The microwave in the picture looks deeper as well as being shorter (sticks out further) and I don't care for the way it looks, although it could just be because I'm used to how the majority of them look. I think you're the only one who has to like it since it's your kitchen.

I changed the pictures to a better examples.

You need as much clearance between the cooktop and microwave as possible. Otherwise it is awkward to stir pots at the rear.

I hated my over the range microwave for that reason AND it is hard to access the microwave over a hot cooktop.

If you can find another spot for the microwave, do it.

I bought one of these because I was always wacking my head on mine when I was using the back burners.

It's a good news/bad news outcome, for me...

The good news is that it's a low profile and so it sits up higher and I can no longer smack my head into it. I can use the back burners and the microwave doesn't feel like it's in my face.

The other good news is that it does look sleeker to me, which I like - but that's subjective.

The bad news is that it sits up higher. (Ha ha.) I rarely use mine - I use it to microwave the dog's food every day, but beyond that I only it to warm up a cup of coffee. Because it sits up higher I can't see into the dish that is being microwaved. Not a problem for a quick warm up of the dog's food, big PITA when I'm trying to see how my cup of coffee is doing.

I have a little step stool in the kitchen, which I now climb to watch my coffee. It feels dumb, but it's either that or try to guess if there is a boiling risk when I pull it out.

I have a small kitchen in this house. I hate the OTR microwave. HATE IT. However I really have nowhere else for it. Now I wish I'd bought a standard-sized one, only because of how high up the floor of the microwave is for me. The lower profile one looks nice but using it is a massive annoyance, for me. However if your cabinets hang lower, and/or you're taller than me then this may not be an issue for you.

If you think outside the box, or outside the kitchen, a micro can go other places. Like a garage. Or an office. Or you can delete it in favor of an air fryer/toaster oven on a counter or shelf. There is no design in 2024 that prefers an otr micro.

Thank you. I use a microwave quit often to warm stuff up. i dont want to use counter space due to smaller kitchen. Just not convenient any place else.

I have a low profile microwave and my cabinets hang lower also. It never occurred to me that it would be odd until after you mentioned it ...🥺

It does not bother me at all. I have had it in that spot for a few years and never noticed.

@Ally De: "The bad news is that it sits up higher... I can't see into the dish that is being microwaved...I have a little step stool in the kitchen"

She didn't follow the installation instructions. A Whirlpool WML35011KS (for example) low-profile oven can be attached to a cabinet 24" above the range while a Whirlpool WMH32519HZ (for example) full-size model is installed 30" above the range.

Note however, that low-profile models are deeper, 18-7/16" vs 16-3/4" for the two Whirlpool ovens above.

The Whirlpool WML55011HS ($400) may be the best deal going and owners like it.

We like the look of the low prifile microwave over the stove. It is higher up, so harder for a short person to use, but I raraely use it. My husband uses it often and hes happy.

Dear WD Cruise - "she" didn't install it, so "she" bears no blame for whatever was or wasn't followed.

Do you really have extra tile for such an installation? Being a short person, having the microwave higher would be a minus in my mind. I get frustrated everytime we change time because I can't see the instructions without being on a step stool.

Yes we do have extra tile! Im 5”9 and my guy is 6”1 so thats not an issue!

Ally De: "I bought one of these..."

As far as looks go, the bottom of a range hood is typically higher than the adjacent cabinets, not even with the bottom of the cabinets so the look is actually more similar to a range hood.

OTR microwaves often used to hang lower than the bottoms of the cabinets because they were replacing range hoods which were often very shallow with a small fan, because there was often little place to put one on a counter. And, they needed to be lower because you were not taking food in and out of a range hood, you had to be able to reach it.

But I think the original combo idea was much like those ranges that had an eye level oven and a dishwasher under the cooktop all in one piece because there was no place else to put in a built in DW. They combined new technology with older technology because there wasn't built space for all of it in older kitchens. (And I don't think people redid kitchens like they do now. I don't remember anybody who didn't have the kitchen the house came with, unless the house was Victorian and got a more modern kitchen at some point)

I like the look and size of these, and I am doing a kitchen for someone who has the OTR now and likes it, and I have been designing regular range hoods and trying to put the MW somewhere else but maybe this will be an option.

If I could have a range hood I would. I have no place to vent a hood. Since my only options are a standard size microwave or low profile, the low profile wins hands down. I don't need a huge microwave and the low profile looks much better IMO. The downside is the exhaust fan is useless but that would also be the case with a standard size that is not vented to the outside. Overall I have been very pleased with the purchase.

I think microwave manufacturers should come up with a design that allows low profile microwaves to look like actual hoods. That would be even better.

People say that Microwave range hoods have no power, but mine pushed a lot of air out of the duct, and straight down into a room below it until that part of the duct was removed and only the "up" portion was left. It might not have been as good as a dedicated range hood, but it was doing something.

I would never select another built in mircrowave oven. They fail too easily. Here are ways to position portable options.

Personally I also prefer a standard countertop microwave, even though I have a small kitchen. I can move it around to suit, if necessary.

And if the micro is not above the stove, an exhaust hoo could sneak in.

I wish you had the kind of space to go with a hidden mw drawer or mw behind a cabinet. You would LOVE a hood. Truly before I had a hood I had no idea what I was missing. I kept thinking people were crazy. But, now I have hood and it is the best thing I ever did. We hide our mw behind a cabinet door. It has been life altering.

Wishing you a solution, the low profile mw could work.

Boxerpal: what does the hood do specifically that makes it so nice? thank you

First I'd ask, Just how often do you use the microwave? I could give mine up. If you really do use yours, I think the full sized model looks better. The shorter one looks ... oddly proportioned.

Second, this board is united in few things, but the hatred for over-the-range microwaves is pretty universal. I personally think it's a little unfair. My daughter has one, and while I don't think it's a great option, it is the best option in her small kitchen.

I have a traditional range hood, and I do think it's better than the microwave /hood combo ... but the difference is not all that significant.

Here are ways to position portable options.

I like those smaller microwaves on shelves! Again, this goes back to the question about how much the OP uses his /her microwave. I personally would be fine with a small model, but not everyone would.

Boxerpal: what does the hood do specifically that makes it so nice? thank

I'm not BoxerPal, but hoods are generally more powerful /suck more than over-the-range microwave models. Again, the devil is in the details ... you'll be able to tell a difference, but it's not life-altering or anything.

I think that the first two pictures look fine, but the bottom one looks like the microwave is installed too low -- there's not enough clearance for the cooktop surface. Is is possible to get a smaller cabinet for over the range, so that you can have a microwave and still have the required amount of space between cooktop and the surface above?

There is no design in 2024 that prefers an otr micro.

There are *many* kitchens, especially in cities, that are too small for a separate hood and microwave, and also *many* families who use their microwaves all the time, to heat up leftovers and so forth. OTR microwaves aren't going anywhere in 2024 or anytime soon. Your giant kitchen bias is showing.

@theresapeterson thank you for your explanation.

@gracie A hood is designed to pull smoke, greasy and smells from cooking out of the kitchen. A microwave is designed to cook, defrost and also pull smoke.. out of the kitchen. If you can vent your mw then wonderful it will be as effective as a hood. I just found my kitchen to smell better with a powerful hood than a mw. Both work I just happen to like one more.