They’re just as ugly and huge as you spec them out to be. There are tons of ITX / SFF builds that look just as good or better.

But not at a thousand dollars. SFF builds are more expensive and fussier to setup and cool down . So a well made, prebuilt Steam Machine is good value when compared with an equivalent SFF

Then put it in the basement and run the hdmi cable up?

I live in a small apartment.