My kitten loves this kitty condo.  Before I could get everything out of the box, she was playing in the pieces. Climbing it while I was putting it together.  If Ican put this together, anybody can do it!  The trick was not to tighten everything, until you got the layer together.  I was putting off purchasing a cat tree, because they are so ugly!  In an effort to keep her from clawing my furniture, last effort before (gasp) declawing, I purchased this tree.  It actually looks nice, like a piece of furniture...  Not the ugly carpet trees.  The material looks like mink. The rope blends well with my wicker and bamboo.  Yes all the pieces except for the bed are hard. I just put her favorite blanket in the house.  I am a very happy customer. Will buy again from this company.