? double oven and microwave in one tower

[GrumpyMcGrumpFace]

Hi - interested if you have this, and how you organise it (i.e. how far off the ground the first appliance is and how far up the highest appliance is). I'm wondering what the optimum arrangement is.

BTW I'm average height...

We have this. We had to "bespoke" it a bit, as it's not usual to put it all into one tower.

Working from the bottom, there is a slightly shorter than normal base cupboard, then the microwave above that (so just below worktop height). Then the main oven, then the small oven/grill, then at the very top is a super-narrow cupboard (25cm high?) with a lift-up door for baking tins etc.

The microwave and main oven heights are absolutely fine, but slotting the grill pan into the top oven is tricky because it's very high, and the builder did warn us. If you are particularly short, or have weak wrists you would find it difficult. If I had my time again I would have arranged it differently.

thank you CointreauVersial. What would you do differently - not have had them all together at all?

I wouldn't have any of them above eye height. Even that's pretty high.

Imagine taking out a pan and spilling hot liquid over yourself.

You may do better with two towers.

Or, I have a custom-made wall 600mm cabinet (extra deep) for the microwave. These deep wall cabs are often used for boilers (though a boiler doesn't need a full cabinet, just a door, it can be open top and bottom with vestigial sides). The upper part of mine has a hinge-up door and holds serving dishes, and the matching deep one next to it large, light things like foil, clingfilm, kitchen roll, cornflakes. It's probably safer to have large, light, unbreakable things up high.

You can get cabinets in any colour or dimemsions you want, to match your others and to fit the standard doors.

Some people have difficulty with heavy things, like turkeys or Le Creuset pans, in an oven much above waist height.

We are having two full ovens and a warming drawer.

I also thought this is too much. However if you were having a range cooker for example the oven would be low down and you would have to bend down.

We are having a neff hide and slide at the top so that the oven door is out of the way and we will be able to move things in and out of the oven safely

If I had my time again I would not have put them all into the one tower - it really isn't that practical/safe to have the grill so high, but I wasn't really thinking of others, as I knew I'd be able to manage it (and I couldn't work out how else to configure things).

I would have moved the microwave elsewhere, and lowered both ovens.

And I wouldn't have put the dishwasher opposite a jutting-out piece of wall so no-one could get past it while it is open.....you live and learn....

We have double oven with microwave above. Not ideal but given that the microwave is largely used for defrosting or heating the occasional meal someone has
Missed it is not the end of the world but wouldn't want grill/ top oven at that height

I have mine all in one column and am very happy with it. I have a pan drawer underneath and lift open cupboard above.

The very top of the microwave unit is 1.76m and bottom of the lower oven is 50cm.

I would be amazed if you made this work. My configuration is (from the bottom):

• half size cupboard
• single oven with grill (hide and slide)
• microwave combi
• half size cupboard

and though we discussed it a lot beforehand I still think the microwave combi is too high, probably because the microwave door (because it is also a combi) opens out rather than left to right, so reaching in is awkward. If I were to do it again I’d have the micro combi below and the hide and slide above.

We've got a single oven with a combi microwave above so can use that as a smaller oven. It's a recent refit replacing a double oven and so far I haven't missed having a double oven and separate micro. I'm pleasantly surprised by how good the combination microwave is.

We have a small microwave in a standard wall cabinet. I would not want it any higher than that. My 10 year old can make hot chocolate standing on a footstool but it does feel a bit precarious.

My kitchen planner wouldn't put our microwave higher than 165ish cm. He said that was considered the maximum safe height.
It bothered me at first as my side by side ovens aren't level but actually it looks fine.

That looks excellent, TeaAtBettys.

At some point we will probably replace our whole tower (we did the kitchen ten years ago, and the double oven was already a couple of years old by then, as it was reused from previous kitchen), and if so I would copy that layout - microwave at the top, and drop the oven right down.

DilysMoon - how/where do you grill stuff?

I have just done this as kitchen was here when we moved in with just a single oven with microwave on top. Couldn't cope with just single oven. So took out single drawer below, lowered double oven, moved microwave up. Carpenter is cutting top cupboard door to fit space. He's fitting top door tomorrow.

Top of microwave is 180cm from floor and top of oven 140cm from floor.

Ah thank you everybody, that's really helpful! teaatbettys it think I will be quite similar to your set up, with our bottom oven 44cm off the floor - which, as you point out chopc is already higher than if it were a range cooker. The top of the microwave will be at about 172 cm, and given it's already on a shelf in our current set up, I think that will be the same really, give a cm or two.

My mind is more at rest that it will work!

teaatbettys I have also chosen tiles incredibly similar to what you have there. Clearly I want to beeeee you!!

@TeaAtBettys and @Focalpoint I think we all have the same kitchen!

We had a kitchen planner round last week who gently talked me out of them being in the same tower, essentially by having me stand there and imagine reaching up. I'm.only 5ft1, and the reality of reaching up so high (comparatively ) with hot things has put me off. Results may vary for those blessed either bit more height

Oh dear, *with a bit more height.
I know you said you were average height, OP, but it's worth having a look at what it's actually like in a showroom or thinking about others that might use it. I've gone from being keen on the idea to thinking it's vaguely terrifying.

Ericaceae I have 5 inches on you (not to show off or anything - in my family I'm the shortarse!!). I've compared with where our microwave currently is and actually it will be a bit lower... I'm more concerned now that the ovens are low. Never short of something to worry about, me....

These kitchens are all remarkable similar!

This is ours

I agree with you about the height Ericaceae - I’m 164 cm tall (5’4”) and that is the height of the top of my micro combi. It’s still a stretch because of the forward opening door, which I had forgotten to take into consideration when planning - blame a whole house renovation with approximately a million decisions to be made in a very short space of time.
If the combi opened to the side it would be the perfect height as I wouldn’t be reaching over the door (and I can’t clean the back of the combi without standing on a step).

If I were doing this I’d have the lowest oven way down low with just a small drawer below. Basically just like a normal undercounter oven. Those aren’t too low (unless you have a bad back) so presumably it’s not too low in a tower either. Better than having the highest one too high which is unsafe.

Can you share what brand ovens you have in this pic? I’m trying to find some around this size.

@Block2012

Can you share what brand ovens you have in this pic? I’m trying to find some around this size.

We have a similar configuration and ours are Bosch, although admittedly rather old.