I have a pretty good idea of the price of windows. 8k cheap - 20k mid/expensive. And the roof would be about 7k shingles and (not entirely sure yet) but I think around 10-11k metal. Gutters will be what we put into them. But we need and will use windows and a new roof and a painted house. I mean, it will take a while to pay back in heating costs, but in the winter sitting by the front window, there is a gusty cold zone. And I'm in a mid-atlantic area, I'm not going to start covering my windows in plastic like my VT relatives! But the porch would just be cosmetic unless we actually put enough into it that we would actually use it. Heating, cooling, more windows, bug protection, lighting, finishes. And I'd rather have that someday in the far future if we ever choose to invest in it in the back of the house which is very private. Believe me, I know, before we even closed I had mocked up this but we tabled the idea after much discussion: And the typical simple extended porch you'd see with with a colonial doesn't excite me either. Sure it might not be that expensive, but why should I invest in turning 'bleh' (to me) into 'that's ok.' I'd rather invest in something I really like. I'm not investing in curb appeal for future buyers, but in my own home satisfaction.

I keep coming back to this thread and thinking about it because I am inheriting an old Queen Anne style dining room table and chair set from my mom. She got it around 1972. It's Harden, which is a middle of the road company. I never liked it, but it went with the style of our old 1890's house and mom's taste. It's solid cherry wood, which you will not see the likes of nowdays. The top is gorgeous, because mom always used a tablecloth and table mat on it. First I thought to sell it and buy something more to my taste, like Mission or Arts and Crafts, Art Deco, Danish Modern . . . but it's such good quality and free, so I'm learning to like it. I don't like its darkness, but that can be adjusted by using a tablecloth, runner and placemats or chargers. Many ways to change the look of the dining room that way, which is what you will get with a classic piece. Also the chairs can be recovered (they are actually lime green velvet if you can believe it, thank you MCM influence!) or I can even invest in complete, washable slipcovers for them if I want. My friends had a DF repro table (probably from the 30's or 40's) that they got from someone who died and donated the contents of his house to a nonprofit where they worked. They used it for so many years as the family dining table, game table, homework station and craft center. When they finally splurged for something new and Mission style because the old one was just too rickety and couldn't be fixed, their daughter pitched a fit she loved that table so much. It now resides in the basement where it still serves a laundry folding, crafting function. My point is, something well made and classic can be worked with in so many ways! It will be fun to see what you come up with! As you may be aware, the used market is now overrun with boomer downsizing stuff that gen X'ers and millennials don't want, (yuck, antiques lol!) so you can get just about anything you would want for a dining room, including the table accoutrements, for a song. I say "lol" because back in the ACTUAL mid century, my mom picked up many of the "antiques" in our home for a song back then too, for the same reason, minimalist was in and antiques were out, particularly large things, and we had a big house with 12 foot ceilings so she literally paid pennies on the dollar for certain pieces. Friends from the "big city" would visit and marvel at what she paid for the stuff at auction. I vividly remember going to some VERY out of the way places to auctions with her.

Hi Tara -- lots of great advice upthread about how to transform the feel of the rooms while doing very little to change the architecture (also on team remove shutters here...and preferably put nothing up...I've only ever seen accent windows like that left bare but...). April's nailed it re the before/after shots (perhaps a wide-angle lens, too?). You aren't that far away from your own after in that space, though it may not feel that way. Whether you end up with paler or deeper wall shades the key is complementing the wood, so Google This Old House tips for cleaning it so you're working from the best starting point. As someone who's lived in vintage fixers and been involved with fixers I also just wanted to offer encouragement. There's a real mental health toll to living in disarray with no end date, spending spare time fixing, not having enough budget to fix or decorate immediately, perhaps navigating different priorities for what gets fixed when, etc. If any of those apply it's draining...not sure of your story, but if they all apply it can cause even more issues. If you have space to call one room or closet or whatever the crap room, do it and clear as much as possible out of these rooms. If you can DIY the scrubbing and painting do that asap...i think you'll feel a real lift when you walk through the door. If you need to furnish on a tight budget, post separately for ideas you may not have thought of. While I love love love older homes they can carry so many styles of design -- see examples others' posted plus homes of Europeans, who laugh at our idea of "old." I Rx zero heavier dark wood pieces since you're already struggling...hopefully your husband will be on board!

Here's a sneak peek of my new sunroom/gameroom. It's a dark, dark blue. It was supposed to be a dark charcoal grey, but the paint chip didn't show how much of a blue undertone it had. I like it though. I'm dying to use the Pergo Blueprint laminate and this might be my chance.