The hardest part of assembly was wrestling a 7-foot-tall 120lb box into the house. The bed went together beautifully and seems sturdy and well-engineered. The color is beautiful but not easy to match up, it has a bit of a gold tone to it and is definitely more of a medium brown than a dark brown as described. I have a 12" mattress on it and it looks really good, it does hide the bottom rail of the headboard but leaves the pieced pattern on the headboard visible. Perfect for a bedroom with a mid-century vibe!