This looks really nice, but if you look closely you can tell it's veneer. It came scratched on the top, which probably happened in shipping. The problem is that it's extremely easy to scratch the veneer off, and I don't mean through heavy use at all. We didn't even put anything on it so we're not sure why the veneer peeled off in a few places. Once the dark brown veneer peels or splits off all you see is pine composite underneath. While the design of this is beautiful, it's a low quality piece. And yes, as other reviewers said, the color is much darker than the photo. It's an espresso; very dark brown.