Kitchen reno—where to put microwave

[Anonymous]

We are renovating our kitchen. Should we get rid of the microwave above the stove? If so, should we put it in the island. We have a small townhouse so space is important. But it seems no one keeps the microwave above the stove these days.

[Anonymous]

I ripped mine out and did a double oven. No need for a microwave.

Maybe get a small countertop one?

[Anonymous]

If you have a small kitchen do not waste space on a countertop one. I have had both in the island and over the stove and I prefer over the stove. I found it annoying to bend down when it was in the island.

[Anonymous]

We have a drawer micro in the island and I love it. Use it twice a day.

[Anonymous]

Do what works. If it works above the stove then that's fine. Most objections to that are how high it is and that you don't have such a great hood fan. I never cook stinky foods but the height did bother me.

I have one in my island and I love it.

[Anonymous]

We are going to put a small microwave in an upper cabinet with a cabinet face that opens parallel to the cabinet box.

https://www.richelieu.com/us/en/category/hinges-slides-and-opening-systems/opening-systems/vertical-opening-systems/parallel-lift-up-door/lift-system-for-retractable-door/1033301

[Anonymous]

We just did a kitchen reno and have the Bosch drawer microwave. We love it. It is expensive but I think it was worth it.

[Anonymous]

Upper cabinet, not over the stove.

[Anonymous]

We are going to put ours over the stove. We can’t vent to outside so it’s more cost effective than buying a recirculating hood and expensive drawer microwave. Plus I don’t want to lose lower cabinet/drawer space. I’d prioritize a wine cooler before a drawer microwave in terms of both space and budget.

[Anonymous]

I put a medium sized counter top microwave in a proportionately sized opening in an upper wall cabinet. I had the cabinet made 4" deeper - to 16" - than a typical wall cabinet so the microwave wouldn't stick out. I wanted to keep my base cabinets for drawer storage and I didn't have room for a double wall oven with micro.

[Anonymous]

I think you should put it over your stove, OP. The space isn't being utilized otherwise and it will give you extra storage in the island. I always prioritize storage in small spaces.

Also, we have ours as a drawer model right now. I hate it. I absolutely hate it. There are a lot of reasons but mostly because I hate having to lift out a hot plate/bowl. I also miss being able to look in (eye level, not squat level) to see how things are going. And it is a PITA to clean the top (just try getting the spray bottle in there and then cleaning). Don't get me started...

[Anonymous]

We have a small kitchen and put ours over the stove. Yes, we would have preferred a nice hood there, but we have an electric stove anyway, which our kitchen designer said doesn't need a range hood as much as a gas stove. So we have the fan in the microwave that vents outside and it's enough. I wasn't willing to give up our limited cabinet or counterspace and we use our microwave a lot to reheat leftovers.

[Anonymous]

Jenn-Air drawer microwave in the island. We then had a more powerful vent above the stove that is more effective than the above-range microwave/vent combo.

[Anonymous]

We don't use ours often enough to want a big or powerful one, so we had a little nook built into an upper cabonet with an outlet at the back. It's bug enough to fit a .8 cu ft microwave, and when we stage for resale we could remove it and use it as a cookbook shelf or something.

Personally I hate over the range....it wouldn't be a dealbreaker for me but definitely a "ding" if I were looking at a house.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We don't use ours often enough to want a big or powerful one, so we had a little nook built into an upper cabonet with an outlet at the back. It's bug enough to fit a .8 cu ft microwave, and when we stage for resale we could remove it and use it as a cookbook shelf or something.

Personally I hate over the range....it wouldn't be a dealbreaker for me but definitely a "ding" if I were looking at a house.

We did something similar except we put it in the island. It's a larger cut out with an outlet and we can use a standard microwave (we really disliked drawer microwaves and their price). Next buyer can remove it and use it as additional storage space. There are some inconveniences having it lower (bending down) but I do not like having it above the oven and it's nowhere near as annoying as my spice rack pull-out cabinet!