Over the years, I’ve probably made at least ten makeovers on the islands we’ve had in our two kitchens. I’m currently working on a beautiful update to our current one that I can’t wait to show you!
While working on this project, I’ve been thinking back to all of these DIY island makeovers. Moving our microwave to the island in our last house was a HUGE game changer in that room.
Moving the microwave from over the stovetop to the island freed up space for a gorgeous vent hood and allowed me to completely transform that kitchen.
A quick refresher first — this is how our island in that kitchen started (well, after a couple of updates over the years):
Years later, I tackled a whole kitchen makeover, and one of the projects I addressed was increasing the size of our island and making it way more functional.
This post may contain affiliate links for your convenience.
I may earn a small commission when you make a purchase through links.
There are two ways you can add a spot for a microwave in an island — the first is to reconfigure the drawer or cabinet storage already installed and keep your current countertop.
Or do like I did and extend the length to create a spot for one — but you’ll need to install a longer countertop to fit.
And of course you’ll need a power source, so before I finished this project I had an outlet run to inside this end cabinet.
I made sure they were level and also made sure to mark where I wanted them to hang at the front:
I was going to finish it up with some trim along the front of the shelf so needed to make sure it would be flush.
You’ll notice my supports didn’t go all the way to the back. I made the shelf a few inches short in the back to allow for some air flow. Otherwise I’d normally add a support to the back too.
Next I placed the shelf on top:
You want to make sure to predrill your holes for the screws in everything. If you just screw them in without doing that, the wood will most likely split. And that’s annoying. 🙂
You’ve got yourself a shelf!:
Make sure to sink your screws in if you’ll see them at all. I usually use nails for this part but had the screws right there so I just went with those. Either is fine, but nails are easier to hide.
I added the trim to the front to finish it off:
We went with a Samsung microwave — it was on sale and the power is the same as our older version. We didn’t use it much anyway, just smaller dishes and reheating.
There is plenty of space behind the microwave for ventilation and some on the sides as well. I did a lot of research on placing a regular microwave in an island and recommend adding plenty of room for ventilation:
There are microwave with drawers that designed to be built in to cabinets, but they are extremely expensive.
We LOVED having this out of the way. It was so nice to not have it as the focal point in our kitchen, and I was able to completely transform the space because of this change.
If you have small kids, you will want to make sure there is a lock feature if you decide to move your microwave.
The buyers of our last home are friends of ours, and this set up is still working for them as well!:
Here’s a reminder of the DIY process…I used cheaper plywood for this part because I knew we wouldn’t see much of the inside when I was done:
Moving the microwave made it possible to create this pretty kitchen — I removed the wall cabinets on that wall and we were able to have sconces and a pretty vent hood installed instead:
This is a great option if you’re looking to do a kitchen reno without spending a ton of money! Nowadays we use our air fryer/toaster oven way more than our microwave anyway.
