Mine will be flush. I noticed the difference in photos when researching appliances on Houzz. I liked the flush look better so I saved 2 photos (one standard and one flush) and told/showed the kitchen designer which one I wanted. He designed the cabinets around the flush installation dimensions for each appliance.

I also had to order flush installation kits for some of the appliances.

I've been remodelling my house for the last 7 years and quickly learnt not to assume anything!

Sorry it isn't going to look like you imagined, but it will still be a great looking kitchen.

******A little side note here regarding the sharp microwave drawer. There seems to be a dangerous flaw in these ovens and there have been reported incidents of fires starting when in use. It doesn’t appear that these are isolated incidents either.....see this [thread[(https://www.houzz.com/discussions/problems-with-sharp-drawer-microwave-dsvw-vd~3142409?n=116)? The initial post was from 2015, but as recently as last week, they are still reporting the same problem. I only found out about this recently and it was too late for me to redesign things.******

Doesn't Sharp make all the microwave drawers? I am getting the Wolf model to match other appliances, but is also made by Sharp. Are they all having problems?

First time I've heard of any problem with MW drawers.

All microwave brands and types can have a spectacular flame out when the inverter dies. It's rare. Very rare. But it's not unknown. You have more chance of your tempered glass oven door or shower spontaneously exploding on you. The odds are with you.

But, where are the locations that you have planned for your two fire extinguishers in your kitchen? I keep one under my sink, and one in the pantry. You might feel more comfortable with one in a bottom drawer not too far from the island. But, do plan for 2!

chispa....yes, Sharp apparently makes them, but there was some discussion regarding that in the thread as well (you’ll just have to read through it yourself to get all the info...too long to hash it out here).

Cooks Kitchen....I have never had a fire extinguisher in my home, but I will definitely rethink that one. I am not at all prone to panic or worry about these types of things (pretty easy going in that department), but this particular issue struck me for some reason and when that happens, I usually pay attention.

****the concerning thing is that many of these ovens were not old and worn out...they were barely out of warranty.

I never thought about it before, but mine is not flush. This wall is furred out to accommodate a regular size fridge so there is space to set it flush. Hmmm. The counter overhangs about 1/3 of it. One thing I have noticed are the crumbs and dust that collects on the top!

@gthigpen I love the color and style of your island! Where are the cabinets from? What's your countertop?

gthigpen....how do you like your wood counter? Hard to tell from your pic but does it have a finish applied or is it just oiled (looks like plain oil)? My island will have an oiled walnut top.

cmbsesa....love your floor. What finish is on it?

M T, gthigpen, cmbsesa....thanks for posting pics of your microwaves. It’s helpful to see it in others installs as well as getting a sneak peak of your beautiful kitchens :).

Damiarain - cabinets were made by a local guy here in Dallas. Painted by me. Dove White on perimeter and Jamestown Blue (BM) on the island. Island top is clear walnut in wide plank. Got it at Hardwood Lumber Company online.

Nidnay - I love the island top. Ours is treated with a beeswax and mineral oil mixture I made myself.

When you add drawer pulls and the countertop overhang, the non flush microwave will look just fine.

Sorry, Anglophilia, I adore my MW drawer and would never go back to one taking up space on my counter! :)

We’ve had ours 6 1/2 years so it’s an older model, but no fire yet! And, it sticks out, but of course my cabs are overlay. I think people just kind of expect that appliances won’t be flush so it doesn’t look odd or improper to the eye. If you are going for a super slick contemporary look with slab cabs I would be more concerned about it from a design aesthetic, but I think it looks just fine with your good looking cabinets.

Nidnay, once the counter is on and the handles or knobs on, I think it will look fine as is. As we build we tend to see things in isolation and stress over them, whereas once it's all put together, it would never be noticed.

