A kitchen is built for work, and the placement of the tools involved is important to the work flow. For safety and efficiency, a microwave should be placed between waist-high and the user's head level. But that's not the only factor to keep in mind. My microwave is bigger than it should be, and sits too low over the stove. I have to use a light to see the oven controls underneath and I have to pull out the stove to use the canner.
Not everyone puts thought into how an appliance will be used before they decide where to put it, meaning landlords. Homeowners may find they have little choice in where to put a microwave. A fairly new subreddit called Microwave Too High is starting to take off. It chronicles awkward microwave placement from on top of the refrigerator to hanging from the ceiling, and sometimes even near the floor. All these places make a microwave difficult to use and even dangerous when hot food comes out. Check them all out, and keep all this in mind when you arrange your own kitchen. -via Boing Boing
If you enjoyed those pictures, you might also like TV Too High and WTFaucet.
(Image credit: jamesross801)
Newest 5 Comments
Do not, I repeat, do not put in a built-in microwave! It will eventually break down and you will not be able to find a new one that fits that space. Just build an open, vented, framed shelf with an easy to access electrical outlet nearby, that is a bit bigger than your current microwave. Slide in and slide out. Plus the bit of extra space alongside is great for cutting boards.
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Those high up microwaves scare me, I i spill hot stuff I prefer below chin level.
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I don't know about residential stoves but all microwaves need to be vented. Interior/exterior depends on the microwave. In the picture above, the countertop "vents" interior. If the travesty enclosed in that top space does not vent through the back wall, that's an accident waiting to happen if it's ever used. Same with one of the pictures where one was mounted in a cabinet island. Yikes. Microwaves are pretty "safe" when they fail, but you'll never forget your first experience if it's a magnetron failure. . . . BOOM!
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A "landlord special." The folks who live there don't have to use the high microwave, because they have their own on the counter.
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That microwave is off center above the stove. That kitchen would really annoy me for so many reasons.
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