Microwave Drawer...Any Regrets?

last year

So, I was able to obtain a Sharp Microwave Drawer from Lowes for 499! Brand new, never opened. It was a special order that was returned. Regular price was 1099. My original plan was a countertop micro with a trim kit. However, as I'm pricing that out I came across this great deal on the drawer and the pricing ends up comparable. It will fit a 24inch cabinet which also works better for my kitchen design. So why do I still have some doubts? Probably my concern over how long these last. I was always going to go with a standard countertop micro in a modified lower cabinet drawer base. My contractor convinced me to do a trim kit and show of the appliances. But the trim kits just seems like too much trim. Ugh, I really need to be more confident in my decision making or this kitchen will never get done! Does anyone regret doing a drawer? Or not doing one? TIA :-)

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Comments (14)

la_la Girl
last year
We’ve had a Sharp drawer since our 2010 reno - love how easy it is to use and that its tucked out of the way - would buy it again in a heartbeat
Jeanne Cardwell
last year
I love mine!
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I just went to a cooking demonstration last night at the GE monogram design center. They had a Chef prepare dinner using their induction cooktop, ZEK 30" wall oven and the Advantium. I am planning to have a 36" range and was looking for a wall oven and microwave when I saw the Advantium. I thought that it might make sense instead of a microwave. I'm still undecided on whether I'll do the Advantium but keep in mind I'll already have 2 ovens so this would almost be a 3rd. I did not experience the convection cooking of the Advantium but the chef used it for speed cooking potatoes and salmon. I microwave salmon often and the taste of the speed cooked salmon was basically the same. The roasted potatoes, while cooked through were not as crisp as they would be in a regular oven. She made a berry crisp for dessert but baked it in the regular oven, not the Advantium even though she said she had baked muffins in the Advantium in the past. My take on it after experiencing the meal is that it could be a very useful oven but will not cook food as crisply as a regular oven. I was totally convinced on it before the demonstration but not I'm not sure I need to spend the money when I can get a microwave for much less. If I didn't have the room for a second oven and microwave I would seriously consider it as a option.
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I'll chime in here. I have had mine in use about 7 1/2 years. They were brand new when we started looking and planning and I had a hard time the the price tag. As it turned out, using the drawer solved a lot of layout issues so we paid the $6-700 it was then, realized it was our east expensive built-in appliance, Sharp makes the best microwave ovens, and we figured the cost should go down by the time we might have to replace it and worst case we could put a small shelf unit in the space. Well, the cost hasn't gone down, I'm sorry to say, but I am not looking to replace it either. When I do, it will be with another drawer. I was pleased with how well we liked using it, found it had settings I didn't know it had and they worked well for us, and the keep warm setting gives me a second warming drawer for the craziest of times (actually used both for Thanksgiving one year when one guest was over an hour late). The drawer opening is so much better than having to bend down to see the flat front of a shelf unit or to reach in under your counter. Not having to lift out a steaming dish, set it down, stir and lift it back is so much easier. I'm tall and have bad discs in my neck, so that matters to me more than our other family members, but I don't think they'd want to change either. I'm coming up on 8 years in and I'm not going back. Point well taken about the cost of a micro plus trim kit of a built-in version that may not need the trim kit. And the only appliance you might get for less is a DW if you go basic. For a better, quieter model, you'll be in the same price range.
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Someone mentioned above about "common" kitchens having ranges, not wall ovens. And lots of common folks "age in place". My own mom lived and cooked with a 30" cheapo electric range until she was 93 and finally had to leave her house and come live with us. My own kitchen is bigger than Mom's was, but still doesn't have enough counter space that I'd want to sacrifice any for wall ovens. I probably have as much space, maybe a little more than the OP. I intend to keep bending and lifting as long as I'm able, whether loading/unloading the oven or DW, wiping up after the dog, or laying out sewing patterns, as long as I am able. It is rather unrealistic to expect to have everything you want to do at eye level for one's entire life.
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“I find it hard to believe in this day and age a microwave is a make or break deal in a house sale. You just go and buy one for $100 and put it on the counter. Anyone that is looking and finds the microwave the most important thing I would offer to buy a $100 micro and gift them with it after they buy the house.:))” The issue isn't the $100, it is having to have a microwave eat up counter space. No, if someone really likes a house not having a microwave likely won’t kill the deal, but if there are two similar, or equally good, houses and one has a apace off the counter for a microwave and one it has to sit on the counter, it could absolutely be a turning factor for someone who doesn’t want a large appliance eating up counter space. I personally notice in listing pictures if there is a counter microwave and it isn’t a positive for the house. That said, if the CSO does the same things as a microwave I would think it fine. We looked at one prior to our remodel and there was something we couldn’t do in it that led us to get the microwave drawer instead, but I can’t remember what that was now. I also wouldn’t really care where the microwave was (top cabinet, drawer, in the pantry), as long as it is within the kitchen area. i would agree that putting an outlet for one somewhere would probably be easiest. That way you don’t feel compelled to buy something you don’t think you will use but the next person can have one if they chose.
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Holger Bach
last year
People are really confident about the SHARP micro. RIght now they even have one drawer with convection oven
K R
last year
I loved mine! I got a regular wall microwave in my new house and I am already trying to figure out a way to add one to this house. It’s the best! (People complain that they’re too short, I happen to be short but my hubs is 6’5” and son is 6’2” and they never complained)
RTHawk
last year
I've had mine for more than 3 years and no regrets so far
lucky998877
last year
Love mine, would absolutely do again! So easy for kids to use also. Love not having to see it.
wdccruise
last year
CR tested the Sharp SMD3070ASY and its performance was mediocre. Note that if you bought the cheaper Sharp KB6524PSY, it does not have the flip-open control panel that other models do. The below-the-counter control panel is tilted upwards only slightly. Finally, check the installation tips; the oven extends 1-13/16" beyond the cabinet front.
Rhonda Schechter
last year
All drawer microwaves are identical because Sharp makes all of them.
PRO
JAN MOYER
last year
last modified: last year
Every client loves theirs.

