As much time as a founder spends in the office or on the road, there’s another place that’s essential to their success: home. It’s where the heart is, and their family, and their split-king, controlled-cooling smart mattress. Because if there’s one thing a builder wants from a space, it’s that it works as hard as they do. “A successful founder values peace, clarity, and purpose at home,” says Derrick Hayes, Philadelphia-based founder of Big Dave’s Cheesesteaks, a fast-casual restaurant chain, who tricked out his own kitchen with his favorite industrial stove. We asked other entrepreneurs and those who cater to them about their home bases.

Wellness Everywhere

The trend to healthier, more intentional living can be seen through the entire house, says Marcela Cure, a home designer with offices in Coral Gables, Florida, and Delaware. “It’s less about indulgence and more about building in restorative daily rituals.” Gary Dolch, a real estate agent and co-founder of Austin Luxury Group in Austin, has seen new residential builds that offer a spa-like experience. “High-net-worth owners want the pool, the gym, the juice bar, cold plunge, sauna, showers—all separated in outbuildings,” he says. And that wellness mindset goes down to the studs: State-of-the-art air filtration, no-VOC paint, and organic materials are all non-negotiables.

Customized Living Rooms

Founders admire high design, but they want spaces that work, so a stuffy, formal salon is not the goal. Sectionals are the go-to for filling large, airy living rooms—often modular or customized, and measured to fit the room to the inch. Designers tell us Roche Bobois’s Mah Jong and the Camaleonda sofa by Mario Bellini are top sellers. And if high-net-worth (HNW) owners can’t find exactly what they want, they’ll commission bespoke pieces: They choose a fabric from a top-tier maker such as Pierre Frey, and designers build the piece from scratch.

Warm lighting is also a must, says Mark Salzman, an owner’s representative in the New York City tristate area and Southern California, whose clients ask for intelligent lighting systems by name. Companies such as Lutron can provide so-called circadian lighting that, beyond creating ambiance, adjusts brightness and color throughout the day, working with natural light to improve sleep and mood—a huge priority for founders (and everybody else). “We’re discussing this now for virtually all of the projects that I’m planning,” says Salzman.

Hidden Kitchens

Minimalist design may be on the wane elsewhere, but not in the the most popular room in the house. “There’s a growing demand for almost invisible kitchens,” says Cure. She’s seen clients request a hidden, fully functional back kitchen, so the front-facing one, mostly for show, can be as clean (in all senses) as possible. “The main kitchen reads as a calm, architectural living space rather than a utilitarian one,” Cure says. Bath and kitchen outfitter Kohler has also clocked this evolution with HNW clients. “For so long, it was all about open concept,” says Alyssa Wilterdink, director of marketing, brand partnerships, and campaigns. “And while there’s still a strong desire that the kitchen be a gathering place, it’s now, ‘I want it to look like a gallery but operate like a laboratory. A gorgeous space, with almost a scullery where you tuck it all away.’”

For founder Hayes, the biggest luxury in the kitchen is reliability. Taking a cue from his restaurants, he had an industrial-grade Vulcan range installed in his home. “It helps me support how I think and work,” he says. Steph Mui, CEO of New York City-based investment company PIN, says her favorite luxury is her $60 Hario V60 coffeemaker, and she relishes blooming the grounds each morning. “The ritual of creating my own cup is more compelling than drinking the coffee itself. It’s meditative,” she says.

Privacy and Security

Of course, when you fill your palace with things you love, you want to protect it—and the people in it. Demand for upmarket security systems has risen, especially among public-facing business leaders. (The shooting of United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson in late 2024 was an impetus.) “Extremely high-end homeowners are very concerned with security and want the latest associated technological innovations,” says Salzman. One of his current projects includes a front door that opens by fingerprint. “Biometrics are replacing keypads and access codes,” he says. Video intercoms are often paired with hidden cameras, motion sensors, and, when the property has room for it, a camouflaged security booth, says Dolch. “It’s meant to look like a guesthouse that you pass on the way in, but it’s manned by 24-hour security,” he says. “I can think of three of these that are on the market right now.”

Super-Smart Bathrooms

To see some of the coolest gadgets in a founder’s home today, use the loo. Smart toilet sales have been on an upswing since the pandemic and haven’t slowed, with the market expected to grow 10 percent annually and hit $1.8 billion in U.S. sales this year. Self-cleaning, sensor-activated models with heated seats and bidet functions are now considered a baseline luxury, as evidenced by spikes in sales at Toto, where the Neorest WX2, at nearly $26,000, has been causing a splash (ahem) and winning design awards, and at Kohler, whose intuitive, automated Numi 2.0 ($17,000) does everything but wash windows. “The top-end toilet market is a key growth area for Kohler,” says Wilterdink. HNW clients are also going in for showers programmed to each user—turning on at a preferred temperature and pressure, syncing to a playlist as soon as you enter the room, and adapting to your morning and evening routines. “A personalizable, ritual-based shower experience is a huge must for luxury buyers,” says Wilterdink. So is the read-your-mind functionality. “There’s serious tech behind it, but it’s really about recovery and respite,” she says. “Anything that simplifies life by 5 percent feels like the prime benefit state.” And for the decision-fatigued founder set, the fewer choices first thing in the morning, the better.

Original Article by: Sophia Herring, Freelance Writer - Inc.