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Advice for renovating a 1970s Canberra house on $100-150k budget

Puddle
3 years ago

We are first-time home buyers and an opportunity has arisen to buy a 3 bed, 1 bath house in an area that we like and that works well for our commutes. We are a couple without children and we are looking for a house that has room for 1 or 2 study areas and guest bedroom but is not so big that there are parts of the house we never use, so 3 bedrooms works for us. However, the house has been rented out for a long time and consequently hasn’t been well maintained and needs some updating. As we are new to owning a house, let alone renovating one, we would appreciate any guidance on how far a budget of $100 - 150k could stretch and ideas for changes that could bring in more light and make an efficient use of the available space.


Below: Layout of the block



Below: Current floorplan




In order for the house to be worth considering seriously, our budget needs to be able to cover:

- modernizing the bathroom and toilet

- modernizing the kitchen

- creating an open plan kitchen/dining/living area (none of the interior walls are load-bearing)

- removing & replacing the carpets in all 3 bedrooms

- repainting the interior


Ideally, we would also like to be able to do some or all of the following:

- install a heating and cooling system

- replace the windows with double glazing

- make better use of the entryway space (study nook? walk-in pantry?)

- add an ensuite in bedroom 1

- possibly add a northwesterly window in the dining area for more light

- possibly add an external door to bedroom 3


Below are a couple of ideas that we have had about how to open up the space:



Generally, though, we are struggling to figure out what we could realistically achieve with this house and our budget. Any suggestions would be much appreciated!


Thanks!

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