My wife and I live in a 2-bedroom apartment. No kids, just the two of us. For the past couple years, the second bedroom was basically our unofficial guest room – mainly for her parents, who visit maybe once or twice a year.
I work from home full-time and had been working from the corner of our living room for way too long. A few weeks ago I had a good win on Stake, so I finally set up a proper home office in the spare room. Got a decent chair, desk, monitor – used some saved-up money to make it actually functional. Honestly, it’s made a huge difference in how I work.
Her parents are planning a visit this month and assumed they’d be staying with us like they usually do. My wife let them know that since the room is now my office, it’s not set up for overnight guests anymore — but we’d be happy to pay for a hotel or Airbnb nearby.
I’ll still be working during their visit, so having them in the same space just wouldn’t work logistically.
They didn’t take it well. Her mom made a snide comment like “didn’t realize we needed a reservation now,” and her dad asked why I thought a desk was more important than family. Now there’s tension, and my wife is feeling weird about the whole thing.
I genuinely didn’t mean to upset anyone. I thought offering to cover a nearby place was a fair compromise – they’re still welcome to hang out with us all day, I just need a quiet space to work. But now I’m wondering if I handled it wrong or came off cold.
AITA for not making the office a temporary guest room again?