Neither. The first wastes an enormous amount of space and and the second is awkward and limits counter space. The best location for small appliances is on a shelf in an ajacent pantry. Except for the coffee kit. And that belongs in a dedicated beverage area with a sink.

A narrow lift cabinet in an island for a Kitchen Aid mixer is VERY handy and effective. Everything else? as Sophie. No!!! to the "garage" A total pain and dated.

I agree appliance garages are dated , I have deep drawers on one side of my island where I keep most small appliances like toaster, waffle maker etc. My KItchen aid mixer I just leave on my counter and I have a designated coffee bar. The new KA mixers come in some fun colors that add a bit of color to a space.

Thanks for the feedback. I use my food processor and Kitchen Aid mixer a lot, and want them easily accessible, but don't want them cluttering up the counter.

Things that you use daily or every other day are not clutter. Things that get used once a week would be countertop clutter.

A great location for a mixer is a corner. Its deep enough that the space is usually wasted. Mixers are decorative enough to always leave out. Especially if you have a great color.

A food processor isn’t pretty even if you use it daily. It goes in a deep drawer in your prep zone. Vertical drawer organizers keep blades and attachments sorted. If it’s a daily use item, it deserves counter space. And a cozy.

Agree on the food processor. That said, the minute I put mine away it ceased to be used at all. and I finally got rid of it altogether. I'd put the mixer in a lift cabinet, permanently plugged in, or out on the counter, and tuck the (Cuisinart ?) in the perimeter corner, and simply hide it with a decorative tray on a stand, or use a cookbook stand and the book opened to a lovely page.Do what you must for convenience. A large tray or cookbook, beats a cozy, which is perhaps more dated than the appliance garage lol. Despite I usually agree with Sophie.

A gold lamé quilted cozy would be max snazzy. Very hep.

You win Sophie : )

Think of your kitchen as a workshop - for making food. The tools you need should always be easily accessible so that creating great food is not a chore that requires a lot of effort just to use a tool.

Anything heavy or bulky that is used more than 3 or 4 times per year is on our counter where we can easily access it. There is much beauty in an obviously well used kitchen.

Agree w/ Sophie, no garages or lifts. Any tool heavy enough that it requires some effort to move should also have a much more stable platform than a lift provides.