We bought two of these to have on hand in our living room for use as impromptu foot stools and storage containers. The only thing "stored" so far as been our 2 1/2 y.o. daughter's bunny who hid it in there and then forgot about it. That was a bit of a problem at bedtime, let me tell you. Anyway, the quality is very good - it's a handsome ottoman, heavy and appears well-constructed. It's very dark brown. The inside does have a bit of a smell, but this hasn't been an issue for us. The storage tray appears very functional but we haven't used that yet.