To sit my shampoo & soap on.

It's rather useless in other requests. I'll tell 'ya. I'm not going to plant my already cold bummy on that marble. There's a showerhead over the bench, but to turn it on I have to deal with the cold water in the pipes.

It looks nice, but who the heck sees it except me as put my foot on it to shave my legs.

We don't have one, but I would probably not use it if we did. However, if this is going to be your forever home to grow old in, you may find it useful in the future. Also a good reason to mount a handheld shower on a bar.

I don't have one, but do wish I had something about that height. It would make shaving in the shower so much easier.

It was a blessing to my sister when she had to cool the fever of the baby she could not bear to let go of, and more regularly to my father in his last years of life. And if you''ve ever been bone tired and dirty at the same time... well, you'll use it. I like the teak bench as opposed to the built-in tiled one. It's removable if you change your mind, replaceable if you wear it out, and looks pretty in juxtaposition to almost any tile

I've seen wall-mounted benches that will fold up when not in use. These are easily retrofitted, so you can defer the decision to a later time if you decide it's something you'd like. I might add some extra blocking to the framing while the walls are open to make this process easier later.

If you want a leg-shaving ledge, it doesn't need to be big. Just a 4" lip would be more than enough. Williamsem's points are good ones, too.

I had a bench put in during our bathroom renovation a year ago. I use it when shaving my legs. Since we don't have a tub in the house, I wanted to be able to sit if injured or to make it easier to wash a small child or dog (not that we have either, but you never know). Also put in a handheld shower for the same reason. I have sat on the bench, and it is cold. If you plan to actually sit on the bench, I'd consider something with a wood slatted seat.