A great-looking toaster!

I must admit that I bought this toaster for its looks. We needed something that could do the basics and I knew to stay away from a couple of other brand names because of bad past experiences. Not that I was too picky for choosing a toaster - all I want is toast.

Design
Sleek and sexy among the other toasters on the shelf, it was quite a great departure from the boxy styles of yesteryear. I could have gone more avant-garde and chosen something with more chrome or black. A satin stainless steel finish seemed the style of the day - somewhat timeless in design that can make any kitchen look ahead of its time.

Use
Like I said before. From a toaster, all I want is toast. So I don't quite understand the electronics behind the button selections. While the LED looks nice next to my HP computer, the selections were pretty odd. And what is with this "Cancel" button? I was looking for the OK button or the Save button to go along with it. I doubt this toaster was that intelligent.

The only really useful controls were the lever to push the bread down and the variable gauge to adjust the brownness of the toast. I found the "pushing up" of the lever useful to grab smaller bread items like English muffins out of the toaster. No need to use a butter knife!

Also, since the toaster gets pretty hot during use, I'd advise not to place it underneath any overhead cupboard as it might warp the veneer .

Maintenance
I suspect the crumb tray is pretty simple to use. I haven't used it yet only because it's keeping quite a bit of crumbs at the bottom before I have to empty it. Maybe by September I'll use it. Keeping the surface clean is no brainer.

Storage
For me, it stays on the countertop and gets pushed off to the side when the heat has dissipated. I wouldn't advise keeping it in a cupboard unless you've cleaned your crumb tray, just to keep things tidy.

Conclusion
It's a toaster - and that's all it should just do - toast bread. To ask for anything more is ludicrous. Money well spent on my end.