held in place by its own weight and the raised lips / edges of the side and front rails. The rear upper rail does not have a raised edge to hold the bench top like the side and front upper rails; this isn't an issue if the back is right against a wall. Even if you place the front against a wall like we did, the bench top stays in place reasonably secure as it is quite heavy.- The warnings say "DO NOT allow anyone to stand on this product." Try stopping a toddler from that! It is plenty strong enough to support a standing toddler or two... the top is padded well in case they do fall, and it is quite low to the floor anyway.Overall we are happy with the purchase. It is a good value for the price paid.I would have given this 5 stars, but there is such a strong chemical smell, especially with the padded top, that I ended up putting it outside on my covered patio. I tried cleaning it a bunch of times, and also leaving it outside on the patio and inside the garage to let it air out for weeks, but nothing has worked. Otherwise, this is perfect! It's sturdy, looks nice, but the smell is too overwhelming for me. If you're chemical or smell sensitive, I would skip this.Pros: Looks Great! Sturdy! Perfect Size!Cons: Strong Chemical Smell; Wasn't that easy to assemble.
