Galaxy Pistachio Green Microwave Wall Cabinets

Two kinds of box are on this page. The short one sits above an over-the-range microwave, which hangs underneath it. The tall ones are 21 inches deep with an opening for a countertop microwave to be built in, and shelving above or below it. Displayed prices on the review date:

Note the second and third rows: the 30-inch-tall built-in box was displayed at $48.75 more than the 36-inch one. That is the grid as it stood on the review date; if the 30 is the one your run needs, ask us before ordering. The size of the opening in the built-in boxes is not printed on the product page either — send the microwave’s model number and we will confirm the fit in writing, and remember that a built-in needs the appliance maker’s own trim kit, which is bought with the microwave, not the cabinet.

The rule we work to is simple: the floor of the microwave should be no higher than the shoulder of the shortest person who uses it regularly. Above shoulder height you are lifting a hot container down towards your face, with your arms extended, and that is exactly how scalds happen. Below it you are lifting at a height where your arms have control.

Now look at where each option puts the appliance. The upper run starts 54 inches off the floor, so anything built into a wall box sits at 54 inches or higher — the precise height depends on where the opening is in the box, which we will confirm for the code you choose. An over-the-range microwave is higher still over a cooktop, at whatever height its installation manual requires, and you reach it across the burners. A base microwave box puts the appliance below the counter.

The over-the-range position appears on none of those rows as the first choice, and that is deliberate. It is a good use of space and a common fit, but it asks the user to reach up and over a cooktop that may be on. If it is the right answer for your kitchen, it is right for a household of tall adults who cook with the extractor on — and for everyone else it deserves a second look. Kitchen dimension norms, including landing space beside an appliance, are in the kitchen dimensions guide.

Every built-in box on this page is 21 inches deep; the uppers either side are 12. So the microwave box stands nine inches further into the room than its neighbours, at the height of your face. That step is either designed or it is an accident, and which one it looks like depends almost entirely on where in the run the box goes.

• In the middle of a run. The box stands proud with a 12-inch box on each side, so both of its sides show nine inches of return. It looks like a block pushed forward out of the wall, which can work if the box is centred on something — a window, a range — and looks random if it is not. Both returns need a finished skin.
• At the end of a run. One side meets the uppers and shows a nine-inch return; the other side is the end of the run and shows the full 21 inches. It reads as the run finishing in a deeper, heavier box, which is a natural place for it. Both sides still need finishing.
• Beside a tall cabinet. This is the best of the three. A tall cabinet is 24 inches deep, so the depths step down in stages — 24 for the tall, 21 for the microwave box, 12 for the uppers — and the eye reads a graduated transition rather than a lump. The microwave box stands three inches behind the tall face, which looks intentional, and only one side is exposed.

Each exposed return is a new vertical face of colour catching light from the side, and on a mid-tone like this sage it will read a shade lighter or darker than the door fronts depending on where the window is. That is not a problem, but it makes the step more visible than it would be in a white kitchen, which is one more reason to place it deliberately. The finished skin for these boxes is GPG SK MC at $50.05, on the cabinet skin page; the skin and gable guide explains how an exposed side is finished, and the tall cabinets that make the best neighbour are on the tall cabinets page.

The GPG MW3018 box is 30 inches wide because over-the-range microwaves are built for a 30-inch opening, and 18 inches high because the appliance occupies the lower part of what would otherwise be a full-height bay. Its underside is set by the microwave’s mounting height, which is in the appliance manual and differs between brands and between gas and electric cooktops. Read it before the cabinet is ordered.

Then check the top of the box against the top of the run beside it, because a mismatch shows dead centre on the range wall, and decide the venting honestly: an over-the-range unit either ducts to the outside or recirculates through a filter. If the cooking in your house calls for real extraction, a hood does that job better, and the hoods page has them in this finish — which moves the microwave to one of the positions above.

Decide who uses the microwave, then where it goes, then which appliance, then the cabinet: in that order, every time. If it is a built-in, order the box, a skin for every exposed return, and the trim kit with the appliance. If it is over the range, order the box once the manual has given you the height.

Boxes arrive pre-assembled in 7 days to 3 weeks. A free 3D design will draw the depth step in plan so you can see which side shows, and a designer replies within one business day. The full wall grid is on the wall cabinets page, trade buyers use Captivating Pro, and the rest of the finish is on the collection page.