I have the chef model underneath a 37.5" counter, so that would be 12"- 36". I have two drawers underneath it, a very narrow one to hold its trays and a larger one that holds MWaveable containers (glass, special plastic). Personally I have no trouble with the height and bending over. I'm 5'7" and fairly active. I think it's a good height and location. I'd far rather lift heavy hot things up than downward. I bought this speed oven rather than any other specifically in order to be able to set it below-counter. It works great there, no heat issues. My only complaint is with operating the oven itself. It sports *the worst* manual I have ever seen for anything, There's a lot of button pushing, and they're finicky. Some days I wonder if the fancier machine would have been better, but the slow learning curve is starting to rise. I have no experience with another speed oven to compare, but I am not unhappy we bought this.

I have Perlick drawers in my breakfast room hutch. I don't use mine for main food storage but they support our breakfast/coffee/beverage bar function of the hutch. We keep milk, juice, sodas, water and other drinks there as well as some yogurt, jam, etc. They are opened frequently but my milk actually stays fresher longer in the drawers than it did in the old fridge. I couldn't really move my fridge location from the far end of my kitchen but I hated the kids coming in and hanging at the fridge door looking for something to eat or divine inspiration, people getting in my way while cooking or cleaning up and having to go from one end of the kitchen to the far end just to get butter or a different salad dressing or another glass of milk --- or whatever it was we'd go to the fridge for several times a meal. They are expensive, but when used well, they are SOOOOOO worth it. I wasn't thrilled with the cost going in, but after 7 years, I'd do it again without hesitation. From what I've seen, Subzero and Perlick are the way to go. I needed 24" so it was Perlick. At the time, Perlick was the only one that was Energy Star rated even with the higher BTU compressor. Keeps stuff cold, even with frequent opening, and uses less energy. Gotta love that.

I know you said you already decided but I am curious how major your remodel is and if you will have to set up a temporary kitchen? I ask b/c that is what we had to do and for that I got the Breville countertop oven and fell in love with it. For the real kitchen I have an Advantium Speedoven/Microwave but we designed a spot for the Breville to live in the pantry. So far the need to microwave and heat something in the small oven at the same time, hasn't occured but if and when it does, I can use the Advantium as the main microwave and the Breville as a back up oven.

Sharp has a patent on the technology in their drawer micro, so you will only see them made by or possibly under license by Sharp until someone invents something new to compete -- but Sharp seems to be the only one doing new things with micros these days. You definitely don't need to spend more for another name on one unless you have a highly stylized kitchen where that different front will really make a difference in pulling all the details together. For most of us, appliances are tools, not the jewelry. The size is the same because Sharp introduced the drawer in the 30" width with all that trim to fit under ovens and warming drawers. The 24" version came out within a year, if I remember correctly, and now that seems to be the most popular size. The working parts are all the same. As far as regular ovens, the interior sizes have changed as insulation has improved. I have had a 27" oven I couldn't fit a full size cookie sheet into and another that I could. I probably could have stayed with a 27" oven, but I went to 30" to be sure I had interior room and because there were fewer 27" models out there and I didn't want to be faced with not having options when this one needs replacement.