LOVE this bed! It is so beautiful! Packaged very well and was easy to assemble, but I do recommend using power tools to make it go faster. There is a slight chemical smell when you take it out of the packaging, but it disappears in a day or two. The color is exactly between gray and oatmeal. It will work either way - if your decor is more gray in tone, it will lean gray; and if your decor is more beige in tone, it will lean oatmeal. Now, if only I could keep my cat from using it as a scratching post!