If you have a large family, you may have considered adding a Jack and Jill bathroom to your home. But these shared bathrooms come with a host of pros and cons, and may not be right for everyone. Here’s a look at some things to think about if you’re weighing whether to add one to your home.
What is a Jack and Jill Bathroom
Typically, Jack and Jill bathrooms connect two separate bedroom spaces. Each bedroom can access the bathroom through separate doors, making the bathroom a shared space. It may include separate vanities for the occupants of each bedroom to use. And areas like the toilet or shower may be made more private with extra walls or doors. Another door may lead from the shared bathroom out to a hallway.
Pros
Saves on space
The ability to save space and combine essentially two bathroom areas in to one may be the biggest advantage of a Jack and Jill bathroom. By freeing up square footage here, you could use other parts of your home for other purposes, like adding a wak-in closet to one of the bedrooms where a separate bath may have gone.
Saves money
If you’re remodeling a couple of bedrooms in your home and want to include a bathroom space, this option can save money as you’re adding only one space to meet the needs of both rooms.
Next best thing to an ensuite
While it’s not quite the same as having your own bathroom connected to your bedroom, this is sort of the next best alternative. There is still direct access to a bathroom space from the bedroom, so people don’t need to go down the hall if they need to use the facilities.
Large-family friendly
If you have a big family with lots of kids but not a lot of space, a Jack and Jill bathroom can make a lot of sense. In this scenario, you could even have more than two bedrooms share access to it, depending on the size of the space and how many people will ultimately be using it.
Cons
Not exactly an en suite
We mentioned a Jack and Jill being the next best thing to an en suite in our Pros section above. But if you really want your own separate bath connected to your bathroom — or your kids or guests do — this sort of shared set up may seem like a poor substitute.
Not very private
That leads us to our next disadvantage. By their very shared nature, Jack and Jill bathrooms are not too private. While each door accessing the space will likely have locks on them, it can still be jarring if you’re using the bathroom and someone knocks on the door. Or if you accidentally walk in on someone else.
Lack of convenience
A shared bathroom can also mean multiple people needing to use it at the same time. That can lead to conflicts if you have a lot of teenagers all trying to get ready in the morning or a bunch of guests all staying with you at the same time. They may not enjoy having to wait to use the space.
Shared lifestyles
Sharing a bathroom also means sharing bathroom habits. Some people may be very tidy and organized; others may like to spread their toiletries across the vanity. Or one person may not be as enthusiastic about keeping the space clean as others. These sorts of clashes can make a Jack and Jill situation difficult over time.
Is it right for your family?
Whether a Jack and Jill is a good choice for you and your family might come down to who will be using it. If you have small children who don’t spend a lot of time in there, it may be the right choice for both cost and space saving reasons. If you have older kids or expect to have a lot of guests visiting you, it may be worth considering another option.