The color is not a bright gold. If anything, I would classify this color as a bronze. It has a brown patina brushed on top. The instructions are very bad. That said, the fandiler is lovely. It's ornate but simple at the same time. It gives a soft and warm glow. It can dim, providing good ambiance. The fan is powerful and quiet. Our grill rotates while the fan is on and we haven't figured out if this is the design or something that needs to be tightened. The fandiler itself provides a great visual feature in the room. The subtracted star is from the poor instructions and the mileading color from the picture.