Concrete counters are quite high-maintenance. You might want to ask questions 1 and 4 over in the Kitchens forum for more responses:

http://ths.gardenweb.com/forums/kitchbath

Combi steam ovens are awesome, we use ours 99% of the time over our full size convection oven.

Writersblock thanks! I couldn't figure out how to post there directly

dbabrams super helpful to know!

I have had the Miele built in coffee maker (non plumbed) for 3 years now and love it!

Caroline, how is it different from a regular coffeemaker? Is it just because it can make espresso? Is it just that it is t out on your counter? Can you get boiling water from it for tea?

" I love the look of marble, but I think the maintenance will drive me crazy. Does concrete have the same issues when properly sealed?"

Yes, with the addition of being much more stain susceptible. Soap destroys concrete:

Cover either of these with Stoneguard and you'll have no etching or staining problems.

I created a DIY concrete counter over ugly old tile a few years ago. I sealed it with an acrylic sealant and it held up well and did not stain. It wasn't a perfect surface like the one shown above since it was a DIY project and I had no concrete experience at all, but I did some research and managed a decent interim solution better than the bumpy textured cracked and huge -groutlined tile that was under it!

That said, I would not bother with concrete again - I prefer my quartzite and in the new house we are going with quartz, the porous nature of concrete makes it harder to clean and requires dealing and waxing.

We had marble bathroom floors and even those were a pain. There is no toilet bowl cleaner that is marble safe and drips can happen and etc the surface. I loved my last kitchen layout and appliance choices but hated the fine finishes that required monitoring anyone cleaning or using anything with potential to harm. Smart design and great looking but durable product choices is now our watchword. I wanted soapstone last time but was talked out of it. They survive anything. Soapstone is my go to stone in this house.

I have to chime in on baby proofing. It is a false sense of security to think you can lock things up and be done. Naturally you are not going to put quantities of harmful open containers in baby's reach. Children need our attention and we must train them to think about what is dangerous and what is not. This starts from the moment they are mobile. I had one who liked to climb onto the kitchen counters. No baby proofing available for that little quirk! Just lots of reminding of what the consequences are for slipping and falling.

ETA My post was primarily about dangers in the kitchen and bathroom. With respect to furniture that can fall on top of a child, you have to be sure to secure everything. I live in California, so I am doubly aware of the dangers of unsecured bookshelves.

Just lots of reminding of what the consequences are for slipping and falling.

"If it doesn't involve a trip to the ER, then it was a learning experience". At least, that's what I am telling myself to feel less bad, when the kids gain new scrapes and bruises.

Rita is of course completely right. There are dangers that kids have no control over and dangers that are just too big to ignore. So, yes, all cabinets need to be firmly attached to walls, the more dangerous chemicals are kept out of reach, and railings have gaps tight enough to prevents kids from falling through. But other than that, let them learn from their mistakes. For instance, our kids knew at about age 6 months that stainless object frequently are hot and were careful never to touch them. And when they started crawling, we used the same word ("hot") for electrical devices and from then on they stayed well clear of cables and outlets.

Of course, that doesn't work for everything. The other day, our four year old decided to put a blanket over her head and run through the house. I could have stopped her, but that would just mean she'd try something even sillier the next day. Instead, ten minutes later she complained to me that her head hurt because she ran into the wall. I bet, she won't do that again :-)

My baby-proofing isn't about safety, it's about not having to put away everything 40x a day! I keep unbreakable and not dangerous items in my bottom drawers, but my daughter just constantly takes everything out and leaves it strewn everywhere in the kitchen. I literally put away the same stuff at least 15x/day.

also, I know people say that the babyproofing issue is a temporary issue and the kids grow out of it. But if you're planning to have multiple kids, it would be helpful to babyproof stuff so you don't have to have the same issues over and over again. We have pull-out spice racks next to our oven now, and for about 6 months my older daughter would just pull everything out of them and it was such a mess. There was no way to lock the drawers, and I didn't have anywhere else to put the spices unless I boxed them up and put them in the basement (which I did, eventually).