Whether you’re planning a big budget kitchen renovation or a small budget kitchen upgrade, it’s the little details that matter.  One detail we took into account was the microwave.  Since we hardly ever use it, and since microwaves aren’t sexy, we didn’t want it to be front and center in our kitchen.  We definitely didn’t want it sitting on a counter or hanging out right over our very sexy Bertazzoni range.

So, instead, we designed our cabinets with a slot for the microwave to slide in underneath the counter.  Below the microwave cubby is a tall pull-out drawer that houses microwave-friendly storage containers.  This makes for a convenient little “leftover” station. Above the microwave is nothing but uncluttered countertop, and that kind of real estate is priceless in our tiny New York kitchen.  I love that our microwave is out of sight and out of mind until we need to reheat last night’s mac & cheese.  You barely even notice it in these other pics of our renovated kitchen.

This post was inspired by Leila over at In The Tweeds who just posted about the microwave cubby that was built into her kitchen renovation.  She has a spacious kitchen (I’m jealous) and her microwave will be tucked above a convenient work station.  Leila’s kitchen design looks so smart; I can’t wait to see how it turns out. What clever solutions did you incorporate in your kitchen renovation?  I’d love to post your ideas…