Honestly when I was faced by this issue in my super small kitchen, I decided the best solution was to put it on the counter in the corner and have an outlet that would be covered by it. The depth of the corner is not space that we ever used much because of reach, and if we were in serious need of extra counter (SO is pastry chef) we move it easily. That was a GE Spacemaker, 24" wide.

Can't you place the MW in the 28" long 12" deep corner cab? If my math is correct
28-12=16,
16x16=256,
256+256= 512 and square root of 512= 22.62", i.e. enough opening for a MW with a width of 20".

You'll loose some storage place around the MW but if you can have doors to that corner cab from the window side you may regain some of it back (another stupid idea for your husband-:))

Here is a link that might be useful: [Houzz link[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/conard-romano-architects-traditional-kitchen-seattle-phvw-vp~71957)

MW's are deeper than 12", thus requiring more clearance around that corner cabinet. They waste a lot of space when you try to put them in a corner. The best thing would be to just put in on the counter in the corner. Or, somewhere close to the fridge, maybe in a base cabinet.

If you'd post your layout, you'll receive more suggestions.

Actually the GE Spacemakers and others made to sit on an upper shelf can be 12" or below in depth. But they are wide and would need a lot of frontage.

I don't think that any of them are shallow enough to close behind a door on a standard upper cabinet, though.

It seems counterintuitive to use counterspace in a small kitchen but the depth of the corner adjacent to the stove is not that useful as workspace, only countertop storage, for the most part.

I am new to this site so I will try to scan my layout and figure out to post the proposed design. I appreciate the comments and suggestions. Is there a way to directly respond to each posting or is posting like this the only way?

I had really hoped to avoid having the microwave on the counter because my current counters have basically been "unusable" for decades because they are storage space instead of work space. The model ankh posted is interesting: it might eliminate the need for a 28 inch corner cabinet. My big concern is the size of that cabinet especially after I drew it out on tag-board.

There are several models that will fit on a 12 inch deep shelf...my current one will, and I am okay with the lack of options in a small microwave. My husband is the one with "issues" with the blind corners and corner access in a 90 degree corner. I have read all the threads on them here. I was hoping to find a solution that would appease him and eliminate a 28" wide corner cabinet because of my concerns about its size.

Does anyone have a corner cabinet this size? Does anyone have a corner cabinet that is 16-18" wide? Does anyone have a microwave in a lower cabinet...mine would have to be in the small island...I only have two places other than the corner with more than 12 inches of space. I need some input on how these option work and effective use of space.

Today was my first day of back-to-school; I have a meet-the-teacher open house tonight but will try to post scanned plans when I get back.

This post was edited by Ranton on Wed, Aug 28, 13 at 23:24

I have the same corner micro that Annkh has. It is small enough to fit in my appliance garage. I love it!

I'm putting mine in a base cabinet; for the same reason I want a real vent and not the one with a microwave over the range.

Sena01:

What an AWESOME idea for a counter cabinet! It would make more of the space "user friendly" in a normal corner cabinet, and a 12 inch cabinet door is not too expensive. If the microwave is in the cabinet, there is very little room on the side, but the area above the microwave would be much more user friendly! I could also see the side door providing access to something like divided cookie sheet storage. I am "going to look at my "mock up" corner cabinet to see how this would function. If I had this in my current corner cab., I would not dislike the space so much!

Hey Ranton, this is actually what my original plan was; a flip-up and slide-in door revealing a 21" microwave inside.

I've since made some changes and wanted the space to be ready for a Wolf microwave drawer (24" width), so now there won't be a door and the cabinetmaker is making a cut-out for my microwave to sit in (the microwave will look built-in).

This post was edited by FoxCrane on Wed, Aug 28, 13 at 22:04

FoxCrane: Thanks for the diagram. I finally figured out how to add pictures to my original post.

I don't microwave cook enough to justify the loss of space to a microwave drawer, but have thought about giving up the space in a set of 12 inch drawers in the island; I would face the small microwave toward the stove. Does that seem functional?

I have never seen a microwave in person at that height...why did you change to a drawer unit...would you have been happy with just the microwave in the cabinet?

I *rarely* use the microwave; I actually cringe when I see microwaves in restaurants. I intended on not even having a microwave, but my friends talked me into having one. The reason why it's going in the drawer unit is because I can forsee myself changing it out for the Wolf microwave drawer that slides out and you load it from the top.

I was also stuck with the drawer unit due to the very limited size of my kitchen area (I'm in a 625sqft 1bdrm condo.