Fortunately, I have a relatively large pantry (vs. a much smaller kitchen). So when I got the Miele Speed oven, I just moved my old Sharp microwave and my ancient, beloved, toaster oven into the pantry. Now, about 8 months after the remodel, I still use the toaster oven for toast, having never even tried to toast in the Miele. And the pantry's microwave gets used to do something quick (like melt butter) while the Miele is pre-heating, or baking, or whatever. Though these things only happen occasionally, its been often enough that I haven't seen my way to tossing out either old oven. The drawback, of course, is that there are 5 ovens in my little kitchen/pantry area, which seems excessive. And I suppose the pantry has less counter space for canned beans or whatever... As for the Miele's combination mode, I've only begun to explore this by using it to reheat things like casseroles -- Alton Brown's "Cauliflower Say Cheese", last night. Master Chef expects me to know how much these things weigh, which is a struggle, but last night's guess turned out just fine. Oh yeah, if you select Defrost mode, the Miele speed oven will heat in the range of 75 to 125 degrees. This setting is useful for cooking "raw" foods at 104. I did think about a steam oven as well, but there really was no way to fit it in there.

I just linked to a picture I found online; however, my speed oven interior looks exactly like the picture. My cookies, not so sure..... Wall ovens, when they were introduced in the 1950s, were often really installed in a cutout in a wall. Nowadays they're almost always put in cabinets, but the term stuck. My Advantium 240 was installed in a new hole cut in the kitchen wall, reclaiming what previously was utterly unusable space above a staircase, which previously was open to its landing and 7 to 10 feet upwards, with sliding doors covering it. I reappropriated it for the kitchen in the adjacent room, as the bottom of that unreachable storage closet was only 50" above the kitchen floor. I would have preferred it a half foot lower, but free space in this tiny kitchen (which didn't have room for a dishwasher before renovation) was too good to pass up. As for how much I value the "regular" oven we're putting in, it too will have a drawer under it - and the oven itself is already under the counter. I got the smallest oven I could find - 24" wide, 24" tall - and it leaves room for a 6"h drawer underneath. I didn't want to waste space on an appliance that will rarely get used.

Is there any reason to have both a microwave and a speed oven? What do people use steam oven's for? There are so many "oven" options... its a little confusing. thanks! I have three ovens, a full sized "regular" oven, an Advantium speed oven, and a combi-steam. I do not have a separate microwave. Is there any reason to have both a microwave and a speed oven? Yes. Besides the reasons Hvtech gave, there's the price difference between a Costco countertop special and a built-in speed oven. As you use a microwave the magnatron degrades. If you use a microwave to do heavy lifting, daily, you might want to save the speed oven and use a cheapie. You'll know if this applies to you if you've ever had to buy a new microwave. I mostly use my microwave for quickie heating on a sandwich or other grab and go food, and occasionally for a quick defrost. It does get used several times per day, but not for very long. By the time I get to where all ovens are full, I'd better not need a microwave! I don't use it for cooking/steaming, or making hot water, or anything like that, so overlaps aren't a concern. I put the Advantium in in such a way that it's in the position a countertop microwave would sit in, and there's no room for another. Be sure that you want the speed features. I did when I planned and installed it, but shortly thereafter I really lost the need for speed. There are some things that are best accomplished this way, but the main reason for speed really is to get it out faster. What do people use steam oven's for? There really isn't anything that you can do with a steam oven that you can't achieve another way in the kitchen. People use steam all the time, whether it's wine in the roaster pan, a squirt of water under a dome on the griddle with the burger, a petal steamer full of vegetables in a pot in the microwave, a pan of ice under the bread baking in the main oven, the bamboo box in the water filled wok with all the veggies inside, the colander over the stockpot with the towels and tamales, or the garlic bread wrapped in foil in the warming drawer. You can do all those things in a steam oven. The one thing that's easier the "real" way is the burger, which only wants a blast of steam at the end. You can get some Modernist Cuisine aficionado to come explain "wet bulb" vs. "dry bulb" cooking. I don't care. I just cook. Oh, and the combi-steam is the best for blanching and poaching. Several times a month I have a blanch-fest of asparagus, green beans, squash, etc. I'm allergic to fish, but I do poach chicken for chicken salad. If you don't have an automatic egg steamer, the combi-steam is the perfect way to make hard "boiled" eggs. Maybe soft ones too. Almost every week, I do a roast chicken and veg in it. Today I made custard bound strata in it--layered in a double ramekin, somewhere between a quiche and a casserole. Turkey parts for the holidays. Dim sum. Crusty bread. It goes on and on. The best trick, found on the Gaggenau and maybe others, is "regenerate". You can do this is a regular oven, too, but not so elegantly. Plate up a meal, put in on regenerate mode, receive perfectly warmed meal with none of the bits gone funny. My big test on it was leftovers from a restaurant: slab of potroast, broccoli and mashed potatoes with potroast gravy. Everything was pleasantly heated through, nothing was overcooked, hard, charred or even additionally browned, etc. I've also used it to reheat casseroles, especially small ones. They don't dry out and get hard. This is only the very most obvious stuff. There's lots and lots more. You don't need a combi-steam to do it, but it's oh, so convenient!

If you type “Combi Steam Speed no other oven” in the search box in Discussions/Appliances you will get many threads on this topic. The down side I would see is not all of your larger pans such as half sheet/cookie/large roasters/pizza stones/etc may fit in either oven. In the case of miele the speed and combi steam ovens max out at 435 degrees and the broiler is not as strong as a full size oven. It could also be an issue down the road for resell as the cabinets would need significant rework to incorporate a traditional 30” oven. That may or may not be an issue for you. The cleaning aspect is another consideration as self clean may not be an option. (I use self clean on my miele Convection oven - 5+ years and no problems). I was fortunate to be able to include a 30” wall/combi steam/speed (all Miele) in my kitchen. If I had a choice I would have nixed the speed and found a place to house an inexpensive microwave hidden either in a cabinet or my walk in pantry (I still have my old toaster oven there and use it occasionally). Since I have a combi steam and induction - I rarely I use my micro.