We built these beds Nov/Dec 2012 for our boys ages 2 & 4. This was our first furniture project. It was fairly easy but I did learn a few things along the way. They may seams dumb to most of you, but being our first project we encountered a few problems. My #1 tip is to cut your pieces, THEN SAND THEM. Before constructing the beds. We sanded afterwards, and trying to sand in the little gaps between the slats was hard. Like other posts, we had some trouble with the ladder. The side pieces were not long enough. We just re cut them and added another "rung". The finish is Valspar's Fly By Night blue. It is a very deep navy. Although I sanded my heart out and used a whole tub of wood filler they are still made using 2x4s and have dings and nicks that just come with soft woods. Our boys love them, and no they're not perfect but I think it will work to our advantage. Now when the boys act like boys I'm not away or stressing or any little dings they might be creating to the bed.