The bed is definitely darker than pictures as someone else had mentioned, but it’s beautiful! Feels like a sturdy long-lasting piece of furniture!
There is a gap between the mattress and edge of the bed (all around) maybe a couple inches. But once the blankets were all on and tucked into the sides it wasn’t really noticeable, except towards the headboard where the blanket isn’t tucked in. But it doesn’t really bother me as much as it did in the beginning! 
My husband basically built it himself and it only took about an hour at most! He said it was a pain to tighten the screws from the sides to the head/footboard. But that’s it! 
Definitely recommend