I'm not going to beat around the bush. A dimmer controlling an outlet is just a plain bad idea, period, end of sentence. I'm sorry if that ruffles some feathers or anything but I don't mince words when life safety is at risk. I don't care if its hidden behind furniture or whatever the case is, you should NEVER had a device connected in such a manner to where is could be exposed to overcurrent. Paul thank god was lucky. His house could easily have caught fire and burned to the ground. It's just not worth it, there are just too many other safer options that have already been mentioned - real controlled (relay) outlets, plug in modules, in line relays or modules, etc. Please don't put your or your families life at risk to save a few dollars, its just not worth it! You never know if somebody not familiar with your setup will be there without you and do something dangerous. A properly designed system will not let that happen.