The color is a lovely off white with a slight brushing of antique color at the joints. It looks really pretty in my guest room. It was much more difficult to follow the directions and assemble than was suggested in the reviews we read. We needed a hammer to insert the top of the headboard into the bottom of the headboard. CAVEAT- make sure the holes are lined up and  hit gently until you are able to insert the screws.  We were also missing 4 screws and washers but my pack rat husband had the size we needed in his shop, so we were saved a trip to the hardware store.