This rug is beautiful -- definitely more like the lighter image than the darker gray represented in one of the sample pics. It's soft and has performed to expectations. It does require a bit of patience for the ends to get used to laying flat, but that's to be expected, as it is a thinner rug. It looks lovely in our high-traffic master bedroom and really helped pull the room together. We expect to get plenty of wear out of this rug, as the pattern seems to hide dirt and stains.