Latest example of mine: My pool tile is going in. It's a 6" porcelain tile with random pattern. Right at the back the tile guy put two of the exact same tile next to one another facing exactly the same direction. He didn't even turn the second tile a quarter turn. For the last 3 days, it's all I can see. However I know once it's all grouted and the water is in the pool and the planter box is filled, I'll never see it again, and no one else will either.

Yes that's a small example, but I can go through my house giving lots of examples, some small and some larger.

nini804....another beautiful island with an equally beautiful wood top (love your edge).

I was actually considering changing the oven to the model with the handle (like you have) because for some reason, even though the handle makes it protrude even more, it seems more balanced and I think it’s a better made frame. I prefer the rounded corners near the glass as well as the entire oven front being curved. I like that much better. The entire frame just looks like better quality. The one I have is sleeker, but (no offense to those who own one, myself included), it’s a cheap sleek I think. The metal looks thin and chintzy. The only thing that stopped me from getting the model with the handle is that it doesn’t have the tilted control panel which was important to me because it’s much easier to see the controls. Otherwise, I like yours much better.

gthigpen

I have been having trouble deciding what shade of blue to paint my bedroom...

I saw your island and was in love. Turns out Jamestown Blue from BM was one of my final contenders and you might have just made up my mind. That is a gorgeous color! Do you feel it would be too bright/light for a peaceful master bedroom?

ladygibbs - Well, I don't know what you have in your mind when you think 'peaceful'. This color is definitely blue. Not a gray blue or anything like that. The pics on my monitor are pretty true to life in bright lighting (our kitchen has a lot of light in it). In darker lighting, it's much darker. While I like the color in our kitchen setting, I personally wouldn't paint my master walls that color. But only because I wouldn't want to be surrounded by that much blue, so completely a personal preference. We do get tons of compliments on it. Our master bedroom is painted Restoration Hardware color Silver Sage and that to me is peaceful, but you may find it too boring. It's a light bluish/gray that reads blue in some lighting but light sage green in other lighting.

If you place a 2x4 between the microwave and the sledgehammer, the marks left by the sledgehammer will not be noticable when you pound the microwave flush with the cabinet face.

What does the manufacturer of the microwave recommend?

I agree with the others that having it protrude is the "standard" way of mounting ovens in cabinets. However, I don't think this should be all that big of a deal. Your cabinets appear to have enough face frame that the opening can be widened and the microwave pushed back the 1/2" or whatever you need to make it flush. Small vertical strips will need to be added to secure it once you do, but most of the wall ovens I've seen show this in the installation instructions (at least both GE and Bosch ones I have do).

No, there is not enough depth in a standard inset cabinet box to do a flush mount. That is why it has to be decided at the design stage. It requires deeper than 24” boxes, which is an upcharge. Sheet goods are 4x8. It requires 2x the materials for the boxes just to get the extra 1 1/2”. Cabinet grade ply has gone up almost 40% since the hurricanes and subsequent rebuilding boom. So, not a cheap upgrade. Plus the impact on island clearances and the cabinets that would back up to the MW cabinet.

Its a Give a Mouse a Cookie decision. On the front end.

taconichills.....if you can get your cabinet guys to shave off a couple of inches, Breville makes a great counter top model that would fit in a 22” cavity (that width would leave a bit of space for air circulation). It’s a really nice oven.

In my pantry/scullery I had the cabinet guys make me a “built in“ space for the breville (cavity is 22” W x 15” H x 21.5” D).

This looks so much better than what my builder put in this past week! I need to get a photo- you can see the ‘guts’ of the microwave from the side! I don’t know if we need to pick a different model or what, but it’s a no go currently

Either the cabinet is not deep enough, or they didn’t push the microwave all the way back into the cavity.

My contractor told me this would happen, so we opted to put it at the end of the island, and it looks much less “out of place” there...however we had plenty of space to do it there, might not be an option for everyone.

Karen what is your countertop material and name? Do you have other photos? It’s lovely. Thanks in advance.

