Mimi's Dream Home: Before and after falling for a Welshman.

Until I met and realized I was destined to spend the rest of my life with my boyfriend I had a very specific dream home: 3BR, 2 1/2 Bath, massive wrap around porch, large master bedroom with attached bath complete with double sinks and plenty of counter space (I'm kinda sorta addicted to all things makeup and hair), big ol' gourmet kitchen, an inground pool and a huge fenced back yard.

Now that I've met my future husband and have started researching homes over in Milford Haven, my dream house has changed dramatically. Now my dreams entail a dishwasher and more than one bathroom.

Is there any reason why homes in the UK primarily only have one bathroom? I've asked Dylan and I've yet to really get any sort of answer. It appears as though one must have a much larger home budget in order to score a second bathroom but even then, it's no guarantee. I need my alone time!

A lot of houses here are older and older houses tend to be smaller. Milford Haven has quite a lot of older (and not so nice) areas. Don't get me wrong - there are nice bits too! I have a friend who used to live by the marina and it was lovely. If you want an extra bathroom, you might have to spend a bit more and perhaps look at more modern houses.

It's largely a space issue. If you live in a house built before indoor plumbing was common (i.e. old Victorian homes), the bathroom had to be carved out of a bedroom usually. In the last house I lived in in Exeter, the bathroom was huge because it used to be the third bedroom!

I've seen a few second bathrooms added to old homes but usually just a loo and sink - often under the stairs in what used to be a closet/cupboard. So then you lose the storage space.

A lot of houses here are older and older houses tend to be smaller. Milford Haven has quite a lot of older (and not so nice) areas. Don't get me wrong - there are nice bits too! I have a friend who used to live by the marina and it was lovely. If you want an extra bathroom, you might have to spend a bit more and perhaps look at more modern houses.

Yeah, whilst "cyber house hunting" my boyfriend (Dyhlan) and friends over there have shot down a lot of houses I've found because they've been in less-than-nice areas.

Dylan owns 2 properties and rents them out. They are both pretty nice and from what I've been told, located in pleasant areas. One is in Swansea and the other in Haverfordwest. The one in Swansea is quite nice but too far from his and my friends. We've thought of moving out there at some point in the future. The other one in Haverfordwest is nice as well.

Dylan's parents also own a home they rent out. It too, is in Haverfordwest. We're thinking that we'll live there when I move over until we find a home worth purchasing. It's a new construction with two bathrooms (woo hoo!!), 3 bedrooms and a large backyard. I'm told the 3rd bedroom is v small...it shall be my walk in closet! The backyard is a MUST because I'll be bringing over my border collie, Pitty.

I'm so excited!!!

It's largely a space issue. If you live in a house built before indoor plumbing was common (i.e. old Victorian homes), the bathroom had to be carved out of a bedroom usually. In the last house I lived in in Exeter, the bathroom was huge because it used to be the third bedroom!

I've seen a few second bathrooms added to old homes but usually just a loo and sink - often under the stairs in what used to be a closet/cupboard. So then you lose the storage space.

That makes total sense.

A second bathroom is SO high on my list. We will hopefully move into one of the homes his parents' rent out (read above) which has a second bathroom. I am SUPER pumped, lol.

When I lived with my parents I had my own bathroom and of course now, living by myself I obviously have my own bathroom. I'm just NOT used to sharing a restroom and I tend to think of worst case scenarios like...What if we're both sick at the same time?! What if the toilet/sink/shower broke?! etc...

That makes total sense.

The UK is overcrowded and there are a lot of people crammed into a small space, so in general, houses are small. The average 2-storey, 3-bed family home in the UK is only 850 sq. ft.!

I would have to disagree with Chary in terms of the size of older houses because the Victorian-style houses I've lived in have been extremely spacious, yet all the new houses that are being built now are tiny and cramped because they have lots of houses to fit into a small area of land. I've just moved into a basement flat in the centre of Exeter (it's a listed terraced building, nearly 200 years old) and my bedroom here is about double the size of my room in my parents' 5-bed house in the suburbs (built in the 1960s)!

A second bathroom is SO high on my list. We will hopefully move into one of the homes his parents' rent out (read above) which has a second bathroom. I am SUPER pumped, lol.

My parents have had 2 bathrooms (or more) in the last two houses they've lived in - the first (from 1986 to 1999) had the main bathroom upstairs (toilet, bath with shower, basin) and a small one downstairs (toilet and basin) and in their current house (1999-present), they have a main bathroom downstairs (toilet, bath with shower, basin), a small one upstairs (just a toilet and basin, built when the previous owners added and extension) and then another bathroom (toilet, sink and walk-in shower) in the granny flat above the garage (again, an extension built by the previous owners).

Not to dampen your excitement, but just to make sure you know what to expect,  if you are used to counter space and under sink cupboards and dream for double sinks, even if you find a house with 5 bathrooms, you are not likely to have any of this kind of storage/display space.  Our house has 3.5 bathrooms, so my husband and I each have one, and I still have trouble finding convenient places to store makeup and products.  My straightening iron lives in the bathtub when not in use.    Many women will decide to have a dressing table in the bedroom (or perhaps in that extra bedroom you mentioned) as a place to keep makeup, hairbrushes, etc.  rather than trying to keep them organized in the bathroom.

Not to dampen your excitement, but just to make sure you know what to expect,  if you are used to counter space and under sink cupboards and dream for double sinks, even if you find a house with 5 bathrooms, you are not likely to have any of this kind of storage/display space.  Our house has 3.5 bathrooms, so my husband and I each have one, and I still have trouble finding convenient places to store makeup and products.  My straightening iron lives in the bathtub when not in use.    Many women will decide to have a dressing table in the bedroom (or perhaps in that extra bedroom you mentioned) as a place to keep makeup, hairbrushes, etc.  rather than trying to keep them organized in the bathroom.

