Originally I had a bed that went all the way to the floor - similar to this one but the difference was that I couldn't put anything under it. Upgraded to this one and now it's like I have an extra storage closet!! Love it. Already filled it to the brim too but it helped to clear out my actual storage closet to make room for other things. It's also a great place to store all of my bedding (pillows, blankets, sheets, etc).I was able to put this together in 1 hour and 3 minutes completely alone, but a second person would have definitely made things easier/faster. I've included the instructions (pictures) so you can see what to expect. The most difficult part to do by myself was to add the main frame that holds the bed onto the lifting arms (and get them screwed on). But I managed to do it in a matter of minutes anyway :) Other than that part, it was all pretty easy. Great, easy to follow instructions.A couple of tips/notes:- A single person can put this together but it'll definitely make things easier if you have another person there to help.- On step 5, I added the "N" brackets to the bed frame FIRST and then lifted the frame to add the "Z" legs - this was much easier than doing it the way they say to do it (which is to add the legs to the brackets first and THEN mount the whole thing onto the bed frame). Doing it this way also allowed me to do it on my own (instead of having someone else there just lifting the bed while I screwed the bracket/leg assembly on).- DON'T LOSE ANY OF THE SCREWS! This kit only comes with the EXACT number of nuts and bolts required, not a single extra nut or bolt is included so be sure you don't lose any. I recommend using a magnetic wrist band (made for holding nuts and bolts) if you have one. Or just keep every nut and bolt in the case until you're ready to use them.- If you wanted to, you could remove the large base boards (inside of the "container" area) to get a little bit more space. Of course then you might see things under the bed. Just an option if something is too tall to fit in there.- Use double-sided tape on a few of the wooden slats that the mattress sits on - this will prevent the mattress from sliding when you lift the compartment. The little metal brackets that are supposed to stop the bed from sliding were not working well for my 8" thick memory foam mattress.- Always wrap your mattress in an anti bed-bug cover! This will basically prevent you from ever getting bed bugs. They work amazingly well.- You do not need a box spring on this bed. It has slats that are meant to replace the box spring so just place your mattress directly on top.- Bed size is 79.5"L x 56.5"W x 42.5"H. Measure out a space for it before you order :)Other things worth noting:- The lift is VERY strong. It has no problem at all lifting this somewhat heavy/dense, full-size memory foam mattress. In fact, it's more difficult to pull the bed DOWN than it is to lift UP :D That means I can add all of my bedding and it still has no trouble lifting up. Of course when you put it down, it kind of locks into place (not really but it passes the point of resistance/lifting power) - so there's no chance of it just lifting on its own.- I paid $325 for this bed, which I thought was an ok deal - but then the price went way up. I don't think I would have bought it if it was more than $325. I thought even $325 was a little high..Hope this is helpful to someone else out there! :)