We're in the edlakin school: we wanted the ability to hide it when company came, but to keep it open and accessible during day to day life for ease of access:

Closed:

Open:

We debated how to have the door open. We thought about using the Richlieu hinge system but it left the door extended outwards when open. We went with the garage door hinges that allow the door to be concealed when open, though we're aware that they tend to be finicky and difficult to keep in alignment. We'll see.

Third microwave in 19 years.

I don't have a pic, sorry, but mine is on a shelf in my pantry. I am not a frequent MW user, so the pantry is a good spot. I really don't like the looks of a MW much, so I wanted it out of sight. It was a cinch to have my electrician install an outlet in my pantry for the MW. I'm not sure I'd recommend pantry placement if you are a frequent MW user, but for me, it's great. Other than the pantry option, I too would be in the "Edlakin School" of MW placement.

As for placing the MW on a shelf under the counter, some people like that because the kids can reach it easily. Also, from what's been reported here and the Appliances Forum, you do get used to bending if the MW is there. Everything has a pro and a con. If you place the MW on a shelf in your upper cabinetry, there's no bending, but kids may not be able to reach it, and you may worry about pulling a sloshing hot dish from a height. Like I said, each has its pros and cons, but one thing I would never do is a built-in (see threads on the Appliances Forum about the "perils" of built-in MW's.)

Jackiemcg, how did you get that built-in look? A trim kit for the MW?

jackiemcg

What is the color of your granite? It looks like New Venetian Gold. Very pretty

Ours is in the cabinet for our built-in refridgerator.

Our toaster oven is in the other side:

Mine is similar to nomorebluekitchen's and jtsgranite's. The cabinet was custom built. I wanted a pull out shelf below it like jtsgranite's but it was expensive and the MW is very close to the island, so that's the landing zone.

IMO a MW would ideally be a big part of a "snack zone" as well as have a landing spot nearby. A few months ago I defined the snack zone as the one part of the kitchen closest to the family room TV and/or hungry teenagers' rooms and furthest away from the cleanup zone (sink/DW/etc).

Here's a pic of mine (island is just to the left of the far left end of pic):

kelleg - It is the trim kit for the GE Profile Spacemaker.

organic nettie - Good eye. Yes, it is New Venetian Gold. Loved it from the first time I saw it.

Jackie

I am in the minority here. I have mine under the counter in the island. My DS, who is 8, uses the microwave a lot and I didn't one one over the counter that was so high he might spill things on him. I didn't want to lose countertop space either.

Sorry, this pictures isn't too good.

All of these kitchens are ... WOW! beautiful!!
Thanks for the great, great ideas. I love the idea of hiding it behind some doors, closer to eye level.

Jackie: Here's mine. It has the trim kit for the GE Profile.

At work I can't post any pictures, nor see anyone else's so I'll post some pictures later when I am at home, but I just had to comment because I'm a BIG microwave user and I put a lot of thought into our placement.

I actually have two microwaves plus a convection oven that is also a microwave. I won't waste time here explaining why this is right for us I'll just comment on how we find the placements.

I have two microwaves in a shelf in the upper cabinets. We always had microwaves on the counter before and I never liked bending over to see the controls and the fact that you couldn't open or close the micro door with a dish on the counter. By moving them up above the counter I put them closer to eye level (even for my 4'11" wife, but to be fair she can't see into a dish from above) and created a great landing space below. I was concerned about bring a hot dish down from a "higher" location, but 18" off the countertop hasn't proven too high at all. (Ideally I might put it 12-15" off the counter, but then the counter would be less usuable underneath.) My cabinet maker made a removal panel which fits around them so it looks nice, but is easy to clean. The primary limiting factor is that uppers are typically 12" deep. I ended up getting 16" deep uppers and although the GE Profile Spacemaker is a superb microwave that fits in 12", the extra space is nice to have. My larger convection oven/microwave is under the counter right next to the oven. I was concerned about the placement, but I figured I would use it less often. It turns out it is pretty easy because I tend to squat and that puts it near eye level again.

I know I'm unusual, but I thought my experience could still prove useful. I'll post some pictures tonight.

- Jim

This works for me...
Now you see it...
{{!gwi}}
and now you don't...
{{!gwi}}

Perqqderqq- can't wait to see your microwave(s) configuration! I'm struggling trying to figure out where to put a 2nd microwave in my small u-shaped + island kitchen. I don't use the oven much either & keep saying I want 2 microwaves. We will have one convection wall oven with convection micro above it, but I'm trying to figure out how to squeeze in room for the extra microwave for re-heating multiple things at one time. Looking forward to your pics!

