I know you didn't ask this, but I'd slide your sink under that window on the right. Then maybe you could put the MW built in next to the fridge. Is that upper cab 24 deep? That would work to build in MW. You might be able to put a toaster oven in underneath an upper cab as well. Not sure about built in.

I am getting a MW drawer. It's more expensive, but we don't have a lot of upper cabinet space, and I want as much free counter space as possible.

I know not everyone likes it, but I put mine under the counter. Didn't want to buy a new drawer...reused my perfectly fine countertop one. And I wanted more flexibility about replacing it when it died. It works well for us.

We put our micro on a shelf above the counter. It does not clog the counter space and we reach it easily (as do our boys). Our is almost exactly set up like yours in relation to the sink, dw and fridge. Ours is above the dw next to the fridge. We don't have upper cabs in that spot, so you may need to adjust your heights for those or not use them.
Do you have a toaster as well? If so, perhaps you can retire your toaster oven when you have your new stove. If not, then use the space to the left of the fridge for that.

I love my micro drawer!

Dianalo, I originally thought of doing that and building shelves/cabs for the TO and MW against the side of the fridge, but that's what my KD warned me against as she felt it would leave very little backsplash visible and the overall look would be cramped. After her sketching it out on the paper plan (a copy of the one I posted above), I see her point... Just doesn't seem like it would be a very attractive solution. But it is hard coming up with alternatives! Also, I use my TO a lot and will keep using it after the kitchen is redone, since my new oven will be 36" and I don't want to crank that big thing up if I can use the TO instead. Hence the need to find space for both TO and MW.

Melissastar, I love your solution and wish I could borrow it! Bit I have four kiddos and the youngest are a young toddler and a baby, so a bit too risky. My toddler aleady tries to reach the MW and push buttons whenever he can, so it will need to stay at or above counter height for sure.

Maruha, my pic doesn't show this but there is a door on the right hand wall just past the window. If I slide the sink under the window, anyone standing there will be in the way of the door swing, and as the door leads to the play set in our yard it is used pretty frequently. So I put the sink to the left of the window to allow for simultaneous use of doorway + sink.

Marcydc, can you show me a pic of your micro drawer? Is it hard to lift out hot dinner plates, for example? I've never seen one in action so have a hard time understanding how it works in everyday usage. That might be a good solution? Are there particular brands, and which one do you have/like?

Thanks so much and kee the ideas coming! I love it! Maybe we could find a way to squeeze them in along the side walls perhaps.... I appreciate all your suggestions!

Hi NatalieChantal,

Where is your stovetop/oven(s)? Is there another row of cabinets toward the front of your layout?

I thought Dianalo had a good idea to put the microwave on a shelf to the right of the refrigerator. Then you could possibly run the cabinet down to the counter with an appliance garage for the toaster oven. I think it would make the wall cabinet next to the refrigerator look more balanced. I do see though, that you want to keep more of the backsplash.

I had the same thought as Maruha to push the sink under the right window. Have you posted your full layout and asked the Gardenweb gurus for ideas?

Thanks kitchenkrazed09. No, there will be no other upper cabs than the short ones pictured. The range will be housed in an L-shaped island roughly where the square table in my real-life picture is situated.

The suggestion to stack both appliances next to the fridge is exactly what I wanted in the first place because it seems so handy! I totally agree with you all on that. BUT, and big but, DH is worried about heat from the top of the TO needing more space - I use the TO for everything that can fit in a 9x13 pan - and the KD thinks it would leave such a narrow space for backsplash that it would look very cramped and unattractive. And after she sketched it out for me, I do see her point and would like to find an alternative location for them.

The sink has to stay where it is, because there is a door to the right, at the end of the counter pictured, that is used a lot by the kiddos (leads to their playset outside). If the sink moves to the right, there would be no room to open the door and walk by if someone is standing at the sink, which will also have a pull-out trash underneath. I have posted pictures of my kitchen layout recently, but the feedback I got involved putting up walls and DH and I want to keep the openness in the house.

I know, I know, I am being picky... Don't want to do the things that would solve my dilemmas... But that is why I am turning to you experts for help :). Can we find a good solution to house the appliances on the side walls instead? I really like the idea of something built-in, or dedicated shelves, more than just sticking them on the counter somewhere.

