Our backyard still needs a lot of work, so we really wanted this to have a shady area to hang out between working and just relaxing too. It’s perfect! We bought some curtains off Amazon for 10x10 gazebo and they make it feel like we have a 2nd living room outside.The white top makes it bright and nice, while the mesh sides offer fresh breezes coming through; and only an occasional bug or lizard that makes its way in lol. The white top shows the bird poop through, which is slightly gross but I’d prefer the natural light it brings than having a dark top.We haven’t anchored it down since mid May (when we bought it) and it’s been doing fine with the string of lights ziptied from the roof, through the top framing and to a nearby tree. We’ve had some windier and rainy days in Southern California and it’s done great. I don’t see the canopy lasting more than 2-3 seasons even though I did use both steps of Nikwax to help waterproof and uv proof it more. Thankful there is a replacement for when I need it!Definitely check each part and make sure you have everything in good condition before setup. It’s going to take a few hours and 2 people to do this comfortably. I actually (loosely) put together the walls and long supports the day before and that took a while (maybe an hour) plus 2+ hours of setting it up with my husband. The nikwax application added a full two days of curing for the canopy before setup as well. So it was a process but we are (& guests are) obsessed with it!! ?