The bench was a true Espresso color, which worked perfectly for me. I put it at the end of my bed for shoe storage and it fits great in that location! The box was very beat up when it arrived, but everything was in great condition. It was a lot to put together, but I did it myself and it took about 2.5 hours. It looks very nice put together and fits both my shoes (one pair of shoes in each cubbyhole) and my husband's shoes (one shoe per cubbyhole). I definitely recommend this product if you are looking for additional storage that looks nice and does not take up a lot of space.