Week 6 Journal: Finally Making Some Progress

If you’re following our series, you know we’re in the middle of fixing up a 100-year-old house and making it energy efficient. Somehow tearing out all the first-floor ceilings got lumped into the to-do list. Then the second floor ceilings. And a couple of walls. And the bathroom. You know … just … everything.
One day you’re just going about your business, gleefully demolishing everything you lay eyes on — a great stress reliever, by the way — ...
What's in a wall? If you've been following our Curbly House series, you know what was in our walls; squirrel nests, dead things, and lots of hundred-year-old newspaper. But what makes a wall more than just a bunch of lumber and drywall?
This week, I'm exploring ways to breathe life into our walls by adding hand-picked artwork. With the help of Art.com, we've got an amazing, expansive collection of artwork available. Read on to see how I'm plotting to decorate the walls at chez Curbly House (hint: no squirrels allowed).
Ok, before I start, you should check out this quick video from Art.com; it's a pretty sweet 3-dimensionalization (word? non-word?) of some famous pieces of art, and it's worth a watch:
Now, if you look at our 'before' pictures, it's easy to see that the house had a heaviness about it; many of the walls were painted darker accent colors, and the woodwork was all stained a dark brown. See what I mean?
I've been gleefully paging through several art collections on Art.com, like an overjoyed visitor at the Louvre. I spent most of my time perusing the Abstract, Vintage, Modern, and Botanical galleries.
Here are some of the ideas I'm tossing around for the stairwell gallery wall, the master bedroom centerpieces, and the sweet prints I want to frame in our kids' playroom.
Stairwell Gallery
1. Taupe III by Denise Duplock
2. Terracotta Spots by Denise Duplock
3. Travel Abroad III by Jarman Fagalde
4. Vintage Map of Paris by Ladyleia
5. Tour by Bicycle II by Chariklia Zarris
6. Diversion I Limited Edition by Chariklia Zarris
Master Bedroom
7. Duo Stem by James Burghardt
8. Pomponette (sky) by Denise Duplock
9. Dancing Flowers III Mary Calkins
Play Room
10. Green Zebra by Avalisa
11. Heart Balloon Girl by Unknown
12. Newspaper Kids by Peter Gebhardt
For a look at more of the pieces I'm smitten with, take a look at my Pinterest board (hey, you can even follow me while you're there!).
This post was sponsored by Art.com, but all opinions are my own.
The Curbly House bathroom looked decent, by all accounts, and except for being a bit on the small side, functioned just fine. So I was actually prepared to leave it pretty much as-was, maybe with a few fixture replacements, some new tile, and paint. But what we found when we took out the first floor ceilings underneath the bathroom made that impossible. Read on to find out how we gutted the bathroom, and watch an awesome/scary video (depending on your point of view).
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The real estate agent fiddled with the lock box for a moment, then cracked open the front door. We kicked off our shoes and stepped in. The floors were cold like a skating rink. We left our overcoats on. The place smelled empty.
“One sec,” the agent said. “Let me get the lights.”
Click. Nothing. Click. Footsteps. A different switch. Click. Nothing. A...