We’re staying with our parents for five weeks in Honolulu, and I wanted to a little revelation I’ve learned making a guest-ready.
If you dream of owning a where friends and family regularly visit—because you genuinely enjoy their company, this post is for you.
Not all of us can afford mega-mansions with separate wings or s on sprawling lots with multiple structures.
If you're most people and can only afford one structure on a modest plot of land, then there’s one key feature you absolutely need to prioritize. En suite bathrooms. That’s right.
The key to harmonious, low-friction cohabitation is ensuring everyone has their own bathroom. The more en suites, the better. The term “en suite” comes from French and means “in sequence” or “attached.
” En Suite Bathrooms: The Unsung Hero of Guest Harmony During our first week in Honolulu, I found myself waking up between 2 a. And 3:30 a.
Every morning—normal hours for me given the three-hour time difference from San Francisco. Unfortunately, nobody else was awake… except for my dad, who’s up by 3:30 a. To check the stock market.
Cool beans, I didn't know. I had my own room, and my mom had hers across the hall. The d bathroom sits between us—close enough to wake a light sleeper with even the gentlest faucet twist.
Not wanting to disturb her, I found a workaround: I quietly crept upstairs and used my dad’s bathroom since he was already awake. Slightly inconvenient, but a solid solution.
Still, I couldn’t help but think: If only I had an en suite bathroom.
To be a courteous guest, I kept 85% of my toiletries in my room and left only my toothbrush, floss, and toothpaste on the bathroom counter.
I even tucked them neatly to the right, so I took up minimal space. A few days later, my mom asked me to move them.
Apparently, I’d placed everything too close to the light switch, and she’d knocked over my electric toothbrush multiple times.
From then on, I moved those few items to another d bathroom upstairs, the one my wife and kids use. But given it was already cramped, my stuff was regulated to a shelf in a closet.
Once again, I thought: If only my mom and I each had en suite bathrooms.
The Bathroom Ballet Continues One afternoon, after a full morning of school drop-off, pickleball, the beach, and lunch, I took a well-earned nap.
While I was sleeping, my wife walked to the local library to pick up books for the kids.
When I woke up, I decided to use her upstairs bathroom instead of the downstairs one— case my mom, who’s always, needed it. Mid-grunt, my dad came to the back of the house to ask me a question.
Two minutes later, my wife knocked on the bathroom door. She was back and needed to use it too. What was supposed to be a peaceful five-minute solo session turned into a series of interruptions.
Then, on another morning, I woke up at 4:30 a. To publish my post, Sleep In, Stay Broke: Wake Up Earlier for Financial Success. With a title that, I had no excuse not to rise early.
After writing and editing until 6:40 a. , I went to the bathroom. Fifteen seconds in— clockwork—my wife woke up and came straight to the door.
Finally, while staying at my aunt and uncle's beach house, I slept on the futon in the living room. , I got up to use the bathroom, which sits between the living room and my son’s room.
Within seconds, he flung the door open with a big smile and shouted, “Good morning. ” Ah, more en suite bathrooms would be nice. More Bathrooms = More Peace And Harmony When you gotta go, you gotta go.
Any type of delay or hinderance can be incredibly annoying, especially if you're digestive system is plugged and you need to focus. The more bathrooms, the better.
What I’ve noticed over the years is that when people together, their bathroom cycles somehow sync up. Even if I wake up at 4 a. And my wife gets up at 6:30 a.
, there’s still a high chance we’ll both need the bathroom at the same time at some point in the morning. Same goes for me and my parents.
In the past, I used to look down on large s with as many bathrooms as bedrooms, or even more. It seemed excessive. But now I get it.
It’s not indulgence—it’s comfort, privacy, and avoiding frustrating sighs in the hallway. My parents’ house has three full bathrooms, which is more than enough for just the two of them.
But with six of us under one roof, friction is inevitable. My aunt and uncle's house has two bathrooms and two bedrooms over maybe 1,000 sqft, which is tight for the four of us.
But the freedom to be by the ocean is wonderful.
Buy Or Build The Bathrooms If you enjoy hosting guests, do yourself a favor: rent or buy a with at least two en suite bathrooms and an additional full or half bath.
Ideally, you have an en suite bathroom for every person who s in the house plus a guest bathroom. Both your sanity and your digestive system will be eternally grateful.
In fact, I’m now including this bathroom requirement for anyone ing for the ideal to raise a family. When I hosted my parents at our new house for 10 days, I felt 80% less stressed and so did they.
Because they each had their own bathrooms—and so did we and the kids. That kind of peace is worth every dollar and then some. Basic full bathrooms are just fine.
However, when designing a luxury master bathroom, consider including dual rain shower heads with a handheld option, a private toilet stall, double vanities, and a deep soaking tub with jets.
Make sure you also have an electrical outlet behind the toilet so you can plug in your Toto Washlet. Once you go Washlet, you can't go back.
Take a look around your and see if you can convert unused space— part of a closet or part of your garage—into a bathroom.
Even better, if you’re able to expand your ’s foot, it adds valuable livable square footage, which can boost your resale value.
Final Reason For More En Suite Bathrooms: Your Children And Friends May Visit You More Often As I think in two timelines, I hope that 20 years from now, my children will still come visit their mom and me.
I’ve heard too many sad stories of adult kids going years without seeing their parents. Once they’ve gotten what they needed financially and emotionally, they're gone.
But with two en suite bathrooms ready for my daughter and son, they’ll have no excuse not to stop by and give their old man a hug and a kiss.
And if we really start to get on their nerves, there’s even a separate mini-kitchen and entryway they can use to escape us in peace.
The more inviting your, the more ly your children, friends, and loved ones will want to visit. This is especially true when you have to convince your spouse to stay at their in-laws.
