Ironically the 36" oven might be a downgrade here as it takes longer to heat up.

You might consider a speed oven - it's a microwave and a convection oven and can combine the micro/convection to cook things quickly without making them rubbery. There is a lot of info about them on the Appliances forum. I have a small kitchen too and plan to get a single wall oven and speed oven. ETA: there doesn't seem to be a lot of love for convection microwaves (apparently they don't micro or convection cook all that well), but people do really love their speed ovens. I had never heard of these things before I started reading on GW, and now I have to have one. :)

I have a convection microwave. It is a fine microwave. I got it for the same reason your thinking, once a year in my tiny kitchen I wish I had a but more oven. Well I don't use it that often is probably the issue, but when my oven went out in an electrical surge (still had stovetop), and we were deciding on new stove or fixing (then waiting for the replacement for damaged new one that arrived), I had to cook out of it for about a month or only use my stovetop. It will cook some things in a pinch, but certainly not as advertised. That whole roasting a chicken thing in less time.... well in twice the time I had raw meat. Excellent for cooking smaller pieces of chicken or even tater tots for the kids. Baked potatoes were great (once you undercooked or burn your share).

I will certainly use it at Thanksgiving for that extra oven, but it is certainly not a go to in this house for convection. Now that my o enough is back up and running, I would rather heat it up.

For the use you describe it sounds like a small microwave will work. A 220V speed oven such as an Advantium or Miele is like having a second oven and I think you'll be happy with it. A 110V convection microwave will probably mostly be used as a microwave and if that's the case I'd go with a portable unit on a shelf if your design can accommodate that. I bought a small 1000W Panasonic microwave for $109 last year and use it in my pantry. Very happy with that decision.

I had the convection microwave and just never used it... not sure why. It was so $ too. I wasn't wild about it, although it seemed to work just fine.

I bought a convection microwave for the same reason you describe. I moved and no longer have a second oven. I used it once to convection bake something and it was very slow - much slower than a regular oven. I haven't had a need to use it again since then but I will give it another try when the time comes. I also got a range with a warming drawer and I actually use that quite a bit. When I had two ovens I often used one to keep things warm though I did also use both for cooking at times.

I would be lost without my little convection/toaster oven, it has a rotisserie that the hubs LOVES to roast whole chickens on, I use it for potatoes, toast, bacon, everything. It's so nice not to heat up the entire house.

All of this is tucked away so it's not an eyesore. Hubs demands that his blender stays out, so he rigged up all the electrical. Although I learned not to have the convection and microwave on simultaneously...;)

Another idea: A Nesco Roaster for once or twice a year use.

I haven't used a microwave in about 4 or 5 years -- I put it in a closet for 6 months, then gave it away. I hate the way microwaves heat food, and it wasn't worth it just to defrost.

On the other hand, I've had aBreville Smart Oven for 7 or 8 years, and I LOVE it. It's a small second oven, a convection. It's supposed to also do toast, but it does it badly (but I never make toast anyway).

@Toronto, do you still like your Breville? What about the quality? Never thought of Breville as an appliance brand that I would purchase. But now, I am looking at the newest Combi wave Breville 3 in 1. Is quite expensive at 499.cdn https://www.breville.com/ca/en/products/microwaves/bmo870.html

Just getting back to these forums........I decided to switch out my Smart Oven for a counter top combo steam oven (Cuisinart). I still miss my Smart Oven sometimes, but I do like the combo steam feature of my new unit. I still don't have a microwave ;)