This rug is really thick - almost 1/2" -- and sturdy. The background is color is a true charcoal gray; the other colors (bright green, blue, some yellow, etc.) are vibrant without looking tacky. This will look great with modern, contemporary or transitional styles, but it's busy enough that the other furnishings should be in solid colors. Note -- the color pallet of the rug may differ from the picture shown. I was concerned about the square of red shown in the picture, since it looked like it would stick out. The rug we received did not have this ... rather, it had one rectangle where blue was a bit more prominent.