I love this mantle. The color is great - dark but not too dark. I had just painted my brick fireplace a dark grayblack and this looks great up against it. It was too wide. I was going to return it but a local woodworker was able to cut it to 6” which is the perfect size. As it came, it just stuck out too far. I didn’t realize there were fire codes about the size of mantles- so make sure you check that too.