(my builder has already complained I’m extremely detail orentated...more so than anyone he has ever worked with)

I've recently learned that our builder has said the exact same to a number of his clients, us included. Prior clients advice to us - ignore complaining about our being extremely detailed because nearly all of his customers are extremely detailed which is why they/we hired him. He's a good builder, does a good job and gets more details right than most but clients still need to be watchful.

Flush vs Proud

Our cabinet guy said he assumed we wanted our MW drawer flush but that he could do it proud if we wanted. He's doing it flush.

Similarly, when we did our current kitchen about 10 years ago our KD suggested that our MW & Oven be flush so the cabinet guy made it so by creating a panel that is inset by the amount that they would otherwise have been proud. He said that is standard for all of his cabinets and most other cabinet people in the area that he knows.

I must be the only outlier. I have inset cabinets in my new house and my kd was surprised that i definitely did not want my microwave and wall ovens installed flush.

in my last house my gaggenau combi had to be replaced with a new model that did not fit the old cutout and I had to have a custom trim kit made. The results were still very unsatisfactory. I know the chances of something like this ever happening again are unlikely but the last thing I wanted were cutouts that fit one specific oven. My microwave is in and my other appliances are going in this week.

honestly Jenn Edwards imo, I bet it looks fine.

Oh oh and I got the uglier mw drawer because I thought the one with the handle might hold up better with my twin teen boys.

Red....I think the micro you have has a better casing. The one without the handle (like I have) has folds and holes and crevices and the stainless seems thin and cheap (please...no offense to others who own one). Also, don’t know about the interior dimensions of yours, but mine is pretty darn short and tall coffee mugs don’t fit. Also, a large 4 qt bowl or large rectangular glass dish is a nuisance to get out. The tilt out lcd panel invariably gets in the way of its open (which it normally would be). I am very happy I have another microwave with the typical door swing. I‘m just not a fan of a microwave drawer. It’s also almost impossible to view things while they’re cooking/heating up.

Also, it may only be a few extra seconds, but I don’t like waiting for the drawer to slide open and closed.

Nidnay...I looked at the two of them side by side at my appliance store and I knew my sons wouldn’t be gentle with the model with the tilt out panel. The handle model may not even survive them but I hope so. The interior looks exactly the same....honestly. The handle model was several hundred dollars cheaper. DH has multiple food allergies so microwave use in our house is minimal. I do like it out of the way. Hope it holds up. Reviews are not always good.

DH thought the handle on this one looked cheap and of a different colored metal. I’m too tired to care, lol.

Nidnay...drawer waiting to open...yes, I know my boys wouldn’t wait.

Haha....too tired to care....I’ve been in and out of that feeling for over three years :) Problem is, when I get back to caring again, all those things that I didn’t care about really start to irritate me.....you just can’t win!

Bsolomon it’s Cambria Highgate. I really do love it! There’s a ton of my kitchen photos in my profile :))

nidnay, would you do a regular style built-in microwave in place of the drawer?
I’m (as usual) going back and forth about my decision for a microwave drawer. We’ve never had one before but don’t want a counter microwave. Husband is tall. I’m slightly taller than average I suppose. We are doing full double ovens, so no microwave with oven.

My husband is 6’5” and my son 6’0” - no problems with them using the drawer (and my son uses it a lot). We love it!

We have installed two of the microwave drawers in different houses, and there was no need to use a non-standard cabinet depth to get them nearly flush.

If you go back to the picture from the OP, and then compare it to the picture from Karen Rose, its obvious that the OP's contractor did not understand how to design the cabinet for the microwave drawer.

The kitchen drawer fronts are flush, and the frame behind them is inset about 3/4". When you frame the opening for the microwave drawer it should also be set back about 3/4, not flush with the drawer fronts. This setback may not be quite enough to make the microwave even with the drawer fronts, but it gets it close enough to look appropriate.

