Is Blu Dot's Hitch Shelf Worth It? We Gave It A Try

My husband and I just moved and we seriously downsized our shelf space. We have literally only one corner of our new living room that will allow for a bookcase and it's small — we needed something compact that wouldn't overwhelm the corner. Enter the Blu Dot Hitch Bookcase, a wall-mounted metal-and-wood shelf with multiple combo options.

​(Note: While Blu Dot provided this piece free of charge for review, I did not let this impact my opinion of the product.)​

Leonora Epstein/Hunker

The Hitch Bookcase is actually part of a system, although I opted for just a solo shelf which measures a compact 28 inches across. You can opt to include an "add-on" if you want a more spacious shelf, or there's an option with a deeper last shelf that can act as a desk. There are also a number of color/material options you can play with. Per Blu Dot's description: "Shelves are wood veneer (smoke on ash or walnut) over wood or lacquered wood (white or black)." The sides are powder-coated steel that come in Black, FLW Red, Slate, or White. I opted for the red/walnut combo, which retails for $695.

I will mention that I was surprised by the red color — it's more of a rust. When I went back to the product pictures, I realized the imagery was accurate and my mind may have been playing tricks.

Leonora Epstein/Hunker

We went the DIY route with assembly. Putting the bookcase together wasn't as easy as I anticipated. There's a piece of hardware that goes into metal sides and a bolt head slips into a slot. When you tighten the screw, it clamps the bolt head in place, but this proved tricky to do — in fact, when we got all the shelves in place, everything looked slightly askew, so we took it apart and redid everything. The second try produced a much more aligned piece and everything really came together once we did a final tighten-up and then bolted it to the wall.

Pros:

• Beautiful design
• Quality materials
• Material/color options to suit your decor
• Size customization: Great for small and large spaces alike

Cons:

• Not the easiest to assemble, but not impossible!
• Not the most budget-friendly, especially when building a large library

Despite its sleek profile, I was pleased with how sturdy this shelf is. We loaded it up with heavy coffee table and art books and nothing budged.

It's a gorgeous piece and I appreciate the quality of the shelves — although they are a wood veneer, they feel and look like solid wood. That said, you are paying a premium price tag, which, in my opinion is worth it because out of all the shelves I searched for online in this style, Blu Dot's was by far the most design-forward. Of course, the customization is also amazing — if you have the budget to create a wall full of shelves, the Hitch system would be a top-tier option.

​Blu Dot Hitch Bookcase, $695​