There are many variables as to cost, but I don't think $50K will go that far. You will be amazed just at the cost of painting, for example. You'll need to prioritize what areas and changes are most important to you. Kitchens and bathrooms both sell the house and recoup investment very well.

What part of the country are you in?

I live in the Midwest in a suburb 30 miles SW of Chicago.

With the high-end changes you're planning in the kitchen, you don't mention cabinetry. What type do you have and what is their condition? Anything planned there? How about in the bathrooms? With stone counters planned for the bathrooms, how are the fixtures, cabinetry, and flooring?

Are you planning the updates for you to enjoy or for their resale value? Your approach would be different depending on your answer. How much of the work can you do yourself?

There's a couple of different ways of dealing with this. You could make a list of every single thing you want to do and then prioritize it. Do what you can and stop when the money runs out.

You can prioritize the rooms by which one needs the most work. Start on the worst room, get it the way you want, then move to the other rooms until the money runs out.

Or do all the floors first. Then countertops. Then paint. Put your list in the order of the things that bug you the most and fix them first.

If I were working with 19 year old appliances, those would be one of the first things I'd change, because new appliances would be easier to use, easier to keep clean and more energy efficient. But someone else might chose to wait until she was redoing the entire kitchen, so that she could chose appliances that would work with her new decorating scheme. Neither way is "right" or "wrong," there are valid reasons for doing it both ways. It really depends on what *you* feel is important.

With your budget, you may also have to explore compromises on some things. Laminate instead of hardwood, ceramic tile instead of natural stone, etc.

This could actually become a fun project, as you work out what you want to do with the house and how to do it on a budget.

Squirrel makes a good point about the cabinetry. That's where the big bucks come into play.

Without having to do any structural changes (even bigger bucks), $50,000 should go a long way.

I'd start by going into a carpet/tile/stone store with your exact measurements. Talk to someone there and see what they have to say. You'll get an idea about what grade of carpet/stone, etc. you can afford on your budget. Then shop around and compare prices, apples to apples.

You said that you want to redo the floor. Here are some guidelines for flooring prices:
Hardwood: $5-15 for material, $2-8 for installation per square foot. For oak, figure $8-10 installed.
Carpet - for wall-to-wall I figure $30-40 per square yard installed for a reasonably nice nylon. Wool is much higher.
Ceramic/ porcelain tiles - you can pick stuff up on sale for $1 sq ft, but I figure more like $5 sq ft when I'm estimating. This does not include installation. Stone is is higher, and installation costs are higher than for ceramic or porcelain. You also may need to reinforce flooring for stone.

Granite countertops, figure $60 sq ft installed.

For paint, figure 1 gallon to cover 350 sq ft.

in making your list, I'd go with the rooms you use the most - kichen and master suite (if you do use the kitchen). then the 'living rooms' and main bath. I'd leave the extra bedrooms for last - if money left.

are you thinking of major changes for any of the rooms - like taking out a wall (or 2), moving plumbing etc? that will up the cost of any rooms involved.

appliances and cabs needed for kitchen? both a huge expense.

have you thought much about what you want to do? colors? etc? viewed mags, galleries (here and elsewhere) for ideas?

Camlan asks a crucial question... are you making these changes for yourself or for resale value? Your answer will change your entire project.

Here's something I did in my last house.

Buy a package of small index cards.

On each card, write something that needs to be done. One item per card.

Take your time with this; do it over the course of a week or so. Carry the cards from room to room.

As you begin to run out of things to write, put the cards in order -- at the top of the stack, write the projects that are most important to you. (Or, in the case of resale value, things you think will be most important for resale.)

You can make notes on each card... what color should the carpet be? How much will a new stove cost?

And as you think and re-think, you can change the order of the cards.

This is a great way to organize your thoughts and ideas, and still maintain flexibility.

If resale is important, you might want to consult a real estate agent who specializes in "sprucing for sale" just to get some ideas of what's important to a buyer nowadays.

Thankfully, when we built the house, we went with high-end cabinets, doors, and windows (my ex was/is very into wood). All of the cabinets in both the kitchen and baths are in great shape and still look very good. I'm going to change the hardware but that's all that's needed.

The downstairs bath is a full bath with a tile floor (very plain 9"X9" tile). The lighting fixture still looks good but after 19 years I'm looking for something different.

The upstairs bath probably would need the most work. The tub/toilet is in an enclosed area separate from the sink area. It's very dark and holds too much moisture. I'd like to cut down the enclosing walls by half (like the wall in a pass-through kitchen).

I want quality, but I don't need top-of-the-line. My house appraises on Zillow for $317,000, but is probably worth more like $350,000. As far as I can tell, the highest priced home in the neighborhood is approximately $475,000.

My house has the potential to be lovely and structurally needs no real modifications. But right now it's definitely very plain and very, very tired looking.

I'm just unsure as to the correct order for getting this "updating" accomplished.

I want quality, but I don't need top-of-the-line. My house appraises on Zillow for $317,000, but is probably worth more like $350,000. As far as I can tell, the highest priced home in the neighborhood is approximately $475,000.

Pictures always help. Do you have any you could share with us?

I'll take pics as soon as I'm home from my next trip (flight attendant).

Thanks again.

You didn't tell us if you're renovating to sell, or simply to please yourself.

Ahhh, now I understand your nickname. Welcome aboard the Garden Web. I just noticed you just joined today.

Thank you justgotabme. I've been lurking here awhile and decided to take the plunge today.

As for mclarke's question,(sorry, I wrote a response but it disappeared into the ether?)...I'm definitely doing this to please myself. I plan on being here for AT LEAST 5 years so hopefully any changes I make will also payoff in the long run.

I'm in Canada now. Strange thing...they don't celebrate the 4th here ;-)

"I'm in Canada now. Strange thing...they don't celebrate the 4th here ;-)"
LOL. I wonder why? :^D

Fittofly - welcome. I was in your spot 6 years ago -marriage of 25+ years ending, 15 year old house that not only had no updates, but was a mess in lots of other ways. You just have to take it one step at a time.

I made a list: that I called "What bugs me the most about this room", and tried to prioritize based on my list and what I could afford to do.

I am still working on my house. I DIY almost everything and have had a very limited budget, but it feels good to think back to what this house looked like 6 years ago. You will too. And there is lots of help here. I just wish I had found this board when I first started.

Mclarke, just wanted to say that your idea about using index cards to write down things that need to be done is pure genius!

You can do things in a frugal way,( now they even make laminate stone, not as thick but still the same and less $$ ) and still get great results,especially if your a DIY person, or have a friend who is, and can help, for no pay maybe just some good home cooked dinners..do some research on the products you will need on your PC, you will be amazed at what you find, and the laminate hard wood flooring is good too, you can even get it in bamboo, very durable. 50G should go a long way if spent right...