Since strong, supportive relationships are the number one factor in living a long, happy, and healthy life, adding more en suite bathrooms could quite literally be a key to a life well d.
Readers, what do you think the secret is to having a guest-ready where both host and guests are comfortable for an ext period of time. How many en suite bathrooms do you have in your.
What is the ideal number of bathrooms a should have. Suggestions To Build More Wealth Pick up a copy of my USA TODAY national bestseller, Millionaire Milestones: Simple Steps to Seven Figures.
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Δ 12 s Newest Oldest Most Voted Inline backs View all s pat 14 hours ago Ensuites epitomize stress relief.
When our HS girls were fighting over one bathroom, (one would use hairspray as the other was trying to put in lenses).
The wife had me build an en-suite for the older daughters’ bedroom, using the wasted space over the 30×30 garage.
My son had already escaped to an entire basement apartment, (with egress), that I built after we added a 3 story addition to the back of the.
As empty nesters I thoroughly enjoy the quiet expanse of our, that we sub-contracted ourselves in ’91.
When our single 23yr old daughter moved in 2019 with her company to AZ she bought a 6 bedroom in Scottsdale AZ.
I then combined 2 adjoining bedrooms making it another large master with an ensuite & walk-in closet. She then rented it to a co-worker (they both work from ) for $1,200/month.
Jan 2025 I built a 1 bed barndominium with an en-suite ($20k) taking up 1/2 the lower floor of our 2 story 60×40 barn to accomodate the AZ daughter & dogs.
She now visits Thanksgiving through to Xmas & 2-3 months to avoid the brutal AZ summers. This allows her to have all her old college friends stay overnight without disturbing us.
We also use it to accomodate the out of state high maintenance elderly inlaws/outlaws that always o/stay for weddings etc etc. Last year it was a 2 month ordeal of lost in-house privacy.
At our 2 story Lakehouse (that we gutted to the studs), the wife had me add a private ensuite to our master bedroom, as she had already predicted the continual flow of family & guests.
In addition to that master ensuite she had me add 2 additional full bathrooms, one with an ensuite laundry. 0 Reply Author Financial Samurai 11 hours ago Reply to pat Awesome. Thanks for sharing.
And I’m super impressed how handy you are. Your is the greatest testament of the necessity for en suite bathrooms.
0 Reply anon 4 days ago To play devil’s advocate, having a with all en suite bathrooms so inviting that your family and friends don’t want to leave is not always good, especially if you have a busy family and job.
Hosting is tiresome, no matter how much you hire out cleaning and meals. I have difficulty relaxing in my when we have guests.
I am always thinking how to make them feel comfortable, so I run myself ragged. 2 Reply Author Financial Samurai 4 days ago Reply to anon Tiresome indeed, and I agree.
But people have s as well, and they can’t stay indefinitely. Even the most generous employers generally only allow for two weeks off consecutively. So eventually, everybody has to return to their s.
And who knows, you might get a guest who is nice and wants to treat you out to a nice steak dinner or give you a really nice present. Some perks for being a great host.
0 Reply anon 4 days ago Reply to Financial Samurai Perhaps I’m the only one with guests who overstay… I at least have an office to escape to as needed.
0 Reply Paul 6 days ago How much did you miss the Toto Washlet. I had one that worked perfectly fine, but it set me on a path to wanting more.
One day, my wife said she wanted to renovate our perfectly good primary bath. I agreed on one condition. She could could have complete creative control, and in exchange I get a real Japanese toilet.
I ordered the best money could buy, the Toto Neorest. Everybody is happy. Treat yourself Sam. 0 Reply Author Financial Samurai 6 days ago Reply to Paul On vacation in Honolulu. I miss it a lot.
The key is to have an electrical outlet close by, preferably behind the toilet. I have a Toto Washlet in 5 bathrooms in SF. But I need to look into installing them here in Honolulu.
Doing some plumbing work now actually. Trying to fix the in-law unit. 1 Reply GP 6 days ago This post really hits.
We’ve experienced the awkwardness of guests having to tiptoe past bedrooms just to use the bathroom, and it always made me feel a little bad as a host.
The idea of every bedroom having its own en suite just makes so much sense—not just for comfort, but for peace of mind. Loved the examples from your time in Honolulu too.
It’s the little design choices this that can make a feel truly welcoming. Great reminder for anyone planning a remodel or house hunt. 0 Reply Untemplater 7 days ago I can understand this very well.
Bathrooms have a very strong magnetic force lol. A lot of moms know this well. As soon as we sit down, it’s a switch instantly turns on the force field and our children just show up within seconds.
And I mean literally seconds – even when they were somewhere else entirely doing something they were engaged in.
Suddenly they have some burning question they just have to ask to your face or want you to get them something or just be in your space and find out where you went.
It’s uncanny lol 1 Reply KO 7 days ago We have a vacation with four bedrooms.
It is outfitted with the master bath, a powder room, a full bath for guests and one bedroom that has a walk-in closet converted to an en suite full bathroom.
Guess which bedroom is chosen by guests every time—the room with an en suite bathroom. We even suggested the regular full bath would be better because of more counter space, maneuverability, etc.
Nope, guests choose the en suite every time.
1 Reply sc9182 7 days ago En-suite bath wouldn’t solve having enough counter space in the bathroom :) Definitely more bathrooms help, but we one or two baths (one per floor) – to be adjacent/close to the guest bedroom(s) – so that not only guests can use it, but accessible from hallway – so can be usable without /walking into that bedroom.
Or, if en-suite is a must, at least have a hall half-bath for temp/visitor/non-overnight type of guests.
But, you nailed the most important point – ability to use a bathroom without banging on bedroom doors is valuable, and/or having sufficient counter (shelf) space helps too. Or, simply h.