Smeg Retro Toaster

The Smeg 2-slice toaster has sat on my aunt's counter for as long as I can remember. Pastel green with chrome accents, that round bulging shape looks like it belongs in a 1950s diner. I always thought it was just decoration until she told me it actually toasts bread better than the $20 toaster I have at school. It's heavy, noticeably heavy for a toaster. Slots are wider than normal, so thick sourdough slices fit without getting stuck or requiring you to angle them in. My roommate has a plain black toaster that works fine, but nobody has ever walked into our kitchen and commented on it. The Smeg gets comments every time someone visits my aunt's house. That's the difference between an appliance that just functions and one that also communicates. The lever that pushes bread down has a smooth weighted action, not the flimsy spring-loaded snap of cheaper toasters. The one tiny interaction makes using it feel deliberate and satisfying. At around $170, it's absurdly expensive for what it does. I can't rationally justify spending that much to brown bread. But making you want to use it every morning instead of forgetting it exists on the counter is doing more work than the price suggests. Smeg kept the silhouette retro without making it feel like a costume or a joke. Proportions are confident, and the finish is automotive-quality enamel that still looks new after years of daily use. The crumb tray slides out smoothly. The darkness knob has a satisfying click between settings. My aunt bought it because she was tired of replacing cheap toasters every 2 years. The Smeg is now on year 6 with no issues, so cost-per-year actually starts to make sense if you think long enough.