put a microwave drawer in the island.

I’m on phone so it’s hard to digest everything, but we have cooktop on island opposite sink as do you & my wife totally loves configuration. All she has to do to move betw. them is do an about-face & take 1/2 step. Before reno it was 120-degree turn & 3 steps.

You can put micro in lots of places... in that cabinet left of trash or you might want to put at the end of the island nearest the micro. Since you want small appliances next to the fridge I would say put it either high or down below there.

Cyndy, I just took closer look on my tablet where I can see better. Couple thoughts. I would use the cab over your fridge for cutting board/cookie sheets. Ours is over wall oven in 32”W cab & it’s full. I don’t think 12” will be enough unless everything is really crammed together. If you want a drawer microwave, put it on left end of island in cab betw. bookcase & trash pullout w/ deep drawer underneath for big items such as pasta pot, slow cooker, etc. I also think having 2 bookcases is inefficient use of space. They don’t face DR & LR, so people won’t be able to see neat stuff besides your books you might put in them. I’d go w/ 1 bookcase on right & use space on end across from pantry for cabs or drawers. One thought is cab for small appliances you don’t use often. It’s not deep so things wouldn’t get hidden.

mid America Mom- I am living in a room next to our garage that we "put" a temp kitchen in. I have a low microwave and HATE it. I definitely need to get that UP...but hopefully somewhere where the kids can still reach it.

In my post earlier this AM, I mentioned drawer microwave. My wife wanted no part of one. We have wall microwave over single oven.

Bruce - Thank you for taking a look.

Couple thoughts. I would use the cab over your fridge for cutting board/cookie sheets.

BRILLIANT. I will need to stash at least one cutting board down low for the kids to use when they cook, but I love this idea. great use of that space.

If you want a drawer microwave,

I really don't. need to get it up in the upper cabinets. have one now in our temp space and hate it.

I also think having 2 bookcases is inefficient use of space.

Starting to agree...I guess I was a little worried about a 13' island and trying to break it up a little. I can definitely get by with one.

One thought is cab for small appliances you don’t use often. It’s not deep so things wouldn’t get hidden.

I am not a gadget person, so I really don't have too many extra appliances. Will have to think on this. Maybe somewhere specific for canning supplies.

Cyndy, a thought re microwave (u-w). On right side of wall, put what’s called an appliance garage betw. uppers & base. If you use free-standing u-w, garage could probably be depth of uppers, but you’d have to decide on u-w first as they come in various sizes. If you wanted wall-mount, garage would have to be same depth as base cabs b/c they are 24”D. I forgot to mention our wall-mount u-w is also convection. My wife uses it more than wall oven.

One last thought. Before our K reno we had no deep drawers & no roll-out shelves. Now my wife wouldn’t be w/o at least one deep drawer, & would have roll-outs on bottom shelf of base cabs. It’s just no fun getting down on knees to get what’s not right in front.

Buehl is right. Std u-w’s mounted below the counter open from the front, so one has to stoop to insert/remove food. Drawers open & access is from top. On both, controls are on front, which requires some bending. A u-w above base cab, whether countertop or wall mount, has controls high enough so one doesn’t have to bend or stoop. We’re senior empty-nesters, so my wife didn’t want a range in our reno b/c she didn’t want to stoop any more putting/removing heavy items. Thus we went w/ wall oven & u-w.

Buehl/Bruce - I had NO IDEA that microwave drawers even existed! That being said, I don't think the added expense is going to make the cut right now. Also- My husband would be concerned about replacement down the line.

It is difficult to balance wants/needs/must haves... I feel like the whole house is a 'splurge' since we technically could have fixed up our old one and moved on about our lives (well, worrying about future flooding and not being able to afford flood insurance aside).

Good luck w/ your project!