Ideas to update this house on a budget?

start with cleaning up the outside, paint the brick, make a small retaining wall ,plant according to your hardiness zone and re seed the lawn.Then once the outside looks where you want it to be, start with your priority of the first room

You need to give more information. We need more pictures of the room from two views to get all the walls in-concentrate on one room at a time. Go through magazines and tear out pictures you like or start a pinterest board. Houzz has lots of pictures of rooms and designers are often on the site to help with design. but you have to do some of the work first. What kind of style to you like-modern , shabby chic, country, industrial, etc.

Your house has great bones. Lots of great architectural details, too. I would collect photos of your ideal rooms and see what the recurring colors and styles you have - this is the basis of your decorating scheme. I would keep a similar color scheme throughout the house to give it cohesion and flow..... Start with the most central room and work out from there. Try taking furniture you already have and use it in different rooms or for different purposes - it's like getting a whole new home full of furniture.

Have you tried power washing the exterior? It may be able to be painted, depending on the material it is made of. Even the brick can be painted to update it. The rest just looks like paint and removal of the border would help. A current design color is a very light grey for the walls with white trim. The floors can be sanded and stained to a color you like. I just love this house, and that front porch is great! Have fun!

Hey, LInda. I would begin with the outside while the weather is good. You can work on the inside during the winter. (1) The column that is wrought iron should be replaced with one to match the other ones that are tapered. (2) The front area above the house number should be covered in scale - shaped shingles, painted your favorite house color. A good gray, or deep blue perhaps. This color also goes the front door - which will be seen better when you remove the storm door. Paint the "other front door" on the side to match the trim, as you must decide which front door you want people to use; so if you, for example, choose a deep blue, you might trim the house in a light gray and leave the siding (which you should power wash) white. P.S. The "scales" are semi-circles that overlap and are placed like smiley faces. (3) Clean up the landscaping around the front and edge a bed with more bricks. Plant flowers that coordinate with your house colors. INSIDE: Lord, please tell me you don't love PINK! :-) The other responders are correct: we need more information. What kind of style(s) do you like, what kind of colors, etc. I am a retired interior decorator and would be happy to help further; add more pics!

My best advise is to do one thing at a time as the finances allow.

What I would do for the outside is: first, clear out all of the shrubs and vines around the house. Second, power wash the siding. Third, replace the column by the walkway at the front with the same kind as on the other side (even it out) You might have to raise the house number. Fourth, remove white hand rail. Fifth, paint all of the red brick, the doors and the sidelights on both sides of the front door a medium to darkish gray color. Sixth, paint the porch floor white. Seventh, if a handrail is needed, put on a new one, maybe vinyl. Eighth, install some lights be side the doors. Ninth, make a garden and use garden blocks to frame it. Plant some new shrubs (evergreen and flowering). Put some flowers around them. Tenth, plant grass seed to grow a nice lawn. Eleventh, I don't know what the lattice on the back is for, if it isn't there for a purpose, remove it and put up a handrail. Twelfth, get some colorful, comfy porch furniture and enjoy.

For the inside: Do one room at a time. Decide what you want to do with the room (paint, furniture, etc). Do you want to gut kitchen and bathrooms or just refresh? Remove wall borders and wallpaper. Hardwood floors look good. Get new curtains and hang them higher. It doesn't look like there are many electric plugs, put more in before painting if you need more. While electrician is there, you might want to add some more lighting in the kitchen. I can only see the light from the ceiling fan. Paint walls, ceilings and trim. The colors depend on what makes you happy and what you like. Go to a paint store and get a bunch of color samples and tape them on walls. Go into those rooms at different times of day and in different kinds of weather and take notice to the colors. Eliminate colors until you have a couple. Then go to the store and get sample pints and paint spots on the walls. Then do the same thing again until you have the one for each room.

