This is a beautiful, high quality bed for a very good price.  We ordered it for my daughter.  After reading the reviews, I was a little nervous about putting the bed together but am happy to say that assembly was very smooth.  I would recommend having 2 people assemble together.  I think single person assembly would have been very difficult and frustrating.  Also, it is critical to read the instructions (which could have been a little better).  I tend to go by instinct while my husband is a step by step kind of guy.  His approach for assembly is the only way to go...follow the directions, one step at a time and you should have no trouble.  All our parts (ex:  wood dowels, screws) fit into the frame perfectly.  All in all, it took us about 2 1/2 hours to assemble.  Highly recommend.