Lower cabinet appliance pull out? Or....

10 years ago

So, I'm looking for a new home for my microwave and toaster oven. They currently reside on an open Boos block butcher block that's 6ft long and has a lower shelf. This table is being replaced with cabinets and now I'm trying to figure out something to do with these appliances.

I should point out that I rarely use them but do from time to time. Like maybe 2-3x a month.

My initial thought was to put them into a cabinet with retracting doors. After reading around some I'm a little concerned about the heat of the toaster oven and am worried that even with ample room it might be best not to do this. Thoughts?

My second thought is to put both of them sideways into a cabinet kind of like a pull out trash. I'd figure out some kind of locking mechanism and have this at the end against the wall so they wouldn't block anything. I figured I could pull them out, lock them into place, use them, allow them time to cool and then put them away. I wouldn't loose too much of the work top in that 6 ft run of counters this way either. Does this sound remotely feasible? It would put one of them rather low but they are both low now and work fine for my very occasional use.

The other option that I could see would be to add them into my pantry. The pantry is about the size of a medium coat closet definitely not a large walk in. My concerns are adding an outlet to this space #1 and #2 having to back out of the pantry with something hot. There is a landing space nearby the pantry though.

I had thought about pulling them out as I use them or doing something like a rev-a-shelf to lift one or both of them. Any feedback or creative solutions welcome. I don't have anything like a rollout tall pantry or hutch to hide them in either.

Thanks for your help!!!

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Comments (7)

justmakeit
10 years ago
Microwaves and toasters are such awkward space hogs! I like the idea of having them sideways on pullouts, but even that takes up valuable kitchen real estate. Would it be possible to have them on a small cart in the pantry? When you need them, you could pull the cart out into the kitchen and plug one in. This may be more effort than you'd like, but sometimes you have to trade off effort for space. (My husband uses his toaster every day, which is the only reason he's allowed to keep it on the counter!)
olympia776
Original Author
10 years ago
I like the idea of a pull out cart. I even thought of essentially hiding one in the base cabinet and that's where the idea of the pull out was born. My issue with a pull out in the pantry would be that I'd have to pull it about 15 feet away to put it in a useful place. Argh.

I also contemplated just keeping them in the pantry and pulling them out for when I use them. I really use them that infrequently.

We almost never have bread so no toast in my house. I always giggle at my mom who does make toast daily and still stores her toaster away in her lazy susan!
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justmakeit
10 years ago
15 feet is a long way to haul the cart from the pantry. That definitely falls into the category of "a lot of effort". Of course, so does carrying them out from the pantry! I'm wondering how big your kitchen is. If you've got lots of space, then having these appliances in a pull out cabinet makes sense. On the other hand, if you're trying to conserve space for the stuff you really do use a lot, then the microwave and the toaster are undeserving of the cabinet. I'll be interested to know what you decide!
olympia776
Original Author
10 years ago
Hi Justmake it,
the kitchen isn't huge! It's just that the space where I'd use them is on the opposite end of the kitchen! It's 10x16 :)

I suppose I could lug them from the pantry and use them more nearby but that would mean displacing the coffee setup.

I'm pretty happy with my current storage. There are some things I'd do differently now that I've lived with it for a bit. Adding this new 6 ft run of cabinets should offer me lots of additional storage. I've got a butcher block table there now and It basically only houses my microwave, toaster oven, stand mixer and a small stack of bakeware.

I'm thinking the new stretch will have two doors and behind them I'll have microwave, toaster oven, kitchenaid and maybe some other small appliances on pull outs. I'd also like to have three drawers the top one I'm thinking about storing my knives in so I can ditch the block on the counter. The lower two I'm thinking about making more customized for my cookware. That would make it behind the range which might not be completely ideal. I've got a cabinet with pullouts next to the range but it doesn't completely accommodate my cookware and I don't really enjoy undoing and redoing a stack of cookware everytime I want to use them. I'm thinking of making this more for large items like dutch ovens and pressure cooker and putting more of the pots and pans in the new stretch.

I'm also thinking of adding toe kick drawers. I almost never bake so it'd be great to have a place to put the muffin tin and loaf pan, etc.

If anyone has any advice for planning all this out I'm very open. I'll likely be building this myself so I'll take any thoughts happily!
ck_squared
10 years ago
If you're really only using them 2-3 times a month, then I'd store them in the pantry and take them out when you do want to use them. Any outlet will do. What's the closest one to the pantry? The landing spot nearby?

I have appliances that get much more use than yours but I store them in my pantry. I don't like to have appliances out on the counter and I wouldn't want to create a special cabinet for a seldom used appliance.
olympia776
Original Author
10 years ago
Thanks, ck, the hard thing is that they have to go somewhere and wherever it is it'll be stealing away storage, if that makes sense.
My hope was that if they were in the cabinet I could pull them out and use them. If they are in the pantry they'll steal away space that I have used to store food in the past. Although since starting the reno ages ago the pantry now also holds the dishes...
laughablemoments
10 years ago
Do you use the toaster oven for baking, or just for making toast once in a while? If it's the latter, could the toaster oven be replaced with a regular small toaster that's easy to put away in almost any cabinet and be pulled out for the occasional use? We've made toast by buttering the bread and putting it in a frying pan (liked grilled cheese without the cheese part) and it's just as yummy as toaster-style toast.

Same thing for the micro... since you use yours so little, could you get by without it all together? We skipped having one for 4 or 5 years, and it wasn't all that tough to do. (I am glad to have one again, however. ; )) I know there are others out there who are micro free and don't really miss having them.