My mum gifted me this £30 kitchen appliance when I left for university seven years ago, and I still use it all the time – it’s the only appliance a fresher needs

by Furnishly | Aug 7, 2026 | Design Inspiration

When I packed up and headed to university back in September 2019, the one thing my mum gave me was a Crockpot Slowcooker (£31, Argos). And now, four years later, it’s the one kitchen appliance I can’t live without.

If you have a loved one heading to university this autumn, I’d argue that one of the best slow cookers is possibly the best thing to send them off with – it definitely was for me. Slow cookers are cheap to run, make meal prep a breeze, and don’t take up as much worktop space as one of the best air fryers.

I’m always waxing lyrical about my slow cooker and how much I love using it. I genuinely whip it out every week, and now it’s the kitchen appliance I’d recommend to anyone moving out for the first time.

Until I was given an air fryer, I didn’t really see their merit, to be honest. If I’m being really honest, coming home from school to see the slow cooker was on the side was fairly disappointing. It wasn’t until I started using my own that I realised you could make a lot more than stew.

My mum firmly told me she swore by hers, and after school stew aside, I took her advice. I’ve never looked back either. As an 18-year-old essentially let loose in London for the next three years, I had better things to do than spend my evenings slaving away behind an oven, and I really didn’t have the budget to rely on takeaways.

Here, my slow cooker maths came into play. Before heading into lectures in the morning, I could simply dump my ingredients into the cooker, set it to low, and when I arrived home I’d have a hot meal waiting for me (and leftovers to feed me over the rest of the week).

At home I’d cooked for my family, but now cooking for just myself, I found it frustrating and expensive buying ingredients only to not be able to use them all up before they went out of date. But being able to quickly batch cook in my slow cooker meant I could use all my ingredients up and leftovers could be deposited in the freezer or fridge. Now, I practically worship slow cooker dump bags, which make prep even easier, and swear by the OXO GoodGrips Silicone Bags (£20, Amazon) to do so.

Slow cookers are also really cheap to run. In fact, it’s probably your cheapest kitchen appliance, making it very student-friendly. Plus, my experience of slow cookers is that they can deepen the flavour of the dish you’re cooking. I’ve learned this the hard way by adding slightly too much spice to curries and consequently blowing my own head off.

Throughout university, I used my slow cooker to make a range of dishes from bolognese, curries and casseroles to mulled wine at Christmas and joints of pulled pork for dinner parties and BBQs during the summer.

Now aged 25, I still use the same Crockpot on a weekly basis. It is genuinely my favourite kitchen appliance. And while I keep thinking I need to upgrade my slow cooker (I’ve been looking at the Ninja Foodi 8-in-1 8L Possible Cooker, was £150, now £120 at Argos), I can’t quite bring myself to part with my trusty Crockpot.

My mum was absolutely right in gifting me a slow cooker over any other kitchen appliance or utensil when I headed off to uni seven years ago. I now recommend the same appliance to all my friends and extend the same recommendation to any freshers this year.

This is the ‘ugly’ kitchen appliance our editors can’t live without, and the genius ways they hide it when they want a clearer worktop

by Furnishly | Aug 5, 2026 | Design Inspiration

I’ve been reviewing air fryers here at Ideal Home since 2022 – a dream job for someone who loves cooking all sorts of things but is very much partial to an oven chip.

It’s hard to think of a cooking appliance that’s had an impact as big in our kitchens in the last decade as the air fryer. Time-saving, more convenient to use than an oven, and guaranteed to give you a crispier end result, they’ve become a staple of homes up and down the UK.

And seeing as I get pretty much all of my home advice and vision from my esteemed colleagues at Ideal Home, I thought it was high time I took a peek at how they’re using and storing their air fryers, too, for a healthy dose of inspiration. Here’s how they’ve integrated these ‘ugly’ but super useful appliances into their homes.

Heather Young – Editor-in-Chief

I draw endless inspiration from our Editor-in-Chief Heather’s home, especially her gorgeous kitchen which is packed full of hidden features to make everyday life easier. One of those clever hacks is how she uses her air fryer to maximise use and minimise worktop scratches.

Heather swears by the Instant Pot Duo Crisp (£229.99 via Amazon), which is a multi-cooker, arguably a better space saver than a standard air fryer. With 12 different functions in total it means she can save space over investing in many different appliances. It’s a slow cooker, steamer, air fryer, pressure cooker and more in one but its footprint is relatively small.

But that’s not all. To make using her multi-cooker even more convenient, Heather also added castor wheels to the bottom of the pot which allow her to move it across her worktop.

That means cleaning around it or taking it out of a storage spot instantly becomes easier, especially if you’re tucking it into a pantry like Heather . If you have a hidden mini kitchen appliance garage, this under £10 hack could be a game changer for you.

Rebecca Knight – Editor, Digital

After buying her Victorian flat conversion last year, our Editor has been sharing her home improvement progress including her living room makeover and outdoor hosting upgrades. But one thing that has stayed the same is her air fryer.

‘I have the Ninja Dual Zone,’ says Becky. ‘I know everyone says it’s meant to be ugly, but I find its boxy shape and black matte finish just disappear into the background on my kitchen worktop.’

I think this Ninja air fryer remains the most popular pick in the UK despite being released years ago. And when I recently retested it to see if it still holds up against newer releases, I found that it was still as supremely powerful as I remembered.

Becky has adopted Heather’s castor wheels hack too, so that she can ‘push it right to the back of the counter out of the way when not in use’ in her kitchen.

Holly Cockburn – Content Editor, Kitchens and Bathrooms

As my fellow Kitchens Editor who knows exactly which trends to follow, Holly is much less of an appliance or gadget fan than I am – favouring a clear worktop over anything else. Our usual dynamic is that I’ll recommend something to Holly for a few years (in this case, an air fryer) and she’ll take up the advice when there’s one that actually looks good.

Enter: the Wonder Oven (£195 at Our Place). This was the one that finally persuaded her over to the air frying side, and it’s little surprise with its pastel colour way and tiny footprint.

When I reviewed this air fryer I called it the prettiest option on the market and I think it still is even two years later. It’s also a fabulous choice for anyone who prefers a screen-free appliance – this air fryer is wholly controlled by the three dials on the front.

Molly Cleary – Kitchen Appliances Editor

I’ve tested many air fryers over the years but the one that suits my small kitchen best is the Ninja DoubleStack in white (£269.99 from Currys). It has similar levels of power to Ninja‘s dual-drawer models but is much kinder on worktop space which is always at a premium with all of the cooking gadgets I’m usually testing.

The colour range of Ninja’s air fryers makes them very appealing to me, alongside the sheer power. The control panel is also the easiest I’ve found out there.

If you like the idea of a stacked air fryer for space but you’re on a tight budget then Salter’s £99 alternative went down a treat with our reviewer Annie when she tried it.

The range of air fryers within the Ideal Home team just shows how picking the right appliance for your kitchen is a very personal thing. What are your must-have features or hacks when picking out an air fryer?