My basement stairs are behind my microwave cabinet.

It was a closet of absolutely no value so I opened it from the end and have storage above, cookbooks below.

I couldn't go all the way to the floor, the basement steps on the other side prevented it. I used almost every bit of space available and put my time capsule in the bit that was too far back to be useable.

Ours is in a reach-in pantry. Our kitchen is a galley with a reach-in pantry on either side of the stove/fridge run. When we renovated DH added an outlet inside the pantry and one of the shelves was already at the perfect height -- probably a bit lower than an OTR would be. This works for us because we have no kiddos.

I just had junk on that shelf before and don't miss the space a bit. And I LOVE having a nice, clean countertop.
(MW is in the pantry to the left of the stove).

Here is a link that might be useful: Our Kitchen

Mine is in the bottom section of an upper cabinet. There is one narrow cabinet between it and my range hood.

Where you want yours might depend on how you use it. I use mine often while I'm cooking, so I like it handy to the cooking area, with close proximity to the fridge and freezer (since most of what goes in there comes from on of them), and also close to a sink for adding a splash of water to veggies, etc. and/or draining things. Some people use theirs mostly for snacks so place it more out of the way, so users won't get in the cook's work path.

My sister didn't have room for hers in an upper cabinet, since she has very few, so left an open area in the top half of a base cabinet. (She has a drawer or maybe 2 underneath it.) She doesn't use hers often, and usually only for warming a plate of leftovers or a hot beverage, so it doesn't bother her to have it lower.

Here's mine:

Me, me, me , my microwave location is my pride and joy at this moment. It is behind the roll-up beadboard in the middle of the wall of cabinets. That was my husband's idea and he is very proud of how it turned out. I think he did good too.

Please excuse the hole next to my microwave location, my ovens were damaged in shipping and it will be almost 3 weeks before I get new ones. My raised bar is also not the best. The granite for it was dropped by workers, it is in a million pieces, and they are still trying to find a replacement that matches. Sigh...:( But, I am happy about where my microwave is so seeing this thread made me smile.

We had a custom insert built for our old shallow pantry closet that goes from floor to ceiling (the old pantry was standard door height). At the last minute I said, why don't we put the microwave on a shelf there -- I really wanted to get it off the counter -- so we had an outlet added. We thought about putting it behind doors of some kind but in the end we just left it open. It's out of the way but I don't use it much, mainly for reheating coffee or for my kids to heat up snacks so the location has not been a problem. I thought not having a landing space next to it might be an issue but it hasn't.

Here's a not-so-great picture of what it looks like (the microwave is that dark square in the light-colored cabinets):

Ours is in a cubby at the end of the island. It is right in front of the fridge (leftovers) and pantry (popcorn) which are about the only two things we use it for. We don't mind bending down and I really like having it out-of-the-way.

Mine sits on the counter in a corner, in a convenient but unobtrusive spot.

Mine is in a reach-in pantry also. Love having it there.

Ours is a MW drawer. I really like having the drawer -- keeps the counter clear and it's nice and roomy inside. It's one of my fave things about our remodeled kitchen.

{{!gwi}}

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in here

Great thread and some good ideas.
Shanghimom, PLEASE post more pics of your kitchen and your home. Gorgeous.

Mine is in the wall next to my fridge.

Ditto mdmc

Ours is a drawer in the island and we love it! I like that the kids can reach it.

thank you, Dallasauburn...I will get it on the FKB one of these days! I did almost all of my planning/choices via GW!!

Same as Chicagoans & Jbrodie...MW drawer.

Mine languishes on a shelf in the pantry. But then, the only thing I use it for is softening ice cream or warming pancake syrup. I could probably live without it.

What VERY helpful responses! THANK YOU!!!

Shanghaimom - I have never seen your kitchen before - it is LOVELY!! Beautiful.

Here's ours:

Here it is in a full shot of the kitchen:

Over my wall oven and near the fridge; moved from OTR and new location has worked great: