It looks exactly like it looks in the picture.  Assembly was VERY easy and the table is surprisingly high quality (aka everything fit together perfectly, the glass is thick, and it's very sturdy).  Is it beautiful?  No.  Is it the statement piece that will bring your living room together?  Definitely not.  But next to my couch (kind of hidden behind an arm), I didn't want to spend a ton on something nobody would really see--though I didn't want to fear it would fall over at the slightest touch nor did I want it to be noticeably ugly.  The metal rods are a bit shiny/cheap-looking, but it looks a lot better than I'd expected for a sturdy glass table under $50.  Glass is clear and basically invisible to the casual observer (which I thought was a good thing, but just FYI).