The Small Kitchen Double Oven Solution I Use Every Single Day
I designed an appliance garage into my cabinetry specifically to house a countertop oven and air fryer as my second oven.
Katie Roy
7/25/20266 min read
The Appliance Garage With the Second Oven. The Solution to a Small Kitchen.
When I was designing our kitchen remodel and working through the new kitchen layout, there was one thing I desperately wanted: a double oven.
We’re a busy family, and I was so tired of trying to make one oven work for everything. Between dinner, side dishes, reheating leftovers, frozen food for the kids before sports and activities, and holiday cooking, I knew I wanted a second oven.
So, naturally, my first kitchen plan included a traditional double wall oven.
And then I looked at how much space it was taking up.
In a smaller kitchen, every single cabinet matters. Giving up that much valuable storage for two full-size ovens just didn't make sense for our family—or for the way I actually cook.
And looking back now, I am SO glad I changed the plan.
Do You Really Need Two Full-Size Ovens?
This was the question that finally changed my kitchen design.
How much food am I really cooking at one time?
Most days, I'm not making two giant turkeys. I'm making dinner in one oven while reheating leftovers in another. Or I'm making chicken and want somewhere to roast vegetables. Or one of my kids wants nuggets and fries before we run out the door.
Unless you have eight kids—or entertain huge groups constantly—do you really need two full-size ovens?
For me, the answer was no.
I also personally think the massive stacked or side-by-side double wall oven look may eventually start to feel a little dated. They can absolutely be beautiful in the right kitchen, but I didn't want to sacrifice that much cabinetry in my limited space for something I didn't truly need.
So I came up with a different solution.
My Small-Kitchen Alternative to a Double Oven
Instead of installing two full-size ovens, I chose a 36-inch Café range. The larger range gave me a little more oven capacity than a standard 30-inch range while still giving me the traditional range-and-oven setup I wanted.
Then I designed an appliance garage into my cabinetry specifically to house a countertop oven and air fryer.
THIS was the game changer.
My countertop oven lives inside the appliance garage, ready to use whenever I need it. And when I don't want to look at another appliance sitting on my countertop, I close the double pocket doors and say goodbye.
Clean kitchen again.
For my kitchen, this has been a much better use of space than installing a second full-size oven.
And here's the funny part: I use that little countertop oven every single day.
I actually use it more often than my big 36-inch Café oven.
Why an Appliance Garage Works So Well for a Second Oven
If you're designing a small kitchen, I really can't say enough about this setup.
You get the functionality of having a second oven without permanently giving up an entire wall of cabinetry.
The appliance garage also keeps the kitchen looking much cleaner. I love beautiful appliances, but I don't necessarily want to see every appliance I own sitting on the counter.
Mine is there when I need it and hidden when I don't.
One important design note: countertop ovens generate significant heat and need appropriate clearance and ventilation. If you're planning to operate one inside an appliance garage, design the cabinet around the manufacturer's clearance requirements rather than simply putting an oven inside a standard closed cabinet.
Have a Butler's Pantry? Even Better.
If I had room for one of those gorgeous walk-in butler's pantries we're seeing in new kitchen designs, that's probably where my countertop oven would live.
I think a butler's pantry with a countertop oven/air fryer station is genius.
You can toast bread, reheat leftovers and air fry without having all of those appliances sitting in the main kitchen.
But if you don't have that kind of space—and I didn't—an appliance garage can accomplish the same idea on a much smaller scale.
The Countertop Oven/Air Fryer I Recommend
The one I chose is the Breville Smart Oven Air Fryer Pro, and it has been amazing.
I wanted the biggest countertop model I could reasonably fit because I wanted this appliance to truly function as my second oven, not just as a toaster.
Breville says the Smart Oven Air Fryer Pro has a 1-cubic-foot interior and can accommodate most 9-by-13-inch pans, toast nine slices of bread, and even roast up to a 14-pound turkey. Its exterior dimensions are about 21.4 inches wide by 17.3 inches deep by 12.7 inches high.
That's a real second oven.
Why I Use My Breville Every Day
This appliance has basically replaced several small appliances in my kitchen.
I got rid of my separate toaster because I use the Breville for toast and bagels. I use it to bake, roast, reheat and air fry. It also has settings for pizza, cookies, proofing, slow cooking and dehydrating—13 cooking functions altogether.
But as a mom, it's the everyday stuff that sold me.
Leftover pizza? Breville.
Chicken nuggets before practice? Breville.
French fries? Breville.
Toast in the morning? Breville.
Leftovers that I don't want to turn into mush in the microwave? Breville.
And don't forget vegetables! Air-fried veggies with that little bit of crisp on the outside are SO good, and my kids actually love them.
Breville's Super Convection setting is also designed to move more air through the oven for faster, crispier cooking, and the company says it can reduce cooking time by up to 30%.
It Was Amazing at Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving was when I really appreciated this kitchen decision.
My big Café oven could handle the turkey while the Breville handled side dishes.
No juggling temperatures. No waiting for the turkey to come out before I could put something else in.
And because the Breville Smart Oven Air Fryer Pro is large enough for most 9-by-13-inch pans, it actually works for real side dishes—not just a handful of fries.
That was exactly what I had wanted when I originally thought I needed a double oven.
I just didn't need two giant ovens to accomplish it.
Another Reason I Chose Breville: The Construction
I also really liked the construction of the Breville compared with the plastic-heavy look and feel of many smaller air fryers I considered.
Breville lists the Smart Oven Air Fryer Pro's construction material as brushed stainless steel.
For me, that mattered. I wanted something substantial that would look appropriate in my newly remodeled kitchen, especially because I knew I'd be using it constantly.
I also prefer limiting plastic around hot food where practical, so the oven-style design was a much better fit for what I wanted than a typical plastic-bodied basket air fryer.
The Newer Breville Option
There is also the newer Breville Joule Oven Air Fryer Pro.
It takes the same basic countertop-oven concept and adds more smart technology. The Joule works with Breville+ and includes guided recipes and Autopilot features that can automatically move through different cooking times, temperatures and functions during a recipe.
If you love smart appliances and guided cooking, I would look at the Joule.
Personally, I wouldn't feel like I needed to replace my Smart Oven Air Fryer Pro just to get those features. Mine already does exactly what I bought it to do.
Would I Design My Kitchen This Way Again?
100 percent yes.
Of all the decisions I made while planning my kitchen remodel, creating an appliance garage for a countertop second oven was one of the most practical.
It gave me the double-oven functionality I wanted without sacrificing valuable cabinetry to two enormous ovens.
And that's really what good kitchen design should be about.
Not just designing a kitchen that looks beautiful in pictures, but thinking about how your family actually lives in it every single day.
If you're working with a smaller kitchen and debating whether you can squeeze in a double wall oven, consider a larger main range plus a quality countertop oven/air fryer tucked into an appliance garage instead.
For our family, it has been the perfect solution.
I honestly don't know how I lived without it—and I definitely don't miss turning on that giant oven just to heat up a handful of chicken nuggets!
Katie Roy. By Krella Design.
