I need to see the plan to give advice on the MW but I like a counter MW that when it dies I just go get a new one and the size is not an issue . The other option is just a shelf planned in the kitchen design that also has no built in MW just the shelf . This BTW was my kitchen in a 1905 home MW on the counter no issues with size .

COUld you put the MW on a shelf under the island top? I have a small countertop MW that I have on an open shelf in a 15" deep base cabinet, and I am loving the arrangement. Drawers were more than I wanted to invest in a microwave that I don't use THAT much, and I really wanted it off the counter.

I've specified microwave drawers often for use in an island and clients love them. That said, if it's more money than you wish to spend, you could do an open cubby for a standard counter top microwave:

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Re draw your cabinet /appliance plan legibly and note every single dimension, please.

Include windows doors all and to the inch.

There is NOTHING annoying about a drawer microwave, and if children ? It's safer.

Renovating an old house (1909 American Foursquare) that used to be a mortuary. Doing most of the work ourselves as we have time and money.

Important question: Do you also have the skills?

Would people pull any cabinets down to the counter level or no?

Maybe ...

- No more than one cabinet

- Only if it's nowhere near the sink (don't want to risk water damage)

- Only if the kitchen is large enough that the counter space won't be missed

- This is, to my mind, a bit like a china cabinet, so I'd want to place it conveniently between the dishwasher and the dining room

Not super into a drawer (so expensive and I have talked to people who find them annoying), but willing to hear people out if anyone is super team drawer.

I'm not "super anything" microwave related, but I am against drawers. Reaching down to retrieve your food is awkward. They're also expensive, and they lock you into a specific size.

I don't use my microwave often. In a perfect world I'd have a very small model on a pantry shelf.

Many folks have said do NOT pull any cabinets down to the counter because it will box in the bench seat under the east window and not allow light from the east and south windows to connect and be open and such under all the east cabinets.

Okay, now I am against pulling a cabinet down to the counter in your specific kitchen. If you're determined to do it, consider going with a glass-on-all-sides cabinet, which would not block the light.

Does anyone have upper cabinets (that go to the counter or not) that are alternating deeper and shallower?

Without seeing it, I'm pretty solidly against this idea.

A drawer microwave is so much better than others. Perfect height and easy to use.

Reaching down to retrieve your food is awkward.

I'm sorry but you're just so wrong about this. Nothing awkward about it. (Maybe if you're 6'3" but I know you're not.) In fact it's a lot easier than reaching up, etc. Have YOU actually used a drawer microwave?

We're putting our microwave in the island, and we have teenagers who are not always that careful with how they move around. For that reason, we went with a microwave that has a dropdown door rather than a swinging door. Our thought was that we could see a swinging door model lasting approximately one day before someone ran into the door because they didn't shut it the whole way. Hoping that the novelty factor of a dropdown might keep them interested enough to not walk like the proverbial bull in the china shop as they make their way around the kitchen. Here's what we went with, although certainly not at that price - that's just the MSRP.

https://www.frigidaire.com/en/p/kitchen/microwaves/built-in-microwaves/FGMO3067UD

@Patricia Colwell Consulting That looks great! Yeah, we can just put it on the counter. Was curious though at that point if it makes sense (while we're doing all the cabinets) to pull a cabinet down to the counter...because having the microwave on the counter will functionally be blocking things similarly to a cabinet? But I don't know. A shelf could work too! But if the upper cabinet it is under/near isn't extra deep, the microwave will stick out/be proud of the cabinets (which I don't know how big a deal that is, or how big a deal it is to have some cabinets be deeper...so I'm asking everyone here!). Thanks for the food for thought!

@snappity Good to know! Do you find it annoying to reach down and to the side (if that makes sense) to get things in/out of a regular microwave that's on a lower shelf? Or is it no big deal? It seems like it could be annoying, but I guess I have never lived someplace with that kind of microwave placement!

@Sabrina Alfin Interiors Good to know that some people love them. I only know a few people with them who aren't huge fans, but addmitedly I don't have a great sample size. Maybe I'll try to give this more thought or go to people's houses who have them. And the open cubby we've thought about! Goes back to the same thing though that the microwave would stick out/be proud of standard upper cabinets... is that a big deal? Is it a big deal to have some of the upper cabinets be deeper to accomodate a microwave? I did walk through IKEA the other day with my family and measured some of their kitchen setups for fun - some of their upper cabinets were 16" deep! I didn't notice at all until I measured. So maybe it wouldn't be weird to have deeper uppers. But for all of them, maybe that would be weird. But having only one or two be deeper, maybe that would be weird. Hopefully I can find someone who has something like that to see what they say!

