Microwave Wall Ovens: a key kitchen combo
Where you put your microwave, oven, fridge and dishwasher will inform the visual and functional flow of your kitchen. The fewer pieces you have to consider, the more creative freedom you’ll have to create the kitchen your space was meant to have. That’s why more home builders, interior designers, kitchen renovators and home owners are leaning towards microwave wall ovens.
A quick history of the wall oven
Once the gas oven and the electric oven were created in 1826 and 1895, respectively, it was only a matter of time before somebody thought to put the oven on the wall instead of the floor so they wouldn’t have to be constantly bending over to put food in and take food out.
The first company to do it was Thermador in 1947, and the style was an immediate hit with people who cooked a lot. The invention catapulted Thermador into the pantheon of home appliance brands; they went on to invent stainless steel for home appliances, as well as the first home version warming drawer, the first self-cleaning oven, the first smooth-top cooktop and the first professional-style range for homes.
Today, the microwave wall oven is the most popular of the wall oven combinations (other combos include double ovens, oven/steam oven, oven/speed oven and oven/warmer drawer) because of the microwave’s ubiquity as an essential kitchen appliance, which has been the case since the early 1980s. And while the trends have demonstrated a decline in microwave sales since 2004, largely attributed to a move towards fresher cooking, people with kids they need to get fed quickly between school and after-school programs find having a microwave very helpful.
As the microwave wall oven progresses into the future, the next major addition to the category will continue to be connectivity. Samsung, LG, Whirlpool, GE and (of course) Thermador make microwave wall ovens with WiFi enablement, which lets you connect to your microwave or your oven with your phone so you can turn the heat up or down or set/reset a timer from the kitchen table or the family room couch.
The first major benefit of a microwave wall oven: space
Space is a major issue when planning or redesigning a kitchen — and especially a small condo kitchen in downtown Toronto, Montreal or Vancouver. In those instances, creating prep and living space has to be a priority because of its scarcity.
A microwave wall oven is a great place to start because of the extra floor and counter space it will give you, simply by virtue of its design and where it sits.
The average width of a standard floor-sitting oven is between three and four feet, while the depth can be anywhere from two to three feet. A microwave oven averages between 1.4 and 1.8 cubic feet. Put all together, these two appliances take up a lot of floor and counter space. But when they’re built into the wall, their footprint becomes zero and all that room is reclaimed. That means more floor space for you, your family and/or your friends to move around your kitchen. It also means more counter space to prep food.
The second major benefit of a microwave wall oven: the freedom to design
Building a microwave wall oven into a wall of your kitchen opens up a world of design possibilities, which is why it’s such a popular choice for our interior designer customers and for homeowners with vision.
The extra floor space might make an eat-in kitchen feasible as a table, an island or a peninsula. You could choose the space to add greenery to your kitchen with an oversized potted plant or hanging herb planters, a great money saver for you. Or you could go super practical with a second pantry for cleaning supplies or Costco-sized non-perishable purchases. Using the space this way will either free up cupboard real estate somewhere else in your place or give you the extra room to build bulk shopping into your weekly lifestyle — another excellent way to save money.
The third major benefit of a microwave wall oven: ease
We talked about this earlier, but it’s worth repeating. If you’re the kind of person who does a lot of cooking or baking, do you want to keep bending or squatting in front of a floor-sitting oven to check on your food? Do you want to keep having to arch your back when you put something in or take something out? And do you really want to risk dropping a hot, fresh-from-the-oven pan because of the angle?
A microwave wall oven raises the door bar of your oven so you can stay upright and pain-free as you load your oven or microwave or monitor what you’re preparing.
Buying a microwave wall oven at Canadian Appliance Source
As you browse the available microwave wall ovens in your local Canadian Appliance Source showroom or here on our website, you’ll notice that cubic footage is not uniform.
For example, the Samsung NQ70M7770DG has a whopping 7 cubic-foot capacity whereas the Bosch Benchmark Series HBLP752UC only has a 6.2 cubic-foot capacity. That’s a 10-inch swing, and if you’re the kind of person who routinely cooks for crowds (be it family, friends, colleagues or all three), having more cubic feet space in your microwave wall oven to accommodate large cookware or multiple appetizer trays is a major bonus.
When you come in for a meeting with someone on our team, they’ll talk to you about how you plan to use your microwave wall oven, and then make brand and trim recommendations based on your predicted usage of both the oven and the microwave, your personal style and the style of your kitchen.
A kitchen with a microwave wall oven is just more workable
From the extra floor and counter space to the proximity between the two appliances to the ease of use, having a microwave wall oven immediately improves your kitchen, your home and what you can do in it.
Get in touch to start thinking about a new microwave wall oven.
