apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

I have mine on the top of the fridge. I don't use it too often, so it's pretty convenient up there...especially as I have *no* counter space that would actually hold that thing (low cabinets, so not enough room between counter and cabinet).

We don't have a microwave...so no storage problem!

We just replaced our stand alone microwave with one that fits above the range - I love it!!

We have our microwave on a baker's rack that also holds all of my cookbooks.

it's in the same place as yours. next to the fridge.

My apartment is the size of a postage stamp, so I have it on top of the fridge. The fridge is waist height, so this works out well.

Mine is above the fridge---but it's mostly for mugs of stuff which have a handle and don't spill too easily or rice or oatmeal which come out without the liquid. I think my fridge may be on the short side though because the microwave is just a little above eye level.

Mine is under the buffet in the dining room. I don't have any outlets in my kitchen at all so if I want to use it, I pull it out, set it on a chair and use it that way. On the plus side, it doesn't eat counter space that way.

My ancient microwave is integrated into the range hood over the stove. I like having it at eye level.

I've got it angled in the corner of my countertops. I stuff liquor in the empty corner behind the microwave!

Our kitchen has a large closet that was used as a laundry by our home's previous owners. We moved the laundry and converted the closet into a pantry, which includes a counter top that fits the microwave and toaster oven. I saw a photo of a similar set-up in a magazine and since we were re-doing the space anyway, I built that in. I was really keen on freeing up the counter space in the kitchen!

We keep ours in a corner on the kitchen counter. While I'm not the biggest fan of lost counter space, at least I convinced my husband we didn't need a 1 cubic foot microwave when our last one broke down. The new microwave is indeed smaller and gives us a little more room between it and the kitchen stove.

Mine too is on top of my fridge. I just make sure to use potholders if something is too hot and to use a bigger container than necessary so nothing spills. It works for me as I've had it there for years.

I am with jooleeyet, I don't have one. my mom keeps trying to convince me that once the baby is born I need to invest in one, but I really don't want to. my kitchen is just too small!

In storage.

Does anyone want to buy it? I'll practically give it to you.

It's like this one:

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=8622234&type=product&id=1193234525288&ref=06&loc=01&ci_src=14110944&ci_sku=8622234

We don't have one either ... and I thought I was the only one out there who had to heat the oven to 200 every time I wanted a leftover ...

I don't have one either--I use a toaster oven or just the stovetop to heat stuff up. I'm sure I don't know what I'm missing, so it works for me.

Integrated above the oven. I use it incessantly.

nope, i don't have one, either. i use the stovetop or oven to reheat stuff. i hate microwaved food!

Over the fridge. We use it often enough, and I'm pretty short, but I'm careful taking things out and never had a problem and certainly wouldn't give up that much counterspace to it.

There is literally NO counterspace in my kitchen (cupboards, sink, oven... that's it. No counters at all. I roll pie crusts on the floor.), so my microwave lives on top of my fridge. Thankfully I am tall, and can mostly see what's going on in there as things are heating.

Just moved it from the dining room (on a baker's rack sort of thing) to the top of the frig. Since we got an electric kettle and a steamer (which together take up less room on the counters than the microwave) we're using the microwave a lot less anyway. The microwave is at eye level for my husband and just above my head. Not too much of a problem for reheating leftovers.

The dining room is about two steps from the kitchen, so it wasn't too bad, but I wanted the shelf space back. So all the stuff that just sat on the top of the frig is on the shelf above the kitchen cabinets, and I have more space in the dining room (nearly as tiny as the kitchen), finally!

Mine "gave up" recently, about 4 months ago, since that time we really have not felt the need to purchase a new one (trying to see how long we can live without one). Believe it or not the inoperable microwave still sits in the same spot, on a makeshift microwave shelf over the stove.

If you have space to build a sturdy microwave shelf, I think that's always a fuctional idea.

