I used to think metal storage meant a filing cabinet from a dentist's office, something gray and cold that made a room feel like a waiting area. Then I put a dark green metal locker next to my bed instead of a nightstand, and that cured me fast. The color did it. The right metal piece isn't cold at all, it just needs a shade with some life in it.
It's not right for everything, and I'll say that upfront. If you want soft or quiet, metal is the wrong material, it has a presence and it holds the temperature of the room, so it feels cool to the touch in winter and you notice it. It's also heavy to move once it's loaded, so think about where it lands before you fill it with twelve years of tax documents. But for a closet, a mudroom, or anywhere damp or chaotic, it beats fabric bins and wicker every time, because it doesn't sag, stain, or grow a smell. The difference between a good one and a bad one comes down to the gauge of the metal and the welds. Cheap ones are thin enough to dent if you look at them wrong, and the seams get spot welded in a few spots instead of running the full edge, so after a year the corners start to separate and rattle. A good one has a continuous weld, a powder coat finish instead of just paint, and drawers or doors that sit flush with real hardware, not a magnet and a prayer. Run your hand along the edges in the shop, there should be no sharp lip anywhere, and the finish should feel slightly textured, not glossy and thin like it'll chip the first time a belt buckle swings past it. Check the drawer glides too, pull them all the way out, they should not wobble or stick halfway.
The day it's delivered, open every drawer and door before the delivery person leaves. Look for rust spots already starting at the corners, that's a sign the powder coat didn't fully cure, and it will spread. Check that the legs or base sit flat on the floor without rocking, a lot of these ship slightly bent from the warehouse.
Mine has moved apartments three times now, survived a flooded basement that ruined the rug next to it, and still closes with the same satisfying click it had on day one. The small thing I love most is that click, the sound of a drawer that actually seats itself, not one that bangs shut and bounces back open at you.