Making a house our home

Friends and family often ask me, "How's the house?" I love their interest in one of the biggest changes in our life in the past year, but I often don't know exactly how to answer their question. Let's face it. The place needs work. Home improvment takes time and money. We don't have a lot of extra cash laying around begging to be spent, and we've been working too many hours without consistent days off so our time is in short supply, too. Therefore, not a lot of work has been done on the house. Also, while I wish I could be, I'm not a good decorator and I don't have an eye for design. I know some people who can choose just the right color of paint for a room, combine items they already have to create a chic look that would appear in the pages of a magazine, and spend pennies to do it. If there is anyone out there who fits that description and would like to lend a hand fancy-ing up our place on the cheap, let me know! Because I just don't have the knack. But I'd really like to make our house more of a home, even if we can't quite afford the permanent improvements we'd eventually like to tackle. Or, even if you can't come to our house in person to lend a hand, perhaps you have some design ideas you'd like to share. What has worked for you? I am open to all suggestions!