I got this bed because of the empty space behind the wardrobes. I knew I was going to have to build it. Nothing new there for an online purchase vs buying from a box store. Here are the pros and cons that add or subtract stars:
Pro: 5 stars over all - I'm not a small person, and this is rated for much more than my weight. Very few lofts that I've found so far are. So, a HUGE plus. 4 stars for the ability to use my prior head/side boards without having any modifications (so far - I'm still assembling see below at the cons) to use them and add a little extra functionality.
Con: -2 stars over all - NONE OF THE STORAGE IS DRILLED SQUARE!!!!! I followed the build directions exactly and could see that things weren't squaring up right. I double checked that I had the pieces installed the right way, and the only one I didn't change out when I saw it was reversed was a load bearing piece because to get it out to reinstall would have meant tearing out 3/4 of my work so far. It was not attached to the storage spacing issues. 0 stars - one of the panels for the drawer system arrived cracked. It was still usable, but it's obvious something hit the box in transit and punched through. (This looks like a shipper issue, not packing issue.) 2 stars - as others have mentioned, you have to crack all 3 boxes to get the parts you need for almost any step. I've built other furniture out of multiple boxes, so not a major problem UNTIL the pieces you need for the early steps are buried under all the rest.
Since the entire project is stable, solid, and appears to do what I need it to, I'm fairly happy with it. If I had gotten this for the wardrobe sections only, this would have been a massive problem.
The over all build wasn't too bad - since I already had planned to crack at least the big boxes and prestage/organize the pieces, I had most of this built in a day. I was working by myself with minimal help from another person when I got to the point I was working across a wall. (I just needed someone/something to hold a couple of the bottom pieces for the closet while I got the screws started.) It is doable for one person to build this, except for those 2 pieces. Even without the drawers built/installed, the doors still not hung, and the stars not built (I used a step ladder as temporary access to the bed) I did sleep in it the first night of the build and slept well. I'll update as necessary if anything else happens. I'll try to add pictures if I can of what I've got now and the final corrections if any later.
