Microwave Must See
Have you seen this LG microwave, below? It came out last year. I did not cover it in this blog, and I rarely have a need for over-the-range microwaves in my design practice, until now, for myself!
You may have read about my apartment kitchen remodel. Well, to get you up to speed, quickly, while some improvements continue to be done, we're putting the bulk of the renovation on hold for now. The basic issue is that we are undecided on what should drive certain important decisions...resale or personal wants and needs. Plus, since our son will be staying there for at least a couple of more years while in college, there is not an urgency to do the renovation.
SO...in the course of having to remove the existing over-the-range microwave this weekend, due to its extreme venting inefficiency and age, we stopped at Best Buy to pick up another one, a 400cfm model by Samsung, since we were told by our super we could duct it through the existing path in the ceiling. We found most new models were 300 cfms.
BUT, while in Best Buy, all of a sudden, we saw this LG microwave and immediately had a WOW reaction. It's very sexy, it's a few inches deeper than normal, it's taller, which we needed, and best of all, it has a 470 cfm fan, which was very impressive. Our son and his girlfriend cook up a STORM in our NYC apartment, nearly every night, and the gunk of small airborne particles that settle all over the apartment is not a pretty sight. So, THIS appliance seems to fit what we need for now.
As I've said before, I'm not a fan of the over-the-range microwave in general, for several reasons, but, in this case, the spot is open for it, so we'll fill it. This is the most powerful over-the-range microwave cfm rating I know of, which leads to healthier living in an open kitchen!
I LOVE the lift up door, the cfm capacity, the depth to better cover the burners, and the very cool look!
Sunday, June 22, 2008 at 07:43PM
Reader Comments (9)
Oooh, fancy! That looks really nice.
I'm not sure how I happened upon your blog, but I've really enjoyed it. Your posts are very informative and always interesting. I have to know, though, why aren't you a fan of over the range microwaves? What is your alternative?
Hi Kelli, glad you like the blog! Take a look at the post just after that, it was my intention to do a second post on the "why", so your question came at a good time.
Susan, thanks! Something's wrong with my Google reader, and it hadn't updated to show your new post.
I'm short (5' even) and that would never work for me -- I'd have to jump to close the door. ugh.
In our kitchen redesign, we tried pretty much everything we could think of to avoid the OTR microwave, because I don't want my kids climbing on the stove to reach it, but there was just no where else that it made sense to put it.
They're 4 and 7 now, so it's not a big deal at the moment, since they wouldn't be using it anyway. I may get a small counter one for them to use when they're preteens.
In general I don't like over the range microwaves, but this one is really cool.
Kelli, well I hope it's updating now! Thanks for stopping by.
Elizabeth, well, you're not alone. It gives me the most trouble too, to find the best place for it, functionally as well as aesthetically!
Connie, we just installed it today. It's quite good looking if I do say so myself. Big, but looks ok.
This MW got very bad reviews from Consumer Reports 2008 Kitchen Guide. They went so far as to show how it would hit a smaller person in the head as well as a larger person. Bottom line is they felt this was a dangerous product.
How did this microwave work out??
I have a Miele Speed Oven (combination microwave amd convection oven) and I wouldn't have anything else!