Scsandy, I feel your pain. My small kitchen was just remodeled, and there is still no room to neatly tuck the microwave into some obscure place, so it's still on the counter. One major change, though, was to trade a large bulky black microwave for a very tiny off-white one. I have a beige placemat on top with an artsy piece of stoneware on top of that so the overall look is softened. It no longer bothers me like it did before, and I like the convenience of having it on the counter. That doesn't really answer your question, but I searched vigorously and could arrive at no better solution for my situation.

When faced with either a microwave in a wall cabinet or on the counter, we chose to spend the extra money for a microwave drawer. It is one of the best decisions we made!

Put it in an upper cabinet. Take the doors off if needed.

I bought a small mw and put it on the other side of the kitchen door, in the laundry area. I didn't want it on the counter and I wasn't willing to give up cabinet space and lose the clean feel of the cabinets. The drawer was too expensive.

I bought a small mw and put it on the other side of the kitchen door, in the laundry area. I didn't want it on the counter and I wasn't willing to give up cabinet space and lose the clean feel of the cabinets. The drawer was over my budget.

I'm getting the Whirlpool 0.5 cu. ft. Countertop Microwave to put on a shelf in 24" island base cabinet. It also goes on the countertop and it's designed to fit in a corner with a rounded back. Seems like an affordable option if you don't need a big microwave.