Really soft, more so than expected. The company reviewer claimed this was "cobalt" blue but other reviewers described it as a teal blue . It is much closer to teal than to cobalt-- perhaps a peacock blue? The rug color appears to darken when you brush it one direction (against the nap vs. with the nap), but it is all one color: there are not differing blues and definitely not navy, cobalt and light as appears in the first photo that was pictured. The room I put it in has navy chairs and various blues in the artwork, so it worked.