We wanted an all wood bed to stop our cats from scratching the soft surface one we previously had. It is a nice solid bed, but set aside extra time to put it together-took about 5 hours! The instructions were easy to follow, but make sure you do not tighten the metal bar in the back too hard as you can crack through the front of the headboard. The base is very sturdy and we had no creaking getting into bed last night. The space underneath is big enough for our 2 cats to still get underneath and get away from each other or play.  The color is an off white, almost light grey- a little darker than I had hoped, but it still works. I would recommend this bed.