An OTR microwave is much too dangerous for me--I'm super clumsy. I prefer a microwave on the counter for maximum accessibility and offloading convenience. An acceptable alternative would be an under-cabinet location no more than 10 inches above the countertop.

A countertop MW won't affect resale at all. Take it off the counter and hide it before the prospective buyers show up :-).

Seriously, I like having a microwave built-in but many people put them on a shelf or on a counter. It's your kitchen not your KDs.

We also didn't want it built in with microwave trim kit and didn't want it visible so we went with this:

We put a countertop microwave inside the cabinet (not built-in) and can close the door (which flips up) to hide it. It gives us more flexibility in the future and hides something we really don't like to see

I will be having mine over the counter. I am giving up some cabinet space by having it there but I didn't want an over the range one as I wanted to swap out my electrical range for a dual fuel one. I worried about flames from my cooktop if I decided to flambe something. I know the flames shouldn't reach that high but still worried. I am gaining cabinet space by having frameless cabs and extending the cabs near the window.

Mine will be under the counter in the island. You can see the opening on the right side of the island, in the middle. We currently have an OTR that was there when we moved in. We hate it and have never used it. It is our bread box....we have a countertop one that we use.

Berryberry, I too will have my mw in my kitchen pantry. I am glad im not the only one.

We took the same approach as Berryberry.

Cabinet open with doors slid in:

Cabinet doors closed:

I agree with Weissman--just move it for the open house! No one is going to notice. Or leave it out, and the prospective buyers might say to themselves, "what a dumb idea--we of course will come up with a better solution" or maybe "there's the MW, on the counter just like ours" :)

Don't want to hijack, but I'm wondering if those with undercounter MWs find them too low. It's an option I am considering, but my DH is 6'2'' and I'm afraid he would hate it. (Haven't asked him yet...don't want to go there unless I have to, lol)

You've caught me at a moment when I'm SICK of designers making stupid proclamations.

It's YOUR kitchen! Put it where YOU want it!

Anything can happen to microwave technology/cabinet fashion in 5-7 years.

Honestly, you can say "Thank you, we thought about it. It really makes the most sense for us on the counter. Yes, I'm sure. Now, about the sink ..."

I really think designers/contractors don't mind people who are unorthodox and decisive. They just want to guard against people changing their mind in the middle of the process, or worse, saying "you didn't tell me it would look like this/do this" after it's installed.

So make your decision and stick to it. If he gives you a lot of flak over something this small, he's an idiot and a bad businessman and you should run.

But he won't. He'll say "OK".

Good luck!

In our old kitchen we did something similar to berryberry above except we had plain cabinet doors. It worked for us but I would only caution it if you use the microwave alot b/c the doors stuck out ackwardly. The photos above seem to be a better example of the same idea.

This time we decided to put the micro in the pantry and we really like it. It's out of the way but still easy to get to.

If you want it sitting on your counter top that's a valid option too. Do what you like and you'll be most happy!

kitchenredo08, I was just now browsing the very long thread I've linked to. Although a few people on it mention that they like their OTR microwave ovens, a surprisingly large number don't like them at all. Perusal of the "things I dislike" thread might be a learning experience for your KD.

Here is a link that might be useful: Things I would NOT recommend or things I dislike!

I ordered a Sharp 24" Microwave Drawer yesterday which solved a design dilemna for me. Initially, I didn't consider it as I didn't think I would like the drawer set-up. Then I saw it installed in a showroom. It has a sleek appearance, didn't seem too low even for me at 5'11" tall, convenient to operate with an angled display panel at the top, has 1000 watts and has a keep warm option (warming drawer type of feature) for up to 30 mins. The cons are you can't put anything really tall inside which wasn't an issue for me as I mostly rewarm things, or heat up frozen foods which also aren't tall. And the price is steeper than a regular counter microwave. I paid $709 (incl. shipping) from ebay.