Thanks so much for putting up with my pickiness!

First, I'm questioning the wisdomn of your KD. It sounds like a feature backsplash is important to you, but she shouldn't be making odd design decisions based on a desire for a decorative element.

Now, I am going to really go where you didn't ask us to go(!) Why is this the space for the kitchen? Why aren't you gutting the existing kitchen and renovating that space? I ask because the layout of this chosen space, with the windows, doors and openings, is very difficult for a kitchen. And with a log home (which I love) you can't just shift windows and doors like in most homes. Are you using this space simply so you can keep a functioning kitchen during the renovation? If so, you don't need to do that. Set up a good temporary kitchen in this area (you're using a toaster oven right now anyway) and keep the construction moving along. Lots of folks do it this way.

That being said, let's go back to the space you have. What's happening in the room to the left, where you have built the base cabinets across the existing opening? If you are going to block access to that room anyway, how about simply walling up that opening? That will give you a whole other wall to work with. And if some of the counter along that wall needs to be shallower than 24", you can use the "opening" to give you some extra depth to back the fridge and ovens into to keep them flush. Then you put the range where the fireplace is now and make that your feature wall. The sink can go into an island.

Nevermind with my last paragraph. I just saw that you don't want to put up walls (I didn't see your other thread). So I think you need to put the microwave and toaster oven on the counter, because I don't think that there is another option that fits your other non-negotiables.

Okay jakabedy - you really asked for it now :)! Below is the link for pictures and plans of my renovation. Briefly, the space to the left is my current kitchen. My front door leads right into it and I loathe the set-up. The whole point of this remodel is to turn that room into a mudroom/laundry room entry and move the kitchen straight back, where it will share space evenly with the DR which is in the other end of that room.

Now I have gotten good advice about walling off some areas, and there are several ways to address the layout. DH and I (mostly I!) spent a long time last year coming up with different plans. Ultimately we decided that the openness of everything was something we wanted to keep. Our whole home is very open and we didn't want to change that, and we live in the country so nobody who comes over should be bothered by a less-than-picture-perfect entry. Yes, it does give us a challenging kitchen layout though, and DH will NOT change or add or remove doors or windows or touch anything structural. And my priority was to have an island range so I can look out into the LR (past the DR), and sideways to the front door and, on the other side, the play set and yard, while I am cooking. Four kiddos means I need to be able to keep an eye on as much as possible simultaneously!

I not want to put form over function but neither do I want an unattractive solution... Hoping to find that sweet spot where it all makes sense and still looks good! Maybe we can find that for those two appliances on the side walls...?

Here is a link that might be useful: Kitchen renovation

The fridge breaking up that wall with the small upper unibrow cabinets above is not comfortable for me. I'm not locked into symmetry, but it feels unblanced and chopped. I'm also wondering what you have now that is pushing you to relocate the kitchen into a difficult space.

Assuming you move the kitchen here, have you looked at centering the sink between those two windows and putting the fridge between the door an other window? It isn't ideal, but it would open up that space by the sink and possibly give you room for the TO at the right end. A micro drawer near the fridge an d range (would have to see the whole layout) would be my pick.

It looks like you have about 8' between the 2 windows. The placement of the fridge to the far left of that space with cabinets above the fridge (which are fine) and then additional above-fridge height cabinets hanging out over thin air looks odd to me. I would consider creating a 5' wide tall cabinet that would house the fridge on one side (either side) and the other side would have shelves for the microwave and TO to sit on (one on top of the other) with storage above and below. That would leave you with about 1.5' of wall between the tall cabinet and each window for backsplash and counter space (plus the space under and beyond the windows of course). I would move the sink to one of three places: in the upper left corner so you can look out the other window, in the side of the L that is open to the mudroom, or on the island. The DW should move with the sink. If you put the sink in the upper left corner, then the upper cabinets on the left wall should be moved to the right wall so there is head room over the sink. You could put some narrow shelves above the sink for display/storage if you like.

I found it that forgetting about the MW, toaster and toaster oven happened often.
This made me think about all these little cooking devices.
(i didn't read this thread thoroughly.)

Here is a link that might be useful: Consolidating (Fewer) Counter Top Cooker Appliances