My standard wall-mounted clothes rack/shelf fell and ripped the anchors out of the drywall, and this was a perfect replacement, and even an upgrade. I'm a 39 year old woman, about 5'6" tall, and I had no trouble putting this together on my own in a couple of hours.What I liked most about this unit is that the shelf heights can be customized and you can choose where you want to put the outward facing hooks. The instructions were easy enough to follow, but be forewarned that if you decide to deviate from the instructions and customize this unit in any way, it is built from the bottom up. If you change your mind about the height of a shelf, you have to disassemble from the top down, then build it back up.I did not anchor this unit to the wall since my previous shelf's anchors took out chunks of drywall when it fell. I have very low pile carpet, and this unit seems sturdy enough for adult use while free-standing. It would be more sturdy on a hard surface, if left unanchored. I would highly recommend anchoring it if younger children will have regular access to it, regardless of flooring type.