Yuliao, our Wolf L-Series in the end of the island does not get to hot for me to stand in front of and do prep work. Our island is kind of unique in that the it is kind of like a bent "L" shape. There is not a 90 degree angle to make the full L, bur rather about a 30 degree angle or so, kind of hard to describe and I don't think I have a picture handy. But we put the oven on the end, and it is near the fridge. On the other end of the island we have what we call a "Bistro Table". It is like a breakfast bar, but it is square to be just slightly bigger than the island and you can only seat on three sides, though we only do 2 as the third would be in an isle. I have to say that we don't love the look of the Wolf Convection MW either, and if I had it to do over again, I would probably still go built in, but opt for a cheaper MW. I do love having the Convection Oven as an option on the MW though, it basically gives us a third Convection oven. We have used all three at once for making dinners for family. Though we normally only use the MW as an oven as a last resort and only for small things, like a small dish of cooked carrots. They take almost an hour and are at a different temp than the other things we were cooking. It was only like $100 extra for the Wolf Conv MW compared to their standard MW so it was really a no brainer for that price when doing a full kitchen remodel. I wanted to get the 36" BS range top with griddle, but my wife talked me out of it. I think I am very happy she did, not sure how much I would have used it. We now have a 1950's cast iron griddle to span the two middle 15K burners and that works out great for us. I store it in the Wolf L-Series when I am not using it. I do love having all 6 burners for the extra space and I have used all 6 on occasion. so that is nice to have. Phil

lynn2006 - I'm not necessarily handy, this is my first time trying this stuff, lol. I just watch a lot of how to videos, and then take my time. The cabinets are from Cliq Studios in Dayton White. I searched a long time, and saw the positive and negative reviews for them, but they were the best option for us. They just arrived yesterday, and I do have problems with a couple of them which will need to be replaced. A couple of the negative reviews dealt with the shipping situation from Cliq, but my experience was fine. They scheduled the delivery for 3-6 PM, but the driver arrived before 2PM. I wasn't home, and he waited for me until I arrived at 2:55. As for color, I had my sample color matched at Sherwin Williams - it's very close to SW Alabaster, which is a slightly creamy white. The walls have one coat of SW Creamy (over the old green color), but I'm not sure I like the two different whites together. I'll wait for the 2nd coat on the walls until the countertops are installed. Speaking of countertops - I was originally planning on Silestone, but changed my mind to get soapstone on the perimeter. Here is my slab (it's not shiny, just the reflection of my camera flash where they sprayed it with water to show the dark color) Closeup with green veining:

MW...we have a MW drawer and love it - and we're a tall family (ranging from 5'10" to 6'7") The control panel is angled up so you don't have to lean over to work the controls. The drawer opens/closes with a gentle tug/nudge. To use it, simply open it, place/remove the food, and close it. If you need to check or stir food, simply open it, check/stir food, and close it. You don't have to remove the food to stir/check or peer inside - everything is right in front of you! You lift the food from below the waste to the counter instead of having to reach up over chest high (and risk spilling the contents onto you as you lift the dish). Has your DH seen/used one in-person? It's not like putting a standard MW into an under-counter alcove - which is an issue for anyone who (1) is average height or taller and/or (2) uses the MW frequently. If he's still not willing to consider something new/different, then I think your only real options are either on the counter or mounted on a shelf above the counter and under the upper cabinets. Well, there is a third, a tall cabinet with an MW alcove counter-height. For any Kitchen that has room for a MW (and yours does), I don't consider an OTR MW a viable/functional option. They're an option only if you absolutely have no other options.

I am 5'2" and our MW is a GE Profile PEM31SFSS Profile 1.1 Cu. Our MW is in an upper cabinet, 18.5 inches over the 36 inch high counter. The cabinet is 16 inches deep, inset. 15 would have been fine, 14 would have been tight, but one could cut into the wall behind the cabinet perhaps? We don't use the MW much, so the height over the counter in a wall cab is fine. It would not work with little kids. Do you know what MW you want? Seems to me that is your first step. There aren't may MWs that are less than 15" deep. And, when you look at the specs, they don't include space needed to allow back side circulation or if the plug pops out the back. Also note - the Profile we have does not take a full size plate. A salad plate is fine. We haven't used it much, so no report on how good it is, but it seems strong enough for our needs. If you don't have a MW selected yet, here is one site where you can put in your specs and see what your options are http://www.goedekers.com/appliances/cooking/microwaves/browse/depth-3,5.html