The slats are better than expected and offer excellent mattress support including a center support which is required for many mattress warranties.  Although the dimensions of the storage seem small, there is plenty of room under the mattress.  It is difficult to lift the mattress to access the storage but this could be a function of the weight of the mattress.  It is a small price to pay to not have to position the bed and other furniture to be able to access under-bed drawers.  It is nice that the storage has a floor of its own so nothing is going to peak out from under the bed.  The color is gray but it is on the taupe side of gray.  This is an excellent bed; could not be more pleased.