It's the perfect shade of gray, not too dark, not too light.  The fabric is flecked and not a solid, so it will hide what it needs to hide.  With five kids that's a must.  It's the perfect size for our needs.  It's beautiful and looks up scale enough for our front living room of the house. At first I was skeptical of a couch I had to assemble, but it was simple to do, and it's solid.  I'm very happy with the purchase.