Item was as described. I would not have this around small children though. Whole unit gets very hot as the water is boiled. Yes, you can see the water boil. 
The carafe is very big but only about 1/2 of the physical space is used for coffee. The rest is head space for the filter basket. 
Although coffee taste has a smooth finish, it seems to takes more time to set it up, wait for the boil and then brew than most coffee machines.