The color of the wood stain is several shades darker than the pictures. It's actually a very dark gray rather than the drift wood medium gray as it shows. We already had a bedframe and found that once the headboard was attached it was extremely wobbly to the point we were worried it could break without additional material being added between the headboard and the wall to steady it. Maybe the experience would be different if we bought the entire headboard/frame/footboard set, but we couldn't afford that and I was a little surprised that the quality wasn't a little better. I guess you get what you pay for.