Although I didn't expect that this Cat Tree would have to be assembled, the task was not overly difficult, although fitting some of the components together was a bit tricky. You need a good open space to work in & some time to put this item together. It took me about 1 1/2 hours from start to finish. The good news is that my cats seem to like it & I had to repeatedly shoo one of them off of the components in order to assemble it. The colour is pretty, cream rather than the beige it is described as. This was not a surprise since the photos accurately depicted the colour at the time I ordered it.