The bed took my fiancé and I about 3 hours to put together but that was expected. You definitely need 2 people to put it together because some steps require you to hold something or push one way while completing another step. The headboard comes up high enough to lean back against sitting up and the color/fabric is a really nice, expensive looking taupe color. The storage underneath the bed is easy to get to and SO convenient in this tiny one bedroom apartment!