I read each of the 12 reviews on this bed repeatedly, and I looked online to see if I could find this anywhere else, and I couldn't...it's probably called something else at other furniture stores. True to the reviews, this bed is a pretty bed. It's one thing to read reviews, and it's another for it to be one's reality. This bed took 13 days from the time it was ordered to arrive. It arrived in four boxes...as other reviewers commented. It took a long time to open all four boxes, because there was a lot of packaging involved. After reading the reviews, I was worried that my bed would be damaged....thankfully, it was not.I put this bed together myself, and as per the reviews of a few others, the directions were simple enough, but they were confusing. There is a mid-rail that goes down the middle of the bed that gave me a lot of trouble. When I put it together, and then put in the slats, my twin XL box springs would not go down into it--it was tilted. The instructions say to have the rail to go up on its side, and it's connected by two u-bars that go on each end of the bed. Trying to put slats on the bed with this rail in place was a major pain, because the slats did not go evenly across the width of the bed. It caused me so many headaches, and I couldn't figure it out. So, what did I do, I put the slats in place across the bed, and I took out the mid-rail, and then I went to bed. My problem arrived at 2:00 a.m., when my nurse husband came home and got in bed. The bed crashed! What a shock that was! So, we decided to put the mattresses on the floor, and that's how we slept.I cannot emphasize how cheap the slats are that go across the width of the bed....cheap, glued together, and not supportive. The instructions tell you to put screws in the "conveniently" located holes on each end of the slats. I didn't do this, because I couldn't get over how cheap they were. The slats are also strung together with some sort of stretchy elastic bands, and there are two sets that come with seven boards each.This morning, I got up and went to the lumber store, and I bought 12, 1x4's, and I put the center rail back in, and it still didn't work right--the box springs were still off balanced. So, I took off the U-bar and switched directions, and then I put the center-rail flat instead of on its side, and then I put the new boards in, and FINALLY, it worked. Also, the directions show the center rail on its side, and it includes two wood supports that go to the floor....since I switched the direction of the center rail, we don't have the two supports, and it is fine.This did not turn out at all as I planned. Even in the midst of frustration, I read the reviews again, and they were somewhat helpful. I had to figure it out the way our bed would work. This may not be the case for some, but it was for me. Also, I am not sure if there are varying degrees of Twin XL box springs, because I would think they are standard...maybe mine was too wide, I don't know. With lots of tweaking, I managed to figure it out, and then I caused several scratches on the foot rail, because of the endless removing of the box springs, slats, etc. Good luck. It would have been easier if someone delivered this and set it up and knew what they were doing! I am so glad it's over! Now, I just want to enjoy the bed without it caving in! That's my goal!The bed arrived today. Came in 4 decent-sized but not hideously unmanageable boxes (see 1. below). Once unpacked, it was pretty darned easy to put together (although a could of places the instructions could have been clearer (see 3. below)). There were 2 of us and it took a couple hours. One person *could* do it without too much trouble, but 2 are better. We were missing one long bolt and choose to omit it from one of the center rail legs...which I genuinely believe it will never be noticed.It is thoughtfully designed. The slots where the bedrails are attached are already in the uprights. Pretty much every screw/bolt hole is pre-drilled. The exception is the holes in the slats are pre-drilled, but not in the bedrail on which they sit and are to be screwed down into (see 2. below). a) It really wasn't that hard to start the screws and b) this is the first slatted bedframe where I've seen them screwed down (which I think is great), so you could always not bother.A couple of points:1) The free delivery (and I saw no other options) is to your front door (or the loading dock if you're in an apartment building). After that, you're on your own.2) If you do screw the slats down, I recommend taping them over with duct or gaffe tape since they are not countersunk and I have a concern that they could catch in the bottom of the mattress.3) When assembling the headboard, there is a slat that runs between the two legs. Make sure(because it's not mentioned in the instructions)to have the two holes in the middle facing under the bed. and, the reason I deduct points from the bed because this might have been a deal-breaker had I known about it prior to ordering:4) The shelf is only 6.5" back to front edge. This is not a good depth for people who read. I will also have to get new lamps for the top of the bed since they now stick out over the edge of the headboard, something they did not do in my previous deeper-shelved queen bed headboard.Update: so, next day. Lovely bed (great mattress, but that's for another review) but! I really wish they had put plug holes on the back of each of the shelves (either drilled out or pop-outs). Putting a clock on the top of the bed is too darned high, both for purposes of hitting snooze/off or seeing the actual clock. So, it's VERY likely, that we will be drilling it out ourselves.Second Update: Feb. 2014. Bed is still lovely. We never drilled out a hole for the powercord on the clock, I just streettcchhh. Someone asked a question, so I want to add a little bit more. Trying not to be indelicate, but if you are concerned about the amount of weight it supports, neither myself nor my hubby are delicate china dolls...closer to the bull in the china shop. We weigh (nobody knows us, so here goes) within the vicinity of 250 each. We've had the bed for just about 8 months and it is still splendid. Our last bed (which is now our guest bed) is also a wood-slatted platform bed that we had for over 25 years and we only had one slat that cracked in all that time.