I would say a shade or two lighter than pictured but overall, the description matches. There’s only 9 steps which was impressive. It took my husband and I less than 2 hours, but we were casually putting it together and not solely focused on the task at hand. Overall, a great purchase so far. My last frame was from Wayfair and lasted almost 10 years before I wanted a style change. Another solid piece and win for Wayfair!