Making House Episode 4: Microwaves

For some reasons, badly done microwaves are a major peeve of mine. Perhaps because I've suffered through several badly situated microwave administrations, I am a bit sensitive. For example, for the first year we were in this house, the microwave was in an upstairs bedroom. In any case, I am quite particular about integrating a microwave as an appliance in a kitchen.

However, many people are apparently less psychotic on the subject. I watch the show Kitchen Design pretty often, and the example kitchens are usually very nice. But many, for some reason, have a wimpy little microwave sitting right there on the countertop, just like some transient apartment dweller. Please. People.

My perference is for the microwave to be built in, either above the cooktop and under a cooktop, or as part of a wall oven or other cabinetry. At a minimum, it should be on a dedicated shelf off the countertop. The reason I like to see the microwave up off the counter is because they are a very inefficient use of valuable counter space - space better reserved for active cooking or at least difficult to store appliances, such as a stand mixer or coffee maker.

Over-the-range microwaves are handy because they also act as a hood and supplementary lighting source while cooking. Most designer kitchens do not use this setup, preferring a dedicated hood. In a small kitchen, I think it is an ideal use of space as it really takes care of two functions with one bit of space.

Aside from placement, I am not too particular about my microwave. The color should match at least some of the other appliances, and it should be able to pop a good bag of popcorn. We don't do much microwave cooking per se - mostly just for warming things up. For this function, I really like the "quick minute" feature. The implentation on our current microwave is really good - it has a 30 second button, and for a quick start any of the minute buttons can be pushed, from 1 to 6, if I recall correctly. I don't think I've ever cooked anything that required longer than about 4 minutes to cook or heat up, so I usually use the 1 or 2 minute buttons, along with a well-placed 30-second spot here and there.

The principle is that the microwave should be easy to use, very convenient, and out of the way. But, not in the room upstairs. Extra features like a non-cook timer, counter light, and vent fan can make the kitchen that much more efficient and pleasant.

For our new kitchen we're using a $299 GE model from Home Depot. I've installed an over-the-range microwave before, and it's not too tough - so we'll be doing the same in the new kitchen.

Time for some popcorn!