Ok so heres the lowdown. It took me about 3 hours to assemble this bed of which about 2 hours was assembling all of the drawers. I did have a power drill and I used it whenever I could. Im not sure why some people took like 9 hours to build this. I took my time, laid out all of the pieces, did each step slowly chec my work, etc. and I was done with the main bed part in about an hour. I did it alone but it would be much better if you have another person to help you.
The pieces are pretty cheap and bad. Youre basically buying furniture that is glued sawdust (particle board) and painted to look like its wood. The screws are all fine but I broke one of the pieces of wood when I moved the bed a few inches because I pulled on one side and the screw popped out. When I tried to put it back in I noticed that the wood had split and broken where I had pulled it.
The paint is pretty thin so it will scuff and rub off if you drop something on it (in my case, I a small item fell from my headboard and it knocked paint off the bed frame.
I did not reinforce the bed with angle brackets. I think that is a good idea to get it more sturdy but I think they sort of make it loose on purpose so that it can be moved around a bit to get the drawers to fit right. You just make some adjustments until the drawers all open and close properly.
The slats are really weak. I was afraid that Id get a splinter since the wood was so weak and falling apart. It does seem to hold my mattress fine though but I will feel better if I replace the wood with something better from the hardware store.
Assembly wasnt hard but take your time because if you build it wrong, it will be a pain to take it apart and redo it.
I also got the headboard in another sale and although the material is similar and I think its the same company, the headboard seems like its more sturdy.
If you have a box spring, you need to get rid of it. I tried to use it but the bed was way too high and the headboard was out of place so I got rid of my box spring (just gave it away for free).
Ok if you set your expectations properly
Ok so heres the lowdown. It took me about 3 hours to assemble this bed of which about 2 hours was assembling all of the drawers. I did have a power drill and I used it whenever I could. Im not sure why some people took like 9 hours to build this. I took my time, laid out all of the pieces, did each step slowly chec my work, etc. and I was done with the main bed part in about an hour. I did it alone but it would be much better if you have another person to help you. The pieces are pretty cheap and bad. Youre basically buying furniture that is glued sawdust (particle board) and painted to look like its wood. The screws are all fine but I broke one of the pieces of wood when I moved the bed a few inches because I pulled on one side and the screw popped out. When I tried to put it back in I noticed that the wood had split and broken where I had pulled it. The paint is pretty thin so it will scuff and rub off if you drop something on it (in my case, I a small item fell from my headboard and it knocked paint off the bed frame. I did not reinforce the bed with angle brackets. I think that is a good idea to get it more sturdy but I think they sort of make it loose on purpose so that it can be moved around a bit to get the drawers to fit right. You just make some adjustments until the drawers all open and close properly. The slats are really weak. I was afraid that Id get a splinter since the wood was so weak and falling apart. It does seem to hold my mattress fine though but I will feel better if I replace the wood with something better from the hardware store. Assembly wasnt hard but take your time because if you build it wrong, it will be a pain to take it apart and redo it. I also got the headboard in another sale and although the material is similar and I think its the same company, the headboard seems like its more sturdy. If you have a box spring, you need to get rid of it. I tried to use it but the bed was way too high and the headboard was out of place so I got rid of my box spring (just gave it away for free).