ROTFLMAO! I gotta tell you -- that one really cracked me up. Thanks! :-)

Put it in there. Let's see if a 7 year old can move a microwave.

I am trying to picture my mother asking me where to locate kitchen appliances, but my brain just exploded.

Can you rally the dogs and cats to your side? I'm with marcolo...put it where you want it. Let the kids fend for themselves. They're just heating up hot pockets. This is YOUR kitchen. :)

Alas, now my husband is sure that if we put it in the closet, someone will leave the microwave door open and then shut the closet door, breaking the microwave door and damaging the new closet door (which he is about to install). I am afraid that I will have to attempt a new tactic...sell the 3 month old 1.2 cu ft micro and buy a 0.8 cu ft micro. Hope someone wants to buy it on craigslist. Sigh.

I totally understand. For you it is aesthetics and for them it is function. It is like when my daughters and DH(he still does this) throw their coats on the living room chair when they have to walk right past the closet.
Maybe let this one go, for a while. In a year or to, buy the new one and put it in the pantry.

Our microwave has lived in our pantry for the past 13 years. My boys have gone from 1 and 7 years olds to 14 and 20 year olds without noticing. We live in a town with old houses so they probably think that all fridges and microwaves live in pantries! That said, with the renovation, I look forward to getting it out of the pantry an onto a shelf in the island.

itsallabouthefood...you can tell them how lucky they are that they don't live at my house. I'm leaving mine in the basement kitchen when the reno is done. If anyone wants to use the micro they can cart their butt down there and use it! LOL

I can relate. I acquiesced to my 9 yr old DS and got water/ice in the refrigerator - which I abhor (asthetically, maintenance and cost-wise). He is so happy! But the microwave is hidden behind a cabinet.

How often do you guys leave the micro door open? It can't be all that often. My experience says it's the one door in the kitchen that gets closed reliably!

It would be kinda funny if they failed to closed the micro but succeded closing the pantry.

Good for your kids for standing up to you :-) Function before form. A kitchen is a work area. I don't understand people wanting to hide appliances!

Weissman, I'm in the same camp as you. I have/will have a small kitchen - no where to hide anything, but I'm not trying to either. If I have the courage to post my finished kitchen when it's done, it will probably be the first ever to sport a microwave AND toaster oven, dishrack and even a sponge, all on the counters. My family uses all these things every day, more than once a day, whether we are alone or having a party for 30 - wouldn't try to hide them for anybody :o)

Like Marcolo said -- let's see 'em move it once it's in there! Honestly? You have veto power over the munchkins. Really. I'll bet they would also "prefer" not making their beds or taking baths, but would your hubby acquiesce there, as well? So what this really means is that your hubby thinks he won't like it. He's using them for cover!

Case Study: Our MW was on the counter next to the range. That left only the 33" counter on the other side of the range for workspace. I ruled out an OTRMW for aesthetic reasons, and a MW on a shelf under the counter for ergonomic reasons. DH liked the idea of the MW drawer (gadget-boy that he is), but I thought it was a bit expensive for our budget and I didn't trust that it would last very long. Our solution was to put the MW in the pantry.

At first DH balked, thinking it would be a hassle with having to open the door and all. But now he loves it, too. It is out of the way, but convenient.

The moral of the store: If momma ain'thappy, nobody's happy.

Tell the kids that unless you move the microwave, you won't have room for making cookies in the future.

You have gotten some great advice. Some is contradictory.
1. your dh does not want it in there and is trying to gang up on you because he fears he will lose this one
2. if it were truly that your kids' objections at stake, then they are free to do what they want when they pay for their own kitchens
3. I am anti-hiding appliances and vote for function over form
4. but... if momma ain't happy...

One further thing to consider is, how many details have you been the final word on in this project and how many has dh won? It may be his turn..... I find that I decided most of the elements of our kitchen, mostly because dh said he "does not care" or he "trusts me to decide". There were few he had a strong opinion about. I think that is fair because I did 99% of the research and will do most of the cooking/cleaning in the kitchen. However, he is part of our marriage and this is his kitchen too, so his feelings should be strongly considered on the very few things he differs from me about. It is not automatic that he gets his way, but I do try to acquiesce when possible so we both end up loving the kitchen and feeling that all the money and hassle was worth it. It also may help him agree when our next project comes up.

Moving the micro is certainly not about aethestics...it's about counter space! Room for the mess I am when I cook.

I was thinking just like morgne r.e. leaving the micro door open...we hardly ever do that. However, my DH has a thing about open doors...he will walk through the kitchen and shut every door in his path, especially the pantry door since it's in the path from one side of the house to the other. He won't shut it gently either...he is now adamantly opposed to it being in the pantry (I think the kids were a cover until he could figure out what was bugging him about this idea).

Anyway...I'm beginning to think...why not leave it in the family room (adjacent to the kitchen) where it has been during reno. It's not unattractive...certainly more attractive than the pile of toys and games and art supplies currently in the family room. Will have to wait until DH is more receptive to new ideas (having squashed this one) and bring it up. Don't want to annoy him too much since he is now my finish contractor.

Great advice dianalo...I have made 90% of the decisions in the kitchen. It is DH's turn now that he has a good reason. I was really annoyed at first however, when the only reason he could give me was "the kids don't want it there"!

LOL; my 3 year old kept insisting I paint the cabinets orange b/c that's his favorite color, then my 5 & 6 year old girls started lobbying for yellow and pink!

I used to have a microwave/hood, and now we have it where they can reach it. My 6 yr old loves to push the 30 sec button to reheat her dinner a little, so thankfully for me they're happier where I move it to! Maybe it could sit lower so moving it to the closet has some advantage for them too?

This may be impractical, but if is your pantry a closet (not a cabinet pantry) can you put in a pocket door?

If it's a question of your not having enough room to cook, that changes things. Since it's in your way, it can't go back on the counter. Period. End of discussion. Now you can participate together in finding another place for it. Otherwise it will end up in the garbage.

Hey... if it's not too late in the process, think about installing a drawer microwave. (I didn't have time to read all of the posts carefully, though, so if this has been suggested, sorry for the duplication) It's more costly, but as a solution it could be worth it. I have one and love it. For me, it was money well spent.

Do the kids actually use the microwave? If so, I think it is probably safer to put it in the pantry, more at their level. My kids would have to pull a chair up to the counter or climb on the counter in order to use it at that age. When my kids were younger I had a small jelly cupboard with the microwave on top. I stored all their snack foods and plastic dishes in it.

Our microwave is in the pantry, just around the corner from the kitchen.

BUT, we rarely use it, and when we do it is absolutely no big deal to just step around the corner and nuke whatever.

However, the fact that your family is so adamant about it being in the kitchen, suggests to me that they use it quite a bit. In which case, weissman is right and put function first and keep it in the kitchen, at kid level.

marcolo - I'm hoping the family room idea will be acceptable to all parties involved

judithsara - unfortunately, the pantry closet is like a bump out...a pocket door is not possible (plus we just bought a new magnetic chalkboard door for it).

cfire - definately too late

stacieann63 - kids do use it but not often

pirula - that's just it...we don't use it much...why do they care so much???

Ahhhh, that I cannot answer!

I wanted to put our microwave in the panty as well, but because my husband "had" to have a built-in Miele coffee maker we used the space above it for the microwave. I would of still preferred it in the pantry.