The front of the desk, not the drawer side, does have a backing but it is attached with many small nails which doesn't look very good. Overall, the desk is as described and looks very nice. The edges of the desk are very sharp and it would be nice if they were rounded. This was delivered to my front door and left there even though the driver saw a workman just leaving my house so it could have been left inside. The desk is extremely heavy and I was fortunate that some workmen were there to bring it in because there was no way I could do it myself. I had a licensed contractor put it together which added to the cost of the desk but I knew I couldn't do it. There are many, many pieces. Took my contractor about three hours and there is nothing this guy can't do. Overall., this is a good value for the price and I would buy it again. The color is as pictured on the website, a dark cherry