I don't know HOW a "standard counter top micro in a low cabinet" could be convenient. All the doors are identical in opening direction, then the bend and peek? No.
wdccruise
last year
@JAN MOYER: "I don't know HOW a "standard counter top micro in a low cabinet" could be convenient."

I guess that's why they're "countertop".
bichonbabe
last year
Love mine !!!
Helen
last year
I love my microwave drawer. It's been installed for four years and I use it a lot and no problems.

Mine has the tilt out control panel so it is extremely easy to use.

I also don't understand how one could easily use a countertop microwave in a lower cabinet because one would have to squat to look at the controls and also to access the food.

My friend did put a regular microwave in a large cubby in her kitche but that was at a very convenient height and so it was done to eliminate clutter on her counter and her kitchen was large enough to have the space. And it has plenty of circulation as it is a large cubby - it has been almost 20 years since she did it and no issues with longevity of microwaves or damage to cabinets.

Microwave drawers are expensive which is their only drawback but for my kitchen configuration with relatively little spare counter space it was the only viable option.
PRO
Sabrina Alfin Interiors
last year
I put them in a lot of client projects and I've had zero complaints. P.S. Did you know that the only manufacturer who makes microwave drawers is Sharp? They private label/re-skin their product for all the big brands, e.g. Wolf, Thermador, etc. So, in my view, that's actually a great endorsement for the product. No one else seems to be able to make them better so they have Sharp do it for them.
wdccruise
last year
Nah, drawer microwaves are a niche product with a tiny market share. Outsourcing is a low-cost, low-risk way for brands to add these ovens to their product lineups. Sharp may also own patents. Fancy-pants brands can even sell these ovens at (often substantially) higher prices than Sharp ovens because their customers think the brand's ovens are superior, customers are price-insensitive, or they want ovens that resemble other appliances from the brand. It's just a marketing decision, not an inability to "make them better so they have Sharp do it for them."

Microwave Drawer...Any Regrets?

Comments (14)

la_la Girl

Jeanne Cardwell

Related Discussions

Holger Bach

K R

RTHawk

lucky998877

wdccruise

Rhonda Schechter

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bichonbabe

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wdccruise

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