This ends up being about 6 ft by 2 ft once expanded. It came in a box that was about 3x2.5, and expanded on its own once we pulled it out of the box and plastic bag (in about 20 min). I didn't have to do anything to break apart the stuffing - which is double-encased in heavyweight fabric that has small zipper enclosures about 6" long (in case you want to add more stuffing). The cover was folded in a small, flat plastic bag at the top of the box. It was very simple to put the cover on, and will be easy to get it off to wash. The red is a "true red" (not orange or purple), and it's extremely soft. The microfiber does hold pet hair/fur like glue, and you have to brush it off in the direction of the nap in order to thoroughly remove it. All told, I found the picture to be a very accurate representation of what I received.