From air fryers to combi microwaves: Does your home really need an oven?

Small home expert Jennifer Sheahan on why a full-sized regular oven is not always necessary

Jennifer Sheahan's kitchen. I do have a full-sized oven in my home, because I bake a lot and I need multiple racks to fit many cake tins at once, but this is not true for everyone. Picture: Moya Nolan

Recently I was working on the redesign of a small galley kitchen. As always in my world, space was at a premium and we had to get clever about how to maximise what was available. 

It was only when I discovered that the owner was primarily using her oven for storage that I realised we could free up this space. It never occurred to me to not include an oven in a kitchen, but of course, a full-sized regular oven is not always necessary.