SPACE ROUNDUP

Small-kitchen essentials.

If your kitchen is an apartment galley, an RV strip or a tiny counter tucked in a corner, every gadget has to earn its footprint. These picks either fold flat, stack vertically, or replace two other things.

The rules for small kitchens

• Vertical wins. Magnetic and hanging storage frees counter real estate that shelves can't.
• Multi-use beats single-use. An immersion blender replaces a soup blender, a whisk and a mini food processor.
• Fold-flat, roll-up, collapsible. Silicone versions of colanders, mixing bowls and drying racks disappear when not in use.

The picks

What we'd skip in a small kitchen

Single-use appliances (quesadilla maker, hot-dog toaster), oversized stand mixers, and any storage set with pieces you won't actually use. If a gadget can't justify a permanent spot, it usually ends up in a cabinet forever.