The old house forum was started a no. of yrs ago by and for people who love old houses and want to retain their true essence. ... as an alternative to the remodeling forum. (Of course in reality there can be overlap but in general that was the idea.)

If a house screams70s or any paricular era - then its best to not add, take away change things in a way that conflict with the original design Any "updating" (whatever that means) should be done in a way that replicates and/or fits in with the original design or you end up with a frankenstein house that could lose substantial value and appeal. You should be able to get it to look and feel "fresh" without compromising its fundamental design. Have you researched midcentury modern? IMHO, you have a really fine specimen. A lot of modern, current circa 2017 architecture and home furnishing design heavily borrows from this era..... so by sticking with its original style you will have a house that actually looks quite fashionable and "of the moment." How cool is that?

Not sure what you see "wrong" with the windows but to my eye they are terribly appealing, I love how the inside and outside kinda flow together. All I would do I think is paint the interior white wall that you see inside the lower level windows the same color as the exterior of the house - as it is now that white kinda jumps out at you.

I would do something with that patio area on the lower right - make it into an actual useable outdoor room of some sort - and along with that rebuild that porch railing above (right now it kinda looks like boards nailed to a post). For both you would need to retain the strong horizontal lines to keep it in harmony w/the house and roofline.

I might hire a designer familiar with this genre of house since that porch and outdoor area below are such prominent features of the house. Color- keep it dark but there are so many rich beautiful browns and brown-grays out now- both stains and paints - wouldnt have to stick with that same old brown.

I think you could change the porch railings to something cleaner and more modern, but that would probably be VERY expensive.

I think this house is so beautiful! A few coats of paint will modernize this house just enough, but will keep the integrity of the home. I would paint it a dark gray. With white railings and white accents.

I think this screams 70s and would love to update.

How big is your budget? You could change the whole thing to a faux Tuscan villa, but the cost would be more than the cost of moving into a newer house.

The problem is not that it's a 70s modern ranch, it's that it is overwhelmingly DARK BROWN, and shabbily faded brown at that. Fresh paint or stain on the siding, perhaps a pale grey-green with dark brown railing, or pale grey with charcoal

http://www.loveleyla.com/images/cabot-exterior-stain-3-cabot-stain-semi-solid-stain-color-chart-564-x-1995.jpg 

One thing I would so, not to change the era, but to make it more usable, is extend the patio out quite a ways. And put some greenery around the edges.