I can not say enough good things about this rug! The color is a muted "dark" gray. By that I mean it is not too dark. The quality is very nice and the colors are very true to picture. Its always a surprise to company when they get closer to this rug to see the wonderful and fun design. I placed it in my living room in front of fireplace. From afar it just looks like a luxurious area rug to sit on near the fire, when you get closer you see the detail of the octupus and its head and tentacles. So fun and so pretty!!!