You have many options depending on your budget. Replacing the microwave with a simple metal stove vent would be the least expensive. You could replace the microwave and cabinet with a pretty wood hood. The hood could be stained to match your cabinets or if you are painting cabinets it could be painted to match. I recently did this using a very simple unfinished wood hood which I stained to match my cabinets. The simple wood hood plus the Broan vent insert and labor to install was about $1000 all together. (pics of my vintage kitchen in progress in my idea book) A stand alone hood functions much better than the micro / vent combo and gives much more room to cook.

For more $ you could get a copper hood or other decorative hood. The hood may be taller than the cabinets, or not - either style can work.

Those are short cabinets for a tall ceiling. You could add a stacked crown molding to increase the height.

Is that microwave venting to the outside now or is it recirculating? Presumably the prior hood was vented to the outside?

If there is no outside venting, it is going to cost you more than $500 to get that done properly and most here would strongly recommend it along with a dedicated hood. You will probably need a vent heading up to the ceiling regardless of whether you choose raise the microwave, add an undercabinet hood, or use a stand alone hood. The stand alone can have stainless surround that heads to the ceiling. For anything that keeps a cabinet above the hood/microwave, you can built a drywall box above the cabinet to hide the exhausetvent and paint it to blend into the wall.

Can the microwave go along your fridge wall?

I would remove the upper cabinets and get a hood fan that goes to the ceiling it will look fine.

I would move the microwave to the counter if for no other reason than safety. Pulling bowls of hot food out and the potential to spill, slop or loose ones grip, is such a burn hazard...especially for elderly and kids.

The microwave is located too low. Nothing should be that low over a cooktop. You can locate a vent hood to replace the microwave and the upper cabinet, bringing the vent hood about 30" above the cooktop. The vent hood should send the exhaust air through the wall or through the ceiling to the outside. Having a cheap recirculating vent will simply blow the exhaust back into the room....the idea is to get rid of odors and smoke by venting it outside.

Felizlady- yes I know the microwave is too low that's the whole dilemma. We have to do it and since the kitchen needs updating- I want to try to do something that looks like an upgrade. If we remove the microwave, we can't use it on a surface because it has a fan underneath. (Fire hazard) There is a spot for the microwave beside the fridge but it's too small- we would need a new one- which is fine.

I don't know if it's set up to vent outside- the microwave just recirculates. I'm trying to find out if it used to have a vent outside.

Thanks everyone one for your input!

fwiw, most over-the-range microwaves are not designed to be set on a counter or built in somewhere else, if for no other reason than that they have a vent system underneath! you'll want to sell it and buy something to stick somewhere else.

sorry that the previous owner did this little fix and left you to clean it up! you'll find a decent solution in the end. I think I'd go for an inexpensive under-cabinet fan, and save up to replace all the upper cabinets with higher ones, putting in the chimney hood then if it still seems appealing.

If you want to keep it, I think it is okay to raise the cabinet. Many homes have cabinets at different heights. It looks like a nice microwave.

New microwaves are pretty inexpensive, and if this one works well you might be able to sell on craigslist or donate (shelter, school, habitat for humanity restore, local charity that fixes up apartments for homeless, etc) and take the tax deduction, so if you go with hood and move microwave elsewhere it won't be too costly. Whether you decide to raise the microwave or replace with range hood, look into venting it outside. We have an over-the-range microwave that vents outside and it works pretty well. I know it is not considered the most up-to-date design choice but it works very well in our compact kitchen. I didn't want to give up cabinet or counter space for a microwave elsewhere. By the way before we redid our kitchen, our microwave was installed too high over the range (previous owners had done this), and it was pretty awkward. But a microwave installed at the correct height - bottom level with bottom of cabinets - works fine. And if your ultimate goal is a whole kitchen remodel in the future - I'd probably keep this change to a minimum.

Perhaps you could consider installing Broan's Elite Silhouette pullout ventilation hood. The "housing" would likely fit into the existing upper cabinet, and the visible "pullout" part of the hood would be - hopefully - about 30" above your cooktop. Here's a link to the Broan site where you can read more about this appliance: http://www.broan.com/products/series/broan-elite-15000-series-silhouette-90cbc63a-667e-4c99-b0c2-8873742601b1

The hood is available through the internet and most big box stores, and I see it listed under $500. I would expect minor retrofitting required.

Below is a photo showing a small kitchen I designed in which I specified this Broan Elite hood. The homeowners are "foodies" and cook/entertain frequently in this small kitchen and tell me they are very pleased with this hood.

As has been mentioned above, it's ideal if this hood -- any hood -- is vented to the outside. If not, you just have a noisy light.

I hope this is helpful information for you. Cheers!

you have more kitchen fixes you want to do. raise the cabinet and mw yourself ( unless venting is though wall), $0, and give yourself a while to decide what you really want to do with the kitchen.

$500 doesn't sound like a lot. I'd do that and call it done until you can do the upgrade you really want.

cchabot3, it may very well vent outside. Our home was a foreclosure, but if the original, stainless appliances had still been in place, I might have never noticed that the vent was neatly placed behind the wall. Do you see a vent on your roof? If so, turn it on, while someone is on the roof to check.

I would get a carpenter to raise the cabinet (and vent, if there is one) You may also have to redo the molding. If you like it above the stove, and want it there, there's nothing stopping you from having it. :)

Definitely take out the cabinet and replace with decorative hood to compliment your style!

I made a YouTube video dealing with this problem. The video shows how to disassemble and shorten the upper cabinet. It's not as hard as it sounds. Here is a link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K_nnNO_j1L4

I think a nice vent hood would be beautiful. You could sell the current microwave and possibly put a new one in the peninsula (it could replace a couple of drawers ).

i have a problem where the joists are invthe way of my microwave fan to the exterior. can i shorten the 10" x 3" vent at the back of the microwave, block the exhaust from going where the joists are? i do NOT want the joists cut.