How do I even start smartening house?

[Shinypalace]

one Teen 16, left. House feels big, tatty and gloomy, and I’m worried it’s depressing for teen - it’s depressing for me!
how do I even go about..getting windows sanded and painted, getting a shower in bathroom, decorating and new floor in living room..etc.
how do I choose wallpaper? Will that make it cosier?
it’s in shadow so can feel quite gloomy especially if it’s a grey day.
I need a new heating system too.
help, how do I even start?

The Nextdoor app is sometimes good for recommendations. I've asked on there for recommendations for MOT garages, plumber etc

Don’t trust online reviews, apps, or even Mumsnet DM recommendations. I have learnt this the very hard way. Good workmen never advertise.

Use your street or school Whatsapp or put a note through the door of a house similar to yours where good workmen are renovating.

You need to make the house watertight and wind-tight; then warm; then jolly. An oak parquet floor costs lots of money and you probably won’t get to enjoy it if you plan to move.

But my honest opinion is that in your shoes, with just one DC at home, it would be more sensible and a better use of money to downsize to something smaller and easier to maintain.

Loads of good idea here. Can I just recommend that you don't use matt paint. It just sucks all the light out of a room. Use a silk or satin finish to reflect the light around. Go to your local tip, they will have loads of paint for sale cheap and you can mix brilliant white with warm creams up in a massive bucket for the whole house. Don't use grey.
Lightly sand your woodwork and use a water based eggshell and don't expect a professional finish. I promise you won't notice the details by the next day.
Lots of mirrors.

We're completely renovating our house for sale. We were quoted as it was £400k and after work at least £500k when it's done up. Even with extra roofing cost our renovation is going to cost around £50k.

We've used 2 national heating companies in the last year, one for the in-laws house as their heating failed and one for our house as the boiler was about to go boom, both did the job well, in-laws house needed a lot more work than expected but they still stuck to the quote and ours was simple and we had a small refund.

New carpeting was a lot less than we'd expected and the decorating a little more, mainly because we had a problem in both my son's bedroom and kitchen due to damp caused by clogged gutters.

Yay for female trades @hannahcolobus!

I’d MUCH prefer a lady tradesperson in my house

I say this knowing I need to do the same, but have you washed the windows lately inside and out? It makes an embarrassingly big impact on the gloom!

Thanks everyone, you are an inspiring bunch!
hidingthegoodchocolate ( great name) embarrassingly I did just this a few months ago, and it did make the kitchen look cleaner! Maybe I should do it again😁
’taskher isn’t available where we are, I’d love female tradespeople, I even thought to retrain as a plumber. If you were unemployed it was £20 or something, if you were a mum - it was thousands. Humpf.
right, DH has pointed out that I am halfway through lots of little jobs and STILL can’t work out how to get a neat paint line between wall and panelling in loo.
he’s also pointed out we’ve got mates staying in a few weeks.
time to get on!

Well the kitchen sink u bend leaked all over the place, and I’ve just sorted it out, on my own. Well done me! £40 or whatever plumbers charge to my beautify me fund!