diab123, We went through a very similar decision - we had (and loved) Miele MasterChef Speed Oven, Miele Microwave and Warming Oven. We remodeled and tore out the ancient in-island Chambers electric oven so we needed a 2nd oven (to our beloved speed oven.) We had a hard time justifying the retail price of the Miele over the Electrolux as the Elux is so well liked on GW. And, the MasterChef is even more $ than the Chef model (as you know). However, the dealer (whom we like) had a floor model 30" Chef that we got for an extremely good deal so Miele was the way we went - made it easy. To your questions: Europa and Classic is simply a difference in the handles MasterChef does get you rotisserie MasterChef also gets you Auto Roast which many here like. I believe I read somewhere that the 30" Elux is a little larger than the 30" Mieles All that being said, my DW LOVES the Miele Chef oven: 1) Everything she has made in it has come out wonderfully (I can attest) 2) It (of course) has the wonderful fingerprint resistant stainless which I think is a Miele exclusive and DW LOVES this feature. 3) It matches our other Miele appliances (although not a big deal - now that we have it - it is pretty cool). 4) We did not like (at all) the look of the Elux Wave Touch with the curved handle - this did not seem to bring the "high scale" look we were trying to achieve in our remodel. And, the Miele handles are straight - which means the oven would look different in that manner as well. So, we were limited to the Elux Icon Professional (with a straight handle) at around $2,700. We purchased our (floor model) Miele Chef for less than that so it became a "no brainer" for us. 5) When it is cooking away at 400 degrees it is very quiet and the cabinet sides are not warm at all - the front is also not very warm - can easily touch - it is a high quality unit. DW figured out a little trick since we have the MasterChef speed oven - if DW is uncertain what baking mode to use in the chef oven (this is our first convection oven) she goes to the MasterChef menu on the speed oven and figures it out and then uses that mode in the Chef oven - kinda cool. In our remodel the new oven has been placed on the opposite side of the kitchen from the other Miele appliances so we could have (more easily) lived with another brand oven. However, we are just as happy with the new Miele oven as we are with the Speed Oven. Best of luck - I really think the ELux Icon Professional would be a fantastic oven too - another issue - we could not find an Icon Professional in the entire Denver Metro area that we could even go to look at (I think for the $1,000 difference most people go with the standard ELux oven). Best of luck!

Ditto the comments about sufficient work surfaces. Also am grateful for two sinks. I appreciate the ability to keep visitors outside the work area without banning them entirely. Am glad I've got so many different kinds of ingredients and pans so close at hand--don't have to head to basement for things this time. Workspace is sufficient, so interruptions are not disastrous. Pull-out wooden surfaces give me flexibility. (Our neighbor has had a sudden downturn in health, so in the midst of our Thanksgiving food planning and early assembly, I was able to construct a large lasagne for the neighbor's relatives this afternoon without getting testy or feeling that I was setting behind my own holiday meal.) We now have a coat closet, a front step, welcoming exterior lighting, a shovel-able driveway--all great for guests. Am thrilled to have table leaves, table cloths, china, vases, silver flatware, stemware, trays, and vacuum cleaner close at hand to the dining room. Am glad I got out the checkbook and paid for repair & reupholstery of dining chairs two months ago--no last minute probs. The lower drawers are working out well. Nice to not have those open lower cab doors in my way and don't have to bend over as much. I can see my baking ingredients easier. Having leftovers processing station is already paying off--wraps, containers, plastic bags, etc. Gel mats keep me from quitting too early because of sore feet and legs; I keep going. Quiet insulated niche for our dishwasher has proved to be good--allows me to listen to radio or people even when dishwasher is working. Similarly, am loving the low setting on my range hood--allows me to hear radio or telephone. DH decided to fill our two dehydrators with apple slices yesterday--AARGH! Why couldn't he wait a couple days? But at least the units are in closet and apples aren't in my way. There are sufficient closet shelf space and outlets to allow this and we put vented door on the closet so the closet doesn't overheat. If he comes home with gamebirds tonight, finishing that cleanup won't set me behind either. (But now I have fewer excuses for not being ready when guests come tomorrow.) Love the good lighting. Enjoying the decor. Am thankful that our home equity loan is at abt 3.5 percent still, so we're maximizing our available cash.

love all chicago pro sports plus IU & UCF college sports. i grew up going to chicago cubs and bears games w/ my dad and he went w/ his dad :-) from my teens till i was 30 (moved to orlando then) i also added in Bulls and Blackhawks games too plus my alma mater Indiana Univ (bobby knight days). now my DH goes to UCF and they are an emerging big college, right now ranked #3 in size. my DH is not a sports fan (he's a sports widow actually lol) and does not understand what the importance of sports is to UCF. aside from the players and all that, the sports programs attract more students from all over the country, draw more support from alumni, brings in national contracts for equipment and national exposure on TV, which feeds the whole thing. all of it equates to more $$ for the university and inturn helps support education for all. i'm sure there are plenty of educational programs that would be cut if sports didn't bring in $$$. my DH's college of Engineering gets ALOT of $$$$ from Lockheed, Boeing, Siemens etc...i'm sure departments like art, literature, education etc...get nothing from private donors. two yrs ago UCF opened a huge new stadium which employs several hundred people yr round. last yr they opened a new arena for basketball which also hosts tons of concerts and shows year round. they paid off the arena's building costs in the very first yr! the arena also employs several hundred more employees. the orlando magic are just about to open a new arena, one of the largest & most expensive ever built. my DH has 2 nieces who work for the magic, make very good $$ and i was shocked to find out they employ 3000 people. several thousand construction people have been working on the arena for 2 yrs now. when that is done the workers switch over to building an art and concert center for Orlando adjacent to the arena, that opens in 2013. the construction of these buildings is very far reaching into the community. i have friends in horticulture who have provided all the plants, flowers and palms to the arena site. part of the magic deal to get permission for this building involved them building 2 or 3 new community rec and education centers thru out the city, so that adds to the jobs, money and enrichment of the city. ~ liz

I've had my Kohler Clairette for at least 10 years (kept it when I renovated my kitchen because I liked it so well) and I've never had a problem with functionality or finish. The spray stays on until I switch it to stream (and vice versa) with a little toggle button. It would bug me to have to hold a button to keep the spray on, or if it reset when I turn off the water. I don't have a problem with it not going back in place. However, if you pull down the sprayer/head and just leave it, it will dangle; it doesn't retract on its own. But the magnet is strong enough to hold it in place once the head is back near the starting point. (My BF leaves it dangling sometimes just to annoy me.) <<(after I wrote that I realized that sounds kinda dirty, but I'm talking about the faucet!) FWIW I got mine from Kohler. I've read that the big box stores might sell the same brands but lesser quality - not sure how that works but just saying. ETA: do you have a Pirch, Kohlers showroom, or similar store near you that has faucets hooked up to water sources? That might help make a decision. My mom bought a Grohe years ago that she replaced after just a couple months because the sprayer didn't stay on without holding the button. Had she been able to test it she would have known and never purchased it. It was a $500+ faucet that the store wouldn't let her return.