Do whatever you can to avoid an OTR microwave. They’re useless for ventilation, and degrade the look of a renovated kitchen. Putting it in a dead corner, will be fine, as long as you can spare the counter space. In the end, you have to do what’s best for you. Nobody’s coming to your house to criticize. IMO, that will be more convenient for an aging couple, than bending down to a MW drawer. Cleaning it will be much easier, too.

Or, if you can spare a bit of cabinet space, you could do what we did...which was your first suggestion. We put a toaster oven on the counter below.

I was facing the same dilemma in my new kitchen plan. I am putting a small micro in an out of the way place. We don't use it often enough to justify it being integrated.

I think you will be doing yourself a disservice to plan a thoughtful remodel and then plunk a microwave on your beautiful new counter. Could you put one into your pantry cabinet? We're currently planning a kitchen remodel so I've been microwave shopping. The built-in ones (speed ovens) are around $2500 and the countertop models are $400-$600, so I am planning to put a countertop model into a cabinet and put the savings into other stuff. But I do not want to see any appliances (everything paneled except the oven).

Edited to say that those prices are for a microwave/convection oven. We use our microwave all the time, and I'm planning to use the convection oven part for small baking/spare oven.

I think putting your microwave on the counter is fine. When I had my kitchen redone I had a shelf for my microwave put in the middle of a set of cabinets. I use my microwave a lot and wanted counter space underneath it. This design is not very conventional. I am very happy with the function of its placement. I was also considering having it sit on my counter.

@stiley I like that idea. I might steal it for my micro dilemma. I will have the electrician put in the wiring! My pantry cabinets will be fixed and pullout just like that.

I have a GE microwave that hangs under my cabinets. It is much better than a microwave that sits on the counter because you can open the microwave door even though there are things in front of the microwave. A counter microwave needs to have the space in front of it clear to allow for the door swing. You can also use the under-microwave space - it's where my knife sharpener lives. For awhile I had a toaster under it. You don't lose any cabinet space.

I am so glad I asked for opinions here because I have some new info and new ideas.

I didn't give much thought to the idea of needing to have a clear counter in front of a counter top microwave if I wanted to open the door. Maybe the hanging one is a better idea. I can definitely see that I could stash something under and behind it. It sounds as though all of you who constructed a shelf for your microwave are happy with that idea.

stiley--That microwave in the pantry idea looks intriguing, but I don't know if I'll be able to do that with a pantry that is only 24" wide. I've been shopping for microwaves and have come up with a couple that might fit though. Speaking of shopping for microwaves, we too had thought about a microwave convection model so we could use it as a small extra oven. So far I haven't come up with any model that wows me or that is supposed to do a really good job with the convection cooking. The feedback we've gotten from salespeople is pretty much that the GE Advantium might be the only one that truly is really functional.

Thanks all.

My microwave is on a shelf next to my fridge. It's small and cheap. If it ever stops working it will be cheap and easy to replace. We have stuff out on our counters. I don't believe everything has to be hidden.

"most of that squared off opening on the left will be removed, the fridge will move to the left in the area where the louvered doors currently are..."

Is the photo of the closet with the louvered doors misleading? The wall to the left of the doors leads one to believe that the space behind the louvered doors is too shallow for a refrigerator.

Note that in two of the photos above, the microwave is on a shelf to the right of a refrigerator. Those shelves are much deeper than a typical wall shelf which is perhaps 12" deep and won't accommodate a typical microwave oven (example).

Hanging the GE PEM31SFSS might be the best choice. Certainly better than putting an oven under a counter where you can neither see the controls nor what's cooking.

That's why manufacturers make OTR microwaves, including low-profile models!

@wdccruise...except, all OTR microwaves are useless for ventilation...even if they’re vented to the outside. I speak from experience. I’d sooner install a real vent hood and keep the MW on the counter, than put the MW over the range.

For a microwave in a pantry, where do I put down my hot bowl of soup?

@darbuka: "all OTR microwaves are useless for ventilation"

Appliances Connection has 191 30" OTR microwave ovens on its website. Home Depot has 96. They're available with CFM up to 500, similar to many hoods. There appears to be some disagreement between you and the millions of households that own one and collectively use them, perhaps, hundreds of millions of times each week.