To do a complete gut on the bathrooms you'll have to: First, pick everything out. Tile for floor, (heat for under the floor), grout color for floor, tile for shower walls, decorative tile (if you want), grout color for shower wall, tile for shower floor, grout color for shower floor, transition piece for doorway, transition piece for shower, shower hardware (showerhead, rainhead, handheld, jets, valve trim, diverter, drain cover and any other fancy thing you can find), baskets or something to put soap, shampoo, etc in, lights for shower, enclosure for shower (glass, curtain, etc), vanity(s), knobs and pulls, countertop(s), sink(s), faucet(s), medicine cabinet(s), light(s) for over sink, exhaust fan, toilet, towel bar(s), hand towel ring, toilet paper holder, hooks, cabinet (or shelf) for over the toilet (if you want), paint color, window covering (if there's one).

When choosing all of this, as you make a selection keep a sample of it to compare with the next thing you look for, that way things don't clash. I personally like granite for my counters, I also get the transition piece for the doorway and shower and the showerseat in that same granite.

The exhaust fan is another thing I always get the same. It is the NuTone QTXN Series Very Quiet 110 CFM Ceiling Exhaust Fan with Heater, Light Nightlight. It does require a special switch that usually is not included. It is expensive, but well worth it.

Keep in mind there are quite a few more things you will need. But these are the ones that will be seen.

Here are some examples that will give you an idea of what I was talking about.

Second, you will have to remove everything down to the studs and subfloor. Clean everything. Check for water damage to floor and walls. Replace anything that is wet or rotted. Also check for mold, since everything is open, now is a good time to make sure an old leak didn't cause any problems.

Water is so destructive!

Third, while everything is open, make sure the electric is where you need it (light switches (wall and shower), lights (wall and shower), exhaust fan and switch, sockets, etc. In some of my homes I've also put toe kick heaters that connect to my heating boiler that way we don't need a heating run in the bathroom, they tend to rust. The toe kick heater requires electric under the vanity if you put one in. A heated floor also requires electric.

Run wire for heated floor.

Make sure all plumbing is where it is needed. Put all shower valves put in the wall. Run the plumbing for all pieces (showerhead, rainhead, handheld, jets, etc). Pressure test to check for leaks if you can.

Make sure hvac duct is run. Even if you have a boiler, you still need air conditioning.

Run duct work for exhaust fan. It's best to duct it outside.

If the bathroom is on an outside wall, make sure that there is plenty of insulation in the wall and around any windows. If your home is one story, also make sure the ceiling or roof has insulation. With all insulation, make sure you have the proper clearance from all electric,

Another thing I like to do in my bathrooms is put sound proofing insulation in the interior walls (definitely not necessary). Then start putting it back together. Green board and cement board, paint ceiling and any wall that isn't getting tiled. Then tile floors (bathroom and shower). Then tile walls. Toilet, vanity, etc, come next then lights and plumbing fixtures. I noticed that there was a ceiling fan in one of the bathrooms, you might want to make sure it's rated for moisture areas. An exhaust fan is a much better for bathrooms.

And last, you might want to look into central air to free up windows.

That's about all I can think of right now. If you have any questions or want more info, just reply to my answer and I'll be glad to help if I can. Good luck with your new home and renovations.

Agree with everyone who said to first wash the outside,(siding, windows, porch) especially since you have already said that the outside looks dirty. I also think that the house interior does have lots of potential, but it looks likes like it is long overdue for a very thorough cleaning.

Hi! A pretty flowerbed and cleaning your siding will help with curb appeal. I power wash our house at least once a year, on a nice hot day when I don't mind getting wet. Cleaning sidewalks and other hard surfaces really freshens up the exterior. Pick a color scheme to flow through the house that lightens things up. Paint is one of the easiest and least expensive updates. Lighten up the window treatments to let in more light and for a more modern look. Once you know the colors you are using, treat each room/area as a separate project for updates. Keep a Pinterest board for your plan. Keep a list of the things you want to replace and sizes of windows, etc. so you can benefit from sales, etc. Prioritize your projects in order of importance to your needs. For example, the kitchen first if that's what will be the biggest positive for you. Personally, I like to get my bedroom organized and fresh so I have a soothing space to go to at the end of the day. Good luck!