This duvet is very soft to the touch and the grey is more of a greyish beige. The pattern is subtle but beautiful. The quality is really nice for the price and I am overall very pleased with this purchase. The only reason I gave this 4 out of 5 stars is the size. The queen size is a bit large so my comforter does not fully fit in this duvet. There are several inches of extra duvet fabric. Nothing that can't be adjusted with a sewing machine but it would be nice to find a duvet that fits a standard queen comforter. Washing and drying did not cause any shrinking but it did come out of the dryer wrinkle-free. Which was really nice because I really did not want to have to iron this duvet.