This bed is gorgeous.  We bought the king in the dark brown.  We bought a ten in mattress and a 9 inch bow spring and there was still a significant gap between the top of the mattress and the headboard.  Thankfully my husband is handy and crafted an additional support out of 2x4s and now you can barely see the space.  The bed was fairly easy to put together.  The stitching on the headboard is beautiful, as well as the finishing nails.  We are very happy with our purchase!