Funny Looking House "Befores" and "Afters"

This is a filthy rag. This is one of approximately 1, 467 rags we made filthy by cleaning up the construction dust at the Funny Looking House (a.k.a. FLH). But...

...1,467 filthy rags later, the FLH is done!

Mostly, anyhow. Lovely Daughters #1 and #2 have moved in. There are still a few details to take care of, but the renovation is 99 percent complete.

Here are some Before and After shots, to show you the transformation. This was the front-door area, Before we began the renovation:

Then we entered into a long, awful, awkward period During:

Below you can see some progress being made, with the stucco patched and trim prepped for fresh paint:

The primer layer under the final color goes on:

At the end, the FLH looks almost the way it did at the beginning! But the stucco is properly applied this time, the paint is fresh and new, and all the trim has been patched, sanded, and repainted in this After photo:

This facade seriously need a few green plants to soften all that hardscape. They'll come, eventually.

This is Lovely Daughter #2's room, Before. We liked the layout of the room that the former renters had, with the bureau between the windows on the right, and the bed on the opposite wall, so we kept that in mind:

As we went through the inevitable construction mess, the room turned into a dumping ground. For a while, there was even a lawn mower in the room!

At last, it all came together. An Urban Outfitters coverlet (no longer sold) that she had at college set the color scheme for the whole room. We installed off-white IKEA blinds and an off-white book ledge along two walls that match the window trim. A modern, leather-and-chrome chair filched from The Boyfriend offsets the shabby chic look elsewhere, in this After:

This mirror, below, which I snagged during a "Clean House" episode, sat under our family-room sofa for two years, waiting for the right place. It looks casually propped up on the little bureau but is actually secured to the wall. This is Earthquake Country. Nothing over a pound or two is safe without being fastened down!

Tomorrow: the kitchen transformation.