Now playing on Netflix: "It was OTR or Smokin'. I Dun Chose Smokin' Cause Asphyxiation Ain't My Thing."

@wdccruise, The “millions of households” that have OTR microwaves, usually have them because...1) it’s a starter house, with a small kitchen and there’s no other place for it....2) the ability to pay for real ventilation is not within the budget...3) the homeowner just doesn’t know any better. I know, I used to qualify for all three.

Ask @kaseki, the forum’s resident expert on ventilation, what she thinks about OTR microwaves for ridding the air of all cooking effluents.

You’ve been around here long enough, to know what she’ll say.

There’s more to ventilation than CFMs, and most modern gas ranges require more CFMs than that.

julieste

Do you really need a microwave? I got rid of mine about 1.5 years ago and so far I haven't missed it.

P.S. Trader Joe's movie theater popcorn is fantastic!

My hanging microwave is the GE PEM31SF that wdccruise mentioned above. But not the SS (stainless steel). Mine is black. It's my second one in that spot. The first one lasted about 20 years and was replaced a few years ago with the same one. You buy the hanging hardware separately.

We have a very small u-shaped kitchen also. I had a difficult time finding a place to put the microwave as well. I ended up putting it on the counter to the right of the refrigerator and I don’t mind it at all. It is hidden pretty well and not in the way.

wdccruise--Yes, that is a misleading photo of the louvered door area because there is a mirror that inaccurately reflects what the area is truly like. The area is 34" deep, so I can get a fridge in there. You are right that perhaps the GE profile spacemaker may be my best bet. (There is also a Sharp that can also be hung from a cupboard, but it is much deeper than the GE.) My uppers will be 15" deep, so I could also just use a shelf since I have found a couple of basic and cheap microwaves that would be shallow enough to fit.

darbuka and all--I guess I didn't mention range ventilation. I am going to have to do recirculating because we have absolutely no way to duct to the outside. I am thinking that I need all the air flow I can get, and a chimney hood will blow the air out at ceiling height rather than right in my face like an OTR would.

partim--Good point about not having a landing spot when a microwave is placed in a pantry.

che--Great to hear from someone who is actually using exactly the solution I am contemplating.

All of you--thanks a lot!

@darbuka wrote, in part: "Ask @kaseki, the forum’s resident expert on ventilation, what she thinks about OTR microwaves for ridding the air of all cooking effluents."

Although born male, I identify as a hood due to being routinely baffled.

@kaseki...lol, sorry about the gender mixup. Never know these days...women can be engineering, and ventilation experts, too!

For landing space for a MW in a pantry, install a ROTS below--kind of like the old-fashioned bread boards one could pull out as needed:

My MW sits in a deep cabinet to the right of the fridge (has for 10 years). The cabinet sits on the counter, and the door of the cabinet drops down, rather than opens right-to-left, to act as landing space. I also use the open door, which is covered in sheet metal, as extra landing space for the nearby range.

Mama goose, that shelf looks like a good idea. What does ROTS stand for?

@awm03...ROTS=roll out trays

Mama Goose

That looks like a fabulous idea. I am guessing this is a custom cabinet situation.

kaseki--You have a fabulous sense of humor!

I like the idea putting it on a shelf but with am aware it needs ventilation so boxes it in isnt always going to be a good idea.... that what I am mindful about. I would love to in a cupboard or shelf.

@julieste I agree so much with your comment about compromises having to be made in a small kitchen. I also have a postage-stamp U-shaped 7.5' X 14' kitchen, which most would say accommodates a single cook. I also have a small pantry closet that sits outside the U for extra storage. My asile is 38" at its widest, where there is just enough space to squeak around the DW when the door is fully open. In defense of my kitchen layout, I have counted as many as four people comfortably working in my small kitchen all at once. One was prepping at the back of the U, one was making coffee near the sink on the fridge wall, one was using the toaster at the end of one of the legs of the U, and the other was using the fridge which sits outside the inner U on the longer leg. You analyzed your options, figured out priorities and then settle on a layout that works best for you. Good luck with your kitchen remodel.