we normally handle specific questions, I am not sure what you need besides it is cute and you can decorate anyway you want since they have allready done some nice updates.

I think your new home is charming. When decorating, I would pay close attention to the scale of the furniture. Apartment scale furniture that does double duty as storage will be your best friend. Back then they didn’t have eat in kitchens, so your “formal” dining room is where you will eat all of your meals- and that’s ok! You can always dress your table up or down with linens, etc. enjoy your new home!

Don't do any structural changes such as adding a window for the bathroom. It isn't worth the funds you would have to spend to do it right.

Move in and enjoy as others have said above. It is a lovely home. If I were in your shoes I would pressure clean the driveway, walkways and sidewalk areas and trim up the landscaping. Specifically limb up the tree and trim the bushes. Contact a local nursery (not Lowes or HD) to get a good landscaping designer to come up with a simple plan that you can implement over time as your budget allows.

One of the other changes I might make is to paint the porch ceiling a very light blue known in the south as haint blue: https://www.southernliving.com/home/colors/haint-blue#haint-blue-video

See a beautiful insp pic below with the welcoming porch and haint blue ceiling.

That link shows you 12 different colors by different paint manufacturers of haint blue. Have fun!

You say the windowless bathroom is uninviting, but those are my very favorite kinds of bathrooms. They are private. You can always add more lighting. It is a very cute home.

The white fancy trims on the outside need to be replaced: I would replace them with a chunky wood porch support post and a wood slat gate. Just remove the corner "wall doily"....
I never saw one of those before.
The exterior will look good painted with white trim and a medium color on the walls (gray, grayed blue, sage green, tan).
Be sure to add some color inside...the trend to have everything gray is boring and hopefully, on its way out. A small house will look smaller if the walls are dark. A version of white or cream will make the rooms seem larger and brighter. My go-to color for rooms without a lot of natural light is Cameo by DunnEdwards....a light creamy color which goes with everything.

Congratulations on your new home! So exciting to start making it your own!

I would start on the exterior, I’m not a fan of the white ironwork so would look at replacing with natural wood posts. Trim up the bushes and start planning landscaping.

Kris Brueshoff, thank you! We are impartial to the ironwork as well however this style of exterior is very distinct to the area we live in (New Orleans). We are certainly going back and forth about whether or not we should preserve this aspect of the home or update!

felizlady, the exterior is aluminum siding. Would this have to be replaced or can it be painted over?

Totally understand, I still have the wrought iron pieces that were taken off our home, they are stored in the garage in case future owners would ever want to put them back. Lol

You could paint the brick white. Then get a new wood screen door. Paint the trim white, and the screen door and front door red or gloss black. You could also paint the ironwork black.
I agree about power washing the concrete. And add some potted plants.

IMO the iron scroll work does not suit the house at all .You don’t give us much info as to your style, where you are located and any time you want help with a space a detailed floor plan is needed. The advice to live in the home for a while is always a good one as it helps you find out what you need before doing much other than getting a few essential pieces. The bathroom needs better lighting and of course some form of ventilation to get rid of moisture but much better to have a windowless bathroom than a windowless kitchen

Denita, thank you! We just moved to the South recently, so this is apt advice. The ceiling of the porch wasn't something we had even considered! Thank you for the recommendation.

Live in it for a year, during which time start various ideabooks on Houzz. Then attack with one idea at a time. The interior has been updated in a lot of ways. Give yourself time to prioritize what matters the most to you.

And be careful to buy appropriately sized furniture as previously suggested.

the bathroom can be made inviting by the addition of colorful art, rugs, and towels. the kitchen is definitely a bit odd (dishwasher on different wall from sink?), but it will be $$$ to change things up, so that's where living there a year could help you identify what you can live with and what makes you crazy, as well as possibly why some of the choices were made, after which you can talk to somebody about what it would cost to redesign it. enjoy your cute new house!

Is the bathroom mirror leaning against the wall or is it just the angle of the picture? If leaning, maybe get a more appropriate sized one in a style you like. Also is the toilet a different color than the tub? The addition of towels and a colorful shower curtain will add some life.

Live in it for awhile before making any major changes. It’s cute , but I would get rid of the ironwork. Also, I hate windowless bathrooms, I had a skylight added to mine in a previous house. It made an amazing difference. The bathroom seemed much larger, lighter. The same thing could be done with a solar tube. Good lighting in the bathroom is a must for me. So that is the first thing I would do if it were mine.

Kay Stu: They should NOT paint the brick white--or any other color!

You ignored where they live--New Orleans. Hot, wet, damp, soggy New Orleans. Painting that brick, which is in contact with the ground, will prevent it from drying out properly, leading to mold issues and disintegrating mortar joints. Very bad idea.

Also, the brick, it's the highest-level finish material on the outside of the house.

HGTV can slap a coat of paint on brick and walk away a week later, but real life doesn't work that way.

What a cute house! So the biggest offender for me in the kitchen is the fridge sticking out into the doorway. If you got a counter depth fridge instead that would be fixed. Moving the sink and dw doesn't look like an easy option. If you want some natural light in the bathroom, a solar tube is a relatively low cost possibility. I like the ornate ironwork for your region except the fence part that goes in front of the carport. I would consider removing that portion and painting or powder coating the rest in a contrasting aged finish.