I agree - while my bedroom in the new flat is spacious, our bathroom is tiny; it's long and thin and there's just enough space for a toilet at the end, then a bath/shower in front and a tiny sink beside it at the other end. We have 3 small shelves by the toilet and that's it for storage space - there's not even enough room to put my toothbrush by the sink (it's currently living on the shelf at the other end of the room). My hairdryer, straighteners, make-up and all my toiletries except shower products are being kept in my bedroom.

In my flat in Bristol last year, the bathroom was massive: we had a bath with jacuzzi jets, a separate walk-in shower, a bidet, toilet and basin. However, there wasn't much storage space... it was mostly by the basin: a small wall cabinet above it, a bit of space around the basin for toothbrushes and a small cupboard beneath it, and we also had a tall cupboard in the corner, where we kept the ironing board, hoover and cleaning equipment.

This makes me feel quite smug about my bathroom. It's bigger than any bathroom I've had previously here or in the US, with shower and bath, toilet and sink, medicine cabinet type thing, and a gigantic closet with massive shelves! We actually have a closet in every room of the house (including the living room, huge pantry type thing!), except the main bedroom... which has two! The block was built in the 80s though, so that's probably why we hit the closet jackpot.

I would have to disagree with Chary in terms of the size of older houses because the Victorian-style houses I've lived in have been extremely spacious, yet all the new houses that are being built now are tiny and cramped because they have lots of houses to fit into a small area of land. I've just moved into a basement flat in the centre of Exeter (it's a listed terraced building, nearly 200 years old) and my bedroom here is about double the size of my room in my parents' 5-bed house in the suburbs (built in the 1960s)!

I think it depends on where you are. And I think the OP will find that in Milford Haven, the older houses are closer in to town and smaller, but the more modern houses will be out a bit and will have more land and will thus be bigger.

Dylan's parents also own a home they rent out. It too, is in Haverfordwest. We're thinking that we'll live there when I move over until we find a home worth purchasing. It's a new construction with two bathrooms (woo hoo!!), 3 bedrooms and a large backyard. I'm told the 3rd bedroom is v small...it shall be my walk in closet! The backyard is a MUST because I'll be bringing over my border collie, Pitty.

Haverfordwest is pretty nice! It has some really gorgeous old buildings and some nice shops as well. And the farmers' market is great.

If you have any Pembrokeshire questions, feel free to drop me a PM. I live in Cornwall now, but lived near Tenby for a long time. I'm sure your fiance knows more about real estate in Milford Haven & Haverfordwest than I do, but if want to know any other stuff, I'm here! 

The letting agent described our bathroom as "luxury".  It's got a bath and power (not electric) shower, towel warming radiator, toilet, sink, medicine cabinet.  It's small (longish, but that's mostly because it's so narrow).  I am not sure where the luxury comes in.  There's a lot of mirrors in there, there's wood accents (really just outdoor decking boxes covering the pipes), it has an exhaust fan, and there's no carpet on the floor (if a bathroom or kitchen has carpet, it's a deal breaker for me), but I think because it's not absolutely tiny that makes it "luxury".  I've actually contemplated it way too much over the (almost) year we've been here.

You get used to it though.  You get used to the lack of storage space.  In the end, it's not bad at all.  If you're going to make it here, part of you has to change, and for me anyway, part of that is the amount of crap I feel I need to make it in life.  Not that I was on the consumer heavy end of the spectrum in the US or even anywhere near it.

That said, I would never live in a house with more than 3 people with less than 1 1/2 baths.   3 or less, it would depend on the people.

My husband tells me that growing up they were one of the first families in the area to have an indoor bathroom and he's only 35.

The first house we lived in here was a huge (and cold) old Victorian rectory with 1 full bath downstairs and a toilet and separate bath and basin upstairs.  The bath room was huge (and cold) but I thought it was so odd that the sink wasn't with the toilet.  We never used the downstairs full bathroom (it was even colder) unless we had people over. 

Now we have a nice (newer) little 3-bed semi with one bath (not cold!!) with one decent sized bathroom - I say decent sized because 2 people can stand in it at the same time.

I never lived in a house with more than one bathroom before I moved here and even when living in a house with both of my sisters and their partners and 2 small kids (7 people in total) it was never an issue. You just figure out how to manage.

a gigantic closet with massive shelves! We actually have a closet in every room of the house (including the living room, huge pantry type thing!), except the main bedroom... which has two! The block was built in the 80s though, so that's probably why we hit the closet jackpot.

I miss closets.  We have a Harry Potter cupboard in the lounge and an airing cupboard in the nursery. The last tenants started to build a closet in the bedroom and just left it half finished, so I don't count that since it doesn't have doors. To me, closets and decent worktop /  kitchen cupboard space is worth trading for a second bathroom; not that I have either at the moment...

My MIL thought it was wonderful that their end-terrace had not only an indoor bathroom but an outside toilet as well!!

Been looking online for property in the Leeds area lately.  Currently fixing up the Victorian terrace which is really too big for 2 people.  Ideally we should probably go for a bungalow with 3 beds. and all mod. cons. (After you've renovated 2 old houses you really don't want to be updating yet another one -- not at our age)  It has to be near public transportation.  I'd really like a detached house, having lived in both a semi and a terrace, with some garden. And of course a shower (not a hose thing) and lots of cupboards and built-in closets!  Ha ha ha!!

May the force be with you, Boston!

The letting agent described our bathroom as "luxury".  It's got a bath and power (not electric) shower, towel warming radiator, toilet, sink, medicine cabinet.

For me, just having the power shower would make it 'luxury.'  I wouldn't care if I had to squat over a hole in the floor.