This rug is beautiful in person, and looks just like I expected from the photos, or better. It's almost like a pile of intensely colored leaves. Very striking. Before ordering, I read several reviews that mentioned shedding, but I decided to take a chance anyway. This rug definitely does shed. But I knew that going in. I'm saving the pieces that come out and figure I'll weave them back in every once in a while. You can't tell by looking at the rug that any pieces have come out. My dog loves this rug and likes to play with his toys on it -- which contributes to the shedding. The only thing I kind of don't like about this rug is that the pieces are apparently made from remnants of deconstructed items (prom dresses? who knows!) and there is visible stitching on some of the pieces. Not a big deal though. (photo shows my dog claiming the rug just after I put it down and started assembling a table)