The appearance of the bed is lovely, it looks really pretty and like the princess bed my daughter envisioned. The ottoman lift works well with lots of space and a good, functioning spring lift. It took about 2 hours to make it. It does feel a little flimsy for anyone heavy. I’m glad only my three year old is sleeping on it as when my husband sat on it, it made a terrible creak. The mattress sits on top of the bed it doesn’t really fit into it well as the slats are quite high up.