Bruce

mrswaves.....I think a “normal “ eye level built in is much more practical. It’s certainly a ton easier to clean. Seriously, cleaning the interior roof of the micro drawer is no small feat! You have to get down on your knees and contort your body in order to clean it (not easy for anyone with back issues). Obviously, ones kitchen design will most likely dictate whether a built in wall unit is feasible. My kitchen was already a decent size (20 x 16.5) and it had lots of windows, so no real space for a built in wall micro and I wasn’t going to add square footage just to accommodate one.

Here’s a link to my build with kitchen pics....you can see I had limited space options.

I would suggest going to an appliance showroom where they have one on display at the typical install height and see how you like it (then imagine yourself cleaning the thing).

If we did a typical built-in microwave it would have to go in the island space we have currently planned to have the mw drawer. Also, my husband is a notorious microwave mess maker

Bruce.....maybe I’m missing something here, but when viewing Karen’s micro from the side, it looks exactly the same as my install. The only difference I see is that she has an added trim piece on top.

Well...after all this, is it time to raise the issue of the best location and best height for a microwave? Placing the microwave into a part of a kitchen island may be neither the best location nor the best working height...

So much depends on the design and layout of a kitchen, the work triangle and one's health and back condition.

....Nidnay. “.I’ve been in and out of that feeling for over three years :) “

yep..three years here too counting our boathouse project. Finish line in site and I think I’m getting my second wind!

Karen Rose...very nice mitered edge. Daring and pretty backsplash.

Virgil....this is a somewhat older thread (was posted back in January)...so not really making a decision or thinking on this now. Although, after having lived with the microwave for a couple of months it has help to crystallize the fact that I don’t really care for the micro drawers. Sometimes the only way one can understand the drawbacks of certain build decisions is to actually experience and live with them.

Thanks Ilovered! Yes it is quite dark, especially in daylight, but when I turn on my under-cabinet lighting and other lighting it changes color to a blueish gray! The beauty of glass!

Understood, nidnay! But it's an interesting discussion, and always noteworthy when so many folks share so many different experiences.

I'm tall, old, and have had chronic lower lumbar pain for a long time. Placing a microwave in the lower regions of a kitchen island would be a medevial-like torture for me. Mine is located in a vertical cabinet above a single oven. The height is virtually perfect for access, visual inspection and cleaning.

Amazing the differences that years make!

Virgil...well, I’m short, don’t have back issues, and I’m not nearly as old as you (kidding) and it actually feels like midevial torture to me! I agree that the best placement for a microwave is not around ones knees.....eye level is best.

Nidnay, the same thing occurred with my Sharp Microwave Drawer installation except they also left the thick plastic covering on it when installed including the strip that is screwed in. In trying to pull the plastic off, I am worried I messed up the seal. I now plan on having it inspected.

KR - are your counter tops still shiny? I’m debating getting Cambria countertops. We have ugly brown granite and I don’t want to have to get them resealed. Came on here looking for info about microwave drawers…aaaand I’m rethinking the idea based on the cons I’m seeing in the thread

Nidnay - I remember reading this post at the start of building our new home over 2 years ago. Although I thought your microwave looked fine the way it was, I did like the inspiration photo that you showed. So I filed in my brain to be sure and have my microwave set back into the cabinetry because we also were getting inset cabinets. Guess what...I never gave it another thought!!!

Now in our house for over a year and I saw this thread had popped up again. I had to go into my kitchen and see how my microwave drawer was placed. Well, apparently the position has never bothered me. 😁

PS - My dishwasher is on the opposite side, but within the bump-out area of my cabinets, It is inset into the cabinetry. When the dishwasher (Bosche) was first installed, it was sticking out like the microwave (I still cannot believe that I have never noticed 😀.) I had my builder set the dishwasher into the cabinetry.

im dealing with the same thing right now but with full overlay cabinets for a client , i am the builder , the microwave was purchased already , its the job of the homeowner to do their own research , we as professionals could not possibly cover every aspect of every little detail there is to a project there is to many variables to consider.