I love this bed, it's so beautiful and grand! The bed looks expensive! I ordered the bed on Sunday and I received it on Wednesday. The bed was easy to put together, it took me a friend a hour to put together, it's better if you have two people to put it together. I only used my mattress, you don't need a box spring if you do use one one you bed would sit up really high. I would suggest spraying the bed down with fabuloso or some type of cleaner with a nice smell to it. The material that the bed it made with has a chemical smell, not a strong smell but it's noticeable.