These items are a bit pricey but I think they are great ideas for microwave shelving (made that up, it's late, i'm tired):

http://www.kitchensource.com/shelves/da-welcome.html

http://www.kitchensource.com/shelves/jb-bms.htm

We're in the same boat as a few others: no microwave by choice.

We used to keep ours on a stand just adjasent to the kitchen (in the "dining room") and one day it got unplugged to do some serious carpet cleaning. Three weeks later i went to melt some butter and realized that we hadn't plugged it back in yet.
It now lives in the storage room, which I also use as a pantry... my place is small, so no matter where it is i can still get to it pretty easily.

My microwave is both an oven and a microwave oven combined. It looks like a conventional microwave, but functions as a convection oven, too. Because it gives off so much heat when baking, I can't put it near the refrigerator. I have metal shelving with adjustable racks that I set up for precise fits for the microwave/convection oven, toaster oven, pan storage, and a rolling shelf (stored under the oven). This is between a shelf with my dishes and my gas table.

I could live without the microwave, but it uses a lot less energy to reheat leftovers and to cook various foods than a conventional oven so I think it's a better choice both in terms of energy consumption and time use.

ugh. I hate having to have such a big appliance when all I ever use it for is reheating coffee or a burrito.
Mine lives in a pantry cabinet on a shelf at about elbow height. If one must have a microwave, it's the perfect set up but not easy to achieve unless you are designing a kitchen from scratch and have cabinet space to spare. In my smaller, former kitchen, I built a sideboard/buffet cabinet in the eating area specifically to house my most annoying kitchen items: the microwave, trashcan (I made it a pullout) and large serving dishes.

i have put mine is a cupboard as it doesn't get used to often, I drilled a small hole at the side, of the cupboard, at the very back bottom, which sits next to the fridge and plugged it into the same socket as the fridge with a double adapter. I have so much bench space now!

We're in the midst of a Kitchen remodel, so right now our microwave is getting the kind of use it could only have wished for pre-remodel; however as soon as feasible, we'll be putting it on a shelf in our small(ish) walk-in Pantry. I use it rarely enough that it won't be too inconvenient to walk the couple of extra paces to the pantry, and I'll have so much more counter space!

Plus - microwaves are an eyesore! So as an added bonus, having it tucked away will be much more aesthetically pleasing, too!

That's easy! I don't.

When we redid our kitchen we had our contractor build an open shelf above the sink counter area, at about the height that wall cabinets usually start--roughly eye level (and then we put the closed cabinets above it). We made the shelf area exactly the height and depth of the smallest microwave I could find, which now sits unobtrusively at one end of the shelf, leaving plenty of open space for displaying other items. I can't do without a microwave at all, but I wanted something really small that would be out of the way and not take up precious counter space.

Ours sits on the counter top just on the other side of the door from the kitchen to the garage. We use it at most once a week, so to go out to the garage to use it isn't a big deal, and then it doesn't take up precious counter top space. If the cats' food and water didn't live on top of the washer/dryer, that'd be another option. Or just getting rid of it. There are very few things that can't be done without a microwave, though I think I'd suffer profoundly without my microwave popcorn.

I don't have one. We didn't have one most of my childhood and my grandfather refused to have his food heated up in one. I'm used to not using one at home but I do use the one at work.

Mine is above the range.

In previous apartments its been stacked with the toaster on top on a kitchen cart (this was probably a ridiculous fire hazard, but it worked for me for two years and I never burned my house down)

I've also gone the on top of the fridge route. I had a full sized fridge, but I'm 5'7'' so i could reach easily.

I don't own one either. I don't feel they save any time, at least they don't the way I live.

I just recently bought one and I keep it out of the way in a corner as I rarely use it. I often check the clock on it or use the timer so I like seeing that. Mainly I use it to melt butter.

I keep mine on top of the fridge, mainly because it gives me more counter space...of which I have precious little.

We don't have one. Food tastes so much better when reheated on the stove or the oven instead.

In the brick chimney wall as part of the wall oven. It's high for a microwave, but that puts the regular oven at a normal height. It's also a second small convection/quartz broiler. I have a small