@JAN MOYER Glad for more feedback about people liking the drawer microwaves! And agreed - it is safer for children. I guess the folks I know (not to many/not a great sample size) say they have broken easily (at least one person said their kids lean on it) or it gets pushed around too hard. But maybe the newer models are better! They are very expensive though, or else I would be much more inclined to go this route. Maybe I could find a dented one or something though. I'll try to get a better image up in the album this weekend! This process is ever evolving (so I don't have specifics for cabinetry etc, but the room dimensions are all accurate in the drawing and it is drawn to scale!) and we're also trying to get back to everything after unexpected deaths in our family (my little brother and my partner's uncle). So there's a lot going on and we're doing our best. But I need to make a good/updated copy anyway!

@Mrs Pete We do have many of the skills =) My partner and I both have carpentry backgrounds and some electric and other reno experience. We're also learning a lot! And contracting some things out. Good feedback; thanks so much! There is counter space for days in this kitchen (massive island...which is why we thought maybe pulling some cabinets down might be practical? But also might be too weird in the space and block light). The only time I see upper cabinets of varying depths is either when a appliance garage/cabinets that go down to the counter (deep ones) meet normal uppers/normal coutners OR when the cabinetry above a stove is proud of the surrounding upper cabinets. Which looks fine I guess? It's difficult to picture in this situation though for me (even when I draw it in the software! I will add some images of that to the album this weekend). I did see at IKEA the other day (walking through with my family and mesaured some things for fun) and all of their upper cabinets in the kitchen setups they had were deeper than 12" and some were 16"...which I didn't even notice until I measured. So maybe it wouldn't be as big a deal as I think to make uppers deeper? I don't know.

@cpartist Good to know! Do you find a drawer microwave takes more of a beating/gets broken more easily (especially with lots of people using it)? I wouldn't be so opposed if it weren't for the high cost. But maybe I could find it dented or something!

@Chris Wills Interesting idea I had never even thought of (or heard of!). Do you think it will be awkward to have to go down and over to get things in and out? This is for sure an interesting idea though! Thanks so much!

@chicagoans Great feedback, thanks! That is a great point about reaching up to a microwave. Honestly the most convenient in my experience is on the counter (because no reaching and the coutner is right there to set hot things on etc...but it is obvioulsy more in the way sometimes). But yeah, reaching just a little down is easier than reaching up especially is anyone has mobility issues. Yeah, I have been finding soooo many microwaves (and toaster ovens) actuallly require way more clearance than people realize and can't even be under upper cabients (or shouldn't be...for the life of the appliance and possibly fire hazard). Hmm I'll look into the speed oven microwave combo. I assume they are kind of expensive? But I'll for sure investigate! Maybe I can find a dented one of those!

I don’t find it awkward at all. I think it helps that we have counterspace on the side of the door that opens - if it opened “backward” that would be annoying. I find OTR or high microwaves much more annoying (I am 5’4” fwiw) and this same mw was on our counter before, next to the sink, and always ended up having mugs or glasses in front of it which was ALSO more annoying than the undercounter arrangement.

I put mine in a tall pantry cabinet with rollouts (the cabinet was configured with a fixed shelf for the microwave, an outlet in the back, and rollout shelves beneath). When the doors are closed, the microwave is hidden. Two big pluses: the height is convenient for us (we're tall), and the space is large enough for a decent sized microwave (and can be repurposed as pantry space if someday I get rid of a microwave altogether, which I might).

In my previous kitchen I had the microwave on one of those cabinet shelves above the counter, next to the fridge, like the one pictured in Sabrina Alfin's post. Even though the shelf was specifically meant for a microwave, I had a hard time locating a microwave that would fit well -- several with the "right" dimensions had bulges in the back that made them stick out beyond the edge of the shelf once plugged in. I found one eventually (an unfamiliar brand) but it was a lot smaller than I'd wanted, and then I'd thought I'd be able to have based on the shelf size.

I think you haven't seen a drawer in person.........Knocked around HOW? It is built in directly under the counter

@JAN MOYER

I have seen one in someone's house and a couple in a store. I mean knocked around when it's pulled out... because they are low and drawer hardware (dynamic) must accept downward weight pressure long term...and kids hang/lean/climb on everything haha. But sounds like you're saying they are sturdy! Not sure we can afford/justify the cost (ie giving up $1,000 someplace else for a microwave). I can for sure see the benefits of use of space! And appreciate everyone's feedback. Deciding if it's worth it or not for us.