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Folks are always raving about European (or Australian...) appliances, but when they break (and they do) it's damn near impossible to get parts. This happened to me and more than just a couple of friends of mine.

Just a caution to those investing $$$, do your research. It's not "un-cool" to buy American.

I've had Miele diswashers and clothes washers for years. When they do need service or repair (once in the past twelve years) I've never had any problem getting service or parts. Besides, they are really great appliances. I consider the extra money they cost well spent.

I love my granite countertops. It's an unusual color, so it doesn't feel like an absolute cliche. But more importantly, it's durable, cool, flat and easy to clean. I'd go for any material that performed similarly.

Remember the vogue for lightweight concrete countertops? I like to bake...try rolling a pie crust on uneven concrete.....

In general, I agree that you do not need to spend a million bucks to have a great kitchen.

Granite is gross. Marble, too. I cringe when I see San Francisco listings touting granite countertops.