Here's some quick pics. I don't have too much time right now.

Microwave #1:

Microwave #1 and #2 (broader view of sink side):

Microwave/Convection Oven:

- Jim

perqqderqq

What is the color of your granite? Is it Giallo Ornamental? Do you think it would look good with Ivory cabinates. Also I like your chrome faucets, I think I like it better than stainless. What is that brand also.
Sorry for the hijack

I must be the only one left on earth with a microwave on my counter! I don't have the space to mount inside a cabinet and I don't think I would like an over the range one...all the steam and splatters from my stove making it gross.

Mine hangs from the cabinet over the counter.

Not the best pictures in the world but you get the idea. There are lights underneith (built into the micro) for lighting the cabs/counters.

P3Shawn2--what is that gorgeous granite? It is stunning!

JDayo--are those bamboo cabinets? They are beautiful!

I am loving everyone's kitchen. Just beautiful!

Here is mine next to the stove. It used to be over the stove, but there was no room to cook on the stove! I moved the stove over a bit to give me some landing room, and moved the microwave up. We love it, it works great.

L

We struggled with where to put the microwave. I did not want it sitting on the counter and I did not want it under the counter. It was kind of a process of elimination and this is where it ended up... below a small upper that stores cookbooks and above the oven with landing space directly below it. It works nicely for us and is a look that hasn't been posted yet... not the greatest picture, but here goes...

Mine is on the counter right now. I think of microwaves as small appliances, like a coffee maker or blender. They are cheap and easy to replace. Ever since I got my induction cooktop, I've been using it to heat water and leftovers and the micro is being used less and less. I'm thinking of moving it to the pantry to see if it were gone we'd really miss it.

Marciag: I hope you can forgive the mini-hijack. I didn't start it... I did post the micro pictures after all. :)

Bdaykitchen: It's nice to hear that I'm not the only one that uses his/her microwave a lot. I'm always reading here people saying that they hardly use their microwaves at all. I couldn't live without one and I sure can cook easier and faster with two. I freeze everything I can so it lasts months instead of days: cooked food, raw ingredients, partially prepared ingredients, whatever. Then when people drop by (we have family and friends over all the time at a moments notice) I can pull out whatever I need for however many people. If all else fails you can always put one microwave on the counter. That gives you more flexibility for changing. It does consume some counter space though. Maybe you can put it at a less used end?

Organic Nettie: My granite is indeed giallo ornamental. I love it! I didn't think I would. I thought it was too bland and ordinary, but as it turns out I find myself ogling it and caressing it daily (no joke). In pictures it looks more white than it really is. It's actually more beige-y. It has a fair amount of movement which I was not expecting, but I love. I originally wanted lighter cabinets (my cabinets are darker than they appear in the photos) and dark granite. Well it was a happy accident for us that we didn't get it. My granite shows no fingerprints, no dust, no dirt, no water spots, spills are almost invisible. It's very easy to care for. That said, I keep wiping it down like a fiend, but it's new... Would it look good with ivory cabinets? Most here are better with the color thing than I. I did see a picture in a kitchen mag like that and I thought it looked nice. I might want a little more contrast though.

- Jim

My MW is (will be) in the same place as perqqderqqÂs, to the left of the sink. I really wanted to put it in a WO cabinet but we just couldnÂt squeeze that in. We are in the process of making a custom cabinet to go below the 12 inch deep one above and the backsplash with be shorter than usual but tall enough to put the toaster oven below.

We tried it 18 inches above the counter but I felt that was too high.

Ours is still where we've had it for 15 years: sitting diagonally across an otherwise unused corner of our U-shaped countertop. It's a new stainless steel model, though, which goes beautifully with all our other new appliances. Having the microwave oven on the countertop puts it not too low, not too high, just right for us--and there's landing room on both sides. We've got tons of countertop and can spare the space, but we realize this solution isn't for everyone.

Thanks perqqderqq & all for posting pics of micro placement. I'm getting some good ideas here too!

Mustbnuts & others with small MWs: can you tell me the brand(s). I'm looking for small sleek one like Mustbnuts' & many others here!

Thanks, in advance!

Mine is a Sharp. I think the model number is mc r1214 but don't quote me on it! Here is a picture again--not my kitchen however

Perrqqderqq

I really like your faucet, it does not seem as big as some of the ones I was looking at, also, I think I am going with the Chrome also. What is the name of your faucet?