The next time you replace that fridge, consider a cabinet depth option.....you’ve got the right space for it.....and definitely live there for a while before making changes....let the house tell you what it needs....it will....

The ceiling of porch needs to be enclosed. You'll get a bat or bird. Can refig be moved across to end of cabinet removed? Then more pantry can be added where it was located.

I've heard that solar tubes are a good way to handle the lack of light and they don't waste as much energy as a regular skylight. Not sure they do any ventilating, so you may want to get in the habit of having a squeegee in the shower (if there is one) so you can wipe down the walls and help get rid of excess moisture. Outside, trim up the ball shrubs and the shrub on the right, do a little pressure washing on the cement surfaces, and clean out and fill the cracks where the walk and drive meet. I think the window trim and front door would look better in white. Then remove the storm door and paint or buy a new front door that can be painted in a nice, inviting color. Agree that those areas that look to be recesses on the porch ceiling should be closed. If you like the iron work, you might try painting it black. Maybe the carport served as a place for the dogs or toddlers to play securely if it is entirely enclosed. You might find that advantageous in the future. Take your time buying furniture. Consider a trestle table and bench with just a few chairs for the dining area. You don't appear to have much room to skirt around the table in that dining area, and a bench might be moved under the window or scooted under the table to allow for passing by. That small living area might do well with a 4-chair arrangement around a small round cocktail table.

Congrats on your new home. In a small home, don't overcrowd it with furnishings and keep the clutter in check so it will not feel any smaller than it is.

Since it seems you're using what appears to have been a carport/garage as a porch, have you considered enclosing part or all of it for your living room -- possibly sunken living room -- and using your original living room as your dining room, enabling your to extend your kitchen into the dining area?

Single bedroom? Ample closet and/or pantry space?

Have you drawn the floorplan to scale showing windows and doors on graph paper yet?

As others have said, dont do anything major until you have lived there for a while. Looks like a super nice home!!! Enjoy, you will discover that there are unexpected needs to address, so dont plan just yet a remodeling that will create another headache.

Charming home! Very nice. Yes, enjoy for awhile before making any huge decisions. Keep track of ideas and things you might like. It will come together over time. I have made expensive mistakes before by being in a hurry!

I love your house! I'm with everyone who says don't make drastic changes right away. Devote your budget to small-scale furnishings often described as "apartment-sized." Pottery Barn Apartment https://www.potterybarn.com/shop/new/small-spaces/ can give you an idea of the scale to aim for--low arms on upholstered furniture; nesting tables to use as a coffee table and up on legs for a feeling of airiness; round dining table so people don't bump into corners.

So no big leather sectionals, king sized bed, honking TV screens, big chunky wood pieces, or clutter of any kind. Leave the walls white and add color with lovely art. This isn't really a midcentury modern house at all, but often on Craigslist you can quality MCM pieces--some in tropical colors--that have simple lines that work well in a small house. Think about wall shelves that don't take up floor space.

I've seen Southern porches with "haint blue" ceilings--so wonderful and charming. Think about screening in the porch to give yourself an extra "room" since you'll be living in a warm climate.

It's great that kitchen and bathroom renovations are done. I like that they hung some pendants in the living room area so you don't need side tables for lamps or floor lamps. Down the road, yes a counter-depth fridge with French doors will give you more kitchen space. Start doing Google and Houzz searches for "small house tips." https://www.countryliving.com/home-maintenance/organization/advice/g104/small-space-decorating-0109/?slide=18

https://www.houzz.com/magazine/8-homes-under-500-square-feet-that-pack-in-style-and-function-stsetivw-vs~113307560

Good luck! Your house is a charmer.

Here's your living room :) although you may want to rotate the layout for TV watching on the left wall. Note the simple open lines of the furnishings with a cozy rug pulling it all together.

I like the open work chairs. Here's another style suitable for a small living room.

Bedroom: platform bed, small side tables, white walls, light colors, wonderful art and rugs--so simple but high impact. Note the cool fan.

Congrats on your first home! Beautiful floors and big front yard. Protect your investment...keep up your termite protection, ensure fan in bathroom is strong enough to vent the shower steam and run it at least 20 minutes after showering, add multi-speed ceiling fans on front porch and BR for air circulation, make sure crawl space has vapor barrier and venting, make sure roof and eaves have proper venting. If you plan to be in the house long enough, you may want to replace any old windows with energy efficient windows, and replace any exterior wood trim around windows and doors with a non-wood product. As a nod to New Orleans, paint porch ceiling traditional Haint Blue and hang baskets of greenery and annual flowers along porch. Trim overgrown bushes along front porch. As your budget allows, hire arborist to trim large tree, hire landscaper to give you landscape plan you can implement over several years, and create curvy path from driveway to front door. Your home does not appear to be New Orleans shotgun, townhouse, or creole cottage, so you can replace white scroll ironwork on porch with more substantial posts of non-wood product. Add outdoor seating and/or porch swing/hammock on front porch and enjoy front porch as another room. When you get around to a kitchen re-do, rethink the corner double sink, move DW next to sink, and buy counter depth fridge. When buying seating, take wall measurements with you and sit in the furniture at least 30 minutes to see how comfy it feels. Furniture in stores are marked up as much as 200%, so look for real deals, and explore weekend estate sales and flea markets for case goods you love.