The color is darker than we expected, which worked in our favor. We were hoping it was darker. My image was taken on a cloudy morning in natural lighting with no editing. The console was well packaged and arrived in great condition. It took my husband 4 hours to build it, which may have been because he started at 9 pm. The console is chic, tremendously sturdy, and quite heavy. I could barely carry it through the doorway when FedEx dropped it off. Anyways, this is a great deal!