When setting up my home’s front porch breezeway, my top requirement was a durable, mid-century modern outdoor bench. My space is too narrow for an outdoor chair or loveseat, but I needed a surface area near the front door entry for things like packages, gardening tools, and too-heavy shopping bags as I unload from the car.
In a stroke of luck, I came across Blu Dot’s Hot Mesh Bench in the garden space at a local coffee shop and was smitten. Like many Blu Dot designs, the Hot Mesh Collection (bench, outdoor lounge chair, dining chair, cafe table, and more) is a showstopper in person. The design is light and minimal, but with a bold graphic pattern and stylistically, the perfect match for my mid-century built home.
If you’ve never purchased from Blu Dot and are thinking of doing so, here’s my honest review of the Hot Mesh Bench after a few weeks of testing and enjoying it. I outline the ordering and delivery process, bench design, materials, and more.
Blu Dot furniture back story
Based in Minneapolis, Blu Dot has been setting the tone for accessible modern furniture for over 20 years. The brand is obsessive about design and all their products are well-crafted and original. If you peruse the website or follow the brand on social media, you’ll see a lot of design process photos like sketching and prototyping and will get a good sense of their modern-slash-minimalist aesthetic, and playful color palettes. Blu Dot has retail locations in major cities across the US, Mexico, and Australia and is popular amongst hospitality designers for spaces like boutique hotels, restaurants, and coffee shops.
No assembly makes things easy, but the return policy has strings attached
It took about two weeks for The Hot Mesh Bench to arrive after placing my order. It came via courier preassembled in a large box. The bench was packaged and protected well and came with a one-page product guide that included cleaning and care instructions. I love that I didn’t have to assemble the furniture and placed it outside within minutes of it arriving at my doorstep. Not so great, however, was the $35 shipping fee for this item on top of an already high price. Also, the Blu Dot return policy isn’t as flexible as what I’ve seen from other online-based modern furniture brands. According to the website, the return window is only 30 days for a full refund of the returning item minus a 10% return fee, original delivery fees are non-refundable and additional shipping fees may apply.
The perforated pattern is impressive … and actually comfortable
Oddly enough for a seating collection, looking at the Hot Mesh Bench and Lounge Chairs online, they don’t seem like something you’d actually want to sit on. The design features an intricate metal grid pattern that’s fun and eye-catching but as far away from cozy-looking as you can get. Since I wasn’t planning to sit on the bench either way, comfort wasn’t important and didn’t deter me from purchasing. That said, when I received the bench I was pleasantly surprised that it was actually quite comfortable and the custom perforated steel pattern even prettier than I imagined. The shape and style really elevate the lightweight silhouette and give the bench a distinct personality. It looks great.
The size makes it more versatile than you think
You can easily look up the dimensions of the Hot Mesh Bench on Blu Dot’s website (47” by 19” by 15” if you’re wondering) but you can’t appreciate the well-thought-out proportions until you see it in real life. It’s wider than I expected which has been great for stacked Amazon boxes, and the height and length definitely give it a more high-end feel. You could pull this up to a dining table and seat 2 people comfortably and it could double as an outdoor shelf or plant stand wherever you need it.
It could benefit from adjustable levelers
I love almost everything about this bench except that I really wished it had adjustable leveling feet. It sits on uneven concrete/stone on my porch and without levelers, can’t be entirely flush to the ground on all four legs. As mentioned, I don’t actually sit of this bench so I don’t completely mind that it’s a little unsteady but for the price, I wish they hadn’t overlooked this small but impactful functional detail. Otherwise, the powder-coated steel seems durable and according to the website it is coated to be corrosion-resistant. The Off-White color is milky, bold, and true to the website’s photos. So far it has held up great to mud, spills, and rain splashes.
The Hot Mesh Bench: The Verdict
A quick search for outdoor benches will give you plenty of alternative options at all different price points; some settee style with a backrest, some with storage, and some with a cushion for added comfort. What I like about the Hot Mesh Bench —and why I would recommend it to a friend— is that it’s simple but makes a huge style statement. After some time using the bench outside our front door, we can’t imagine another piece of furniture in that space that would have as big an impact without overtaking the other aspects of the exterior of the home. Overall the bench is durable, well-crafted, and sophisticated. Would I buy another piece from the Hot Mesh Collection? Absolutely; a pair of Lounge Chairs are already in my cart.