Package came all in a thin big box which made me nervous, but all of the pieces were zipped inside of the actual headboard. Made it very easy to bring it upstairs! The wood is a tad darker in person, and looks really great once out together. (Keep in mind, this is an inexpensive bed, so slats are thin and my need additional or replacing, but I can’t say for sure as we haven’t used it yet since it’s going in our guest room. We are adding a 5” box spring to go under our mattress to ensure there is no gap. Overall satisfied with this purchase!