How do I update my house on a budget?

Paint first. Decorating gives the biggest change per pound of anything we do: a single room starts from £400 and a full repaint of a three-bed house from £4,000, and it makes a tired property feel looked after within a week.

After paint, work down the list by impact. In Victorian and Edwardian houses we sand and finish the original floorboards rather than lay new flooring; it costs less and looks better. If the kitchen carcasses are sound, new doors, handles and a worktop cost a fraction of a new kitchen. In bathrooms, a refresh (from £4,500) keeps the existing layout and pipework, which is where the real money hides in a full refit. Add new light fittings, redo the silicone and mastic, ease and paint the doors. Small jobs. Big difference.

One rule: fix problems before cosmetics. Leaks, damp and dodgy electrics do not care how fresh the paint is, and covering them up means paying twice. We see it constantly in ex-rental flats, three coats of emulsion over a damp patch that needed a plumber first. If the budget is tight, spend it in the right order. A free survey will tell you what actually needs doing now and what can wait, with a fixed written quote for each part so nothing creeps.