Do we have microwave drawers in Australia yet?

Hello all

I have seen so many of these (on Houzz, mainly US sites) and they seem like a great idea. Do we have them in Australia yet? I have checked on Harvey Norman and Good Guys but I can't find any.

cheers
Sandra

Here is what I have seen...
http://www.houzz.com/ideabooks/2983887/ ... =gallery21
Sandra

I haven't come across them yet but is there really that much difference between that and a properly integrated microwave below bench??

I actually thing the photos look terriable with the mirco drawer unit sitting proud of the joinery!

I suppose not really, apart from that it comes out similar to the dishwasher drawers and you reach in from the top to get your food and stir it etc. It saves bending to see inside it.
From what I read also, you have to press a button and the microwave drawer opens itself.

As more manufacturers come on board with these MW drawers CEK you will start to see more flush models.
Thermador already does one...
http://www.thermador.com/cooking/microw ... icrodrawer
I'd say once the Euro manufacturers get in the act with their penchant for sleek looks, you'll start to see more soon.
The only thing I don't like about some of them ( and underbench MW's in general ) is that their controls are on the front making them harder to see unless you bend over or drop down on one knee like our friends do with theirs. If the controls were on the top edge of the MW it would be better.
The best thing about them though is to be able to open the drawer and stir the pot without removing it from the MW. Cool.

Stewie

Ah yes. To bend down to see the controls would be a pain in the... back.
Do you have to do this to see controls on some dishwashers? How have they combated this problem?
Anyway, from what I have read, Sharp make all the microwave draws (or the internals anyway) and Thermador rebrands it.
They have been in America for YEARS, why is Australia so slow on the uptake?

I hate them under sink/benches etc. Agree - hate to bend down. We built a column and got a wall oven with M/W above. As it is part of the column I can't see the use of a drawer and it is at eye level - virtually.

We once had a little spot (corner) in kitchen - that had a roller door that came down over jug and toaster. Eventually the door became very discoloured. And we (I ... ) rarely closed it. I found it a real nuisance.

I do wonder about a few of these things ...

Seeing controls/lights was a real issue. Our place was meant to have the MW under the bench. But - we wanted the column. So they moved the MW to there - above the wall oven.

Unfortunately the MW had uni (?) directional lights - ie you could see them looking down but as it rose the lights became less and less. Finally - when it was in the wall Mrs SM couldn't see them at all - she was looking from below the line at the screen. I've never seen this before (no pun intended).

We had a "talk" about it one day - I couldn't understand how she couldn't see the lights/reading. So - I slowly started to drop and as I got to her height the lights disappeared. They only worked one way - up. This was great if you had the MW under the bench.

We just replaced it - got a credit and bought a better brand too.

But - one of those things you don't really think about - and the supervisor of the build claimed he'd never seen before.

Agreed in a wall oven tower is the best spot for a microwave but not every kitchen has enough room for the tower. A lot of unit kitchens don't have the room and the oven has to go below bench. A lot of microwaves are so deep these days that they cant go into overheads so in this situation the microwave would also have to go below bench.

In large kitchens you are spoilt for design opportunity's. In smaller kitchens you are very limited.

+1. In smaller kitchens, bathrooms or any room for that matter your design options become narrower and narrower the smaller the room.

Stewie

I lived in the US for 3 years with 2 Thermador draw style microwaves, they are brilliant to use, there is no need to bend down to see the controls as they connect to a phone or tablet app, or you can tell them what to do with Alexa or Google over the wifi. The draws are automatic opening and closing at the push of a button or voice to open, and a nudge or voice to close, you don't have to remove the dish to stir, there is no rotating plate to clean. The sharp versions have a pop-out control panel that allows you to see the controls from the top without bending.