Thanks Mustbnuts & Perrqqderqq !

We also had a shelf built specially, above a counter that would otherwise be more or less unused; it's a perfect prep/landing spot. I am short, and OTR would have been dangerous.

Organic Nettie: I didn't want to hijack the thread any further than I already had so I posted the information in a recent faucet thread. Although I see there are now several. The one I put it in is below:

Here is a link that might be useful: Pull down faucet thread with info requested by Organic Nettie

If we put a door over ours, it'd always be open. We use ours a lot, too. I consider defrosting it's most important job, but also use to to steam veggies, heat side dishes, melt butter and chocolate, etc. Sometimes I quick start casseroles and things in there and finish them in the oven for the browning/crisping. Here is ours...between rangetop and fridge/freezer.

Hi rhome,

what is the depth of that cabinet and microwave? And what brand and model of microwave, and is it convection?

I love your cabinet style and paint/stain combo along with the hood. Very similar to what we are planning.

Thanks so much!

My apologies for the terribly fuzzy photo, but the color of this is the real thing so I'm using it. Our MW died unexpectedly, and since we don't use it all that much, I went to Best Buy and grabbed the least expensive one we could find.

When we unpacked it at home, we were startled to find it wasn't the stainless model! However, since we keep it inside a pantry, the color didn't matter. It's actually a very pretty color, I think, but there's NOTHING in my decorating this color, let alone the kitchen, LOL! But it would certainly be pretty in the right setting.
{{!gwi}}

Here's mine

jkom51, I think the blue color is the color of the plastic that protects the stainless. I have that same microwave and you have to peel the scratch protective plastic off and the stainless is under there, beautiful and shinny! Give it a try and let me know.

We wanted to make ours look as "small" as it could. It is a GE Profile Spacemaker. There is a 24" cabinet above and it is mounted to it. The custom grille under it provides for the exhaust, and the light bar allows us to continue the line and still have undercounter counter lighting.

{{!gwi}}

Sorry, honeychild1, no peel-off film - this beauty's blue color is baked onto the brushed metal!

babka, that looks great. Are the cabinets 16" deep or are does it fit like that with standard cabinets?

Standard 12" deep cabinets. The microwave is hung on the cabinet above it. The plug and socket are in the cabinet above.

-Babka

{{!gwi}}

This is a move in picture, so forgive the mess please :) Ours is in a built in shelf, with the plug in the cabinet above it. I wanted it built there so that we could continue the under the counter lighting.

Originally a couple of KD's tried to get me to put it it in the island. I didn't want it there because, A, I have a 2 year old and that's not the best placement for potentially hot items coming out, and he loves buttons :)

I also don't want to bend to use it every time. That's not something

Our built in fridge (sub z) is right next to the microwave cabinet. And all of our uppers are 15" deep, which does help make placement easier.

The cabinet is lacking one trim piece which will go in to hide the little legs. It will be screwed in from above, and can be removed by opening the microwave door and unscrewing, so you can toss this microwave and replace if necessary.

Thanks, babka!

How deep are your upper cabinets holding your microwaves? I am looking at countertop-type convection/microwaves and most seem to be 18.5-20" deep. How did you fit the microwave under or in your cabinets--are they deeper than standard 12" cabinets?

Thanks!!!

jdayo I love your sliding stainless microwave door, where did you get it?

We live in a downtown condo highrise. We have a galley style kitchen and this configuration is recognized as efficient but it has very little countertop space compared to other types of kitchens. When you remove the counter space needed for a sink and a cooking surface, you are left with a few linear feet of counter here and there.

-- We threw away our microwave ten years ago, and we after months of wavering we are_not_getting a new one now that we are planning a complete overhaul of our kitchen. There are now many wall ovens that include microwave as as assist; they can be used in only-microwave function. We might not even buy that.

We are getting a (Liebherr) Bio-Fresh fridge so we can concentrate on eating fresh not frozen, and an induction cooktop, and a convection oven.

So this answers the question where we intend to put our microwave. We know our microwave oven placement decision is not in the norm, not with the norm, thus not "normal" when compared to the norm.

David

Breakfast station, anyone?

Nice thread. Bump.

Agreed. Bump.

Bump. What size cabinets are your MWs in? My KD is trying to conivnce me to put it in our island with a 27" drawer beneath. I'm not loving that. We don't use the MW all that often, and I want it as small and hidden as possible. I'm thinking maybe a space saver.