Making space work harder – the compact cooking trend helping UK homes make more of less

Across the country, kitchens are quietly getting smaller or, at least, feeling more crowded. With UK households under pressure to make every square metre work harder, the kitchen has become one of the most contested spaces in the home.

The modern kitchen is expected to do more than ever: weekday dinners, batch cooking, family meals, hosting, packed lunches and healthier home cooking. But for many households, especially renters and city flat dwellers, worktop space is often at a premium, and the question many households are asking isn’t just what to cook, but where to put everything while they do it.

This shift has changed how people think about appliances. Instead of single-use gadgets that compete for space, there’s growing demand for compact, multifunctional designs that can handle everyday cooking without taking over the kitchen.

Air fryers have been at the centre of this change, but even within that category, design is evolving. Side-by-side dual-basket models, while useful, can be surprisingly wide. The newer thinking is vertical, stacking capacity upwards rather than spreading it across the counter.

That’s where Cosori’s Turbo Tower range comes in.

Designed with smaller kitchens in mind, the Cosori Turbo Tower Compact offers dual-basket cooking in a slimmer footprint, using 39% less counter space than traditional side-by-side air fryers. That means you can cook two elements of a meal at once without losing valuable prep space – ideal for busy weeknight dinners in compact kitchens.

The Compact is particularly well suited to smaller households looking to make everyday cooking easier. Ceramic-coated, dishwasher-safe baskets help cut down on clean-up, while precise temperature control and optimised airflow help deliver consistently crispy results with minimal fuss.

For households that need more flexibility, the Turbo Tower Pro Smart builds on the same space-saving design with a larger 10.8L capacity split across stacked chambers, while still taking up 41% less counter space than traditional dual-basket models. It's a smart option for families, batch cooks or anyone regularly juggling multiple dishes at once.

Alongside seven cooking functions, including air frying, roasting, baking and grilling, the Pro Smart also connects to the VeSync app, allowing users to adjust settings remotely and access recipe inspiration from their phone. Whether you're entertaining, helping with homework or relaxing in the garden, it makes fitting cooking around a busy schedule that little bit easier.

Despite its larger capacity, the Pro Smart still helps reduce kitchen clutter while its DC motor system makes it a practical choice for open-plan homes and everyday family life.

For smaller kitchens, the shift isn’t about cooking less – it’s about choosing appliances that work smarter within the space available.