The pictures make it seem like an English Oak color, but it is more towards Dark Walnut. Assembly was easy but one of the vertical members was not able to be fully flush (2nd picture) with the horizontal because of some warping naked to the eye. I added a support made from 4 layers of 1/2" plywood to the middle of the bottom shelf the same height as the skinny side floor pieces so that there is more support for that large 60" span. Overall, I would keep heavy items limited to the bottom shelf like the stock pictures show, because a 50" span for the middle shelf that has vertical members offset the way it does while also taking the load of the uppermost shelf, is a bit much for this material (MDF). Overall, it's very cozy.