I also second the idea of putting a small island in the kitchen area (not an attached L peninsula) and refinishing the floors.The other easy swap is retro style light fixtures.

We hired out the big projects (new drywall, refinishing wood floors, installing new window, etc) and did all the cosmetic work ourselves while we lived there.

We hired out the big projects (new drywall, refinishing wood floors, installing new window, etc) and did all the cosmetic work ourselves while we lived there.

We hired out the big projects (drywall, refinishing wood floors, installing a new window, etc) and did all the cosmetic work ourselves while we lived there.

I hired out some things like fixing gutters, adding a basement door, refinishing the driveway, major electrical work, major plumbing work.

New HVAC, pulled natural gas to the property, remodeled one shower, refinished floors, and added a tenant.

We would always opt to refinish where possible and the properties we did around Detroit came out great (even if patching was required) as we had a guy that did amazing work. 

The basement had some un-finished spaces, but most of the basement had just been beautifully re-finished with a mother in law apartment (which I was going to rent out).

Biggest expense was re-finishing the basement.

You have your steady income taken care of with your realtor business, so you would benefit from a quick source of income (buy and refinish old furniture to sell on fb marketplace, handyman services, flipping xyz for a profit, etc.) and a long term investment source of income (rental properties, etc.).