This was hard to rate.  I purchased unfinished so I could match the stain to my floors (or paint).  I didn't read reviews first to know that it was going to come "distressed" a bit.  If I wasn't under the clock on my project, I would have returned it.  It did not appear distressed to me.  To me it looked like a mantle that may have been dropped a few times and put in the reject pile.  My carpenter rounded out the edges and recommended that I fill in the rest with a wood filler.  He also thinks I should paint it, not stain it because the flat part facing forward is plywood and it will not easily stain the same as the rest of the wood pieces.  I gave it 3 stars because it really looks great from far away.