share post

{Inspired By} Pianos in the Home

by | Oct 24, 2014 | Decorating Inspiration, Details

This Post May Contain Affiliate Links. Please Read Our Disclosure Policy here

{Inspired By} Pianos in the Home

In our old house we had two baby grand pianos, one in our living room and one in our dining room. One was a player piano, so even if someone wasn’t around to play it for real, we could turn the button on and it would fill the house with live music. While we no longer have a piano, our home is still often filled with either live music (usually from guitars) or songs blasting on our favorite Pandora station.

{Inspired By} Pianos in the Home

My husband is a musician, my daughter is a singer, and we all love hearing music in the home. Although I’ll admit we don’t always agree on what kind of music we play. For example, right now as I’m writing my post my husband is playing some ear piercing screaming music downstairs and I would rather be hearing Mumford and Sons. But that’s a discussion for another post.

{Inspired By} Pianos in the Home

We do really miss having a piano though! I think pianos can definitely make a house look and feel like home. Don’t you?

{Inspired By} Pianos in the Home

Do you have a piano in your home?

Sources

Wood Pianos:
1. Style Me Pretty by Emily A. Clark – Photography by Caroline Lima // 2. Mokkasin via Decor8 // 3.Michael Penney Style, Photography by Donna Griffith; House & Home Magazine, June 2011

Blue Painted Pianos:
1. Sweet Pickins // 2. Your Home Based Mom // 3. Kammy’s Korner
White Pianos:
1. White Life // 2. Scandinavian Chic – Photography by Sara Svenningsrud // 3. Centsational Girl
Black Pianos:
1. Lonny // 2. Anna Truelsen for Bo & Leva. Photographed by Carina Olander via Daily Arch Design

34 Comments

  1. susan maclean

    You had a player piano?!?!?!? I wish! But probably, like me, you couldn’t fit it in to your current home. On holiday, in the Carolinas this last Spring, we found an ice cream parlour with a player piano – which I am delighted to say, played (amongst other things) a ragtime version of two of Elvis’s hits! Worth every cent I poured into it whilst we ate our ices!

    Reply
    • Melissa @ The Inspired Room

      Presently it is still in our family so there’s a chance it will make its way to us but it would be hard to fit it in! Worth it though, SO FUN! :-)

      Reply
  2. Angela

    We have a WWI era apartment sized grand piano. It needs tuned every 6 months and the case is a mess. I’ve thought about refinishing it several times, but have had more pressing projects. For all it’s failings, the kids are learning to play on it just fine and I enjoy it too. I wish every child could have at least a few years of piano lessons. It opens up a whole new world of self-expression and builds neural connections that helps with math and reading skills.

    Reply
  3. Cindy@DIYbeautify

    I learned how to play piano on a player piano growing up! We loved to ‘trick’ company into thinking we were playing! I LOVE my antique piano because of its beauty. Sadly, several of the keys have stopped working and it really needs a serious overhaul. But I got it for free and don’t really want to spend several hundred to restore it. I use the top kind of like a mantle…it’s great for decorating!

    Reply
  4. Molly

    I would love to see a post on grand pianos. As lovely as they are, I can never seem to get the right arrangement in my living room! Although if I didn’t have it taking up space, I can’t imagine how I would fill it!! Can’t live with it or without it!

    Reply
    • Melissa @ The Inspired Room

      Ha, yes, they sure do take up space! I’ll see what I can do for a future post, good idea :-)

      Reply
      • Ginger - Just One of the Boys

        Love your post! I agree! I would love to see a post on grand pianos! My Beloved surprised me this spring with a gorgeous 1931 J&C Fischer. I’ve always wanted a baby grand – and it’s a dream come true! :)

        Reply
  5. Susan

    I can’t imagine a home without a piano! When “house shopping” my first requirements are where the piano would go and where to put a Christmas Tree. My Baldwin grand has the place of honor in what would be the dining area and I relocated the dining table. Live music is a big part of our family and I love it when my daughters come home and spend time at the piano.

    Reply
  6. Jules

    We have a very old iron-framed cottage piano. My husband very patiently stripped and painted it blue after we brought it home in rather poor condition from a defunct theatre. Both our girls had lessons and also sing but piano playing never stuck with either of them. I can’t bear to part with it and keep saying I am going to take lessons again when I retire!

    Reply
  7. Sheri

    This is perfect timing!! We have a wood upright that was my husband’s grandmothers. Our youngest has been playing for 6 years – she’s 12 now! We just re-did the play room/office where we have the piano and we want to paint so it blends with the rest of the room!! So fun to see pics of painted pianos and to know it can be done!! We are recovering the bench – currently it has a needlepoint that his grandmother made. We are going to save it and frame it for my mother-in-law! Thanks for such a fun post!!

    Reply
  8. Barbara (WA)

    I have the same piano my dad acquired for me when I was a little girl wanting to take lessons. He traded a TV for it – and you can imagine the piano has sure outlived that TV!! But since we’ve always lived in small houses, it ends up the main piece of furniture in the living room. I’ve thought of giving it away and buying a small keyboard. I rarely see decorating photos that include pianos unless it is gorgeous grand ones in mansions! SO, I am encouraged by all the ideas you posted today. As I redo things around here I will redo how I decorated my beloved piano.

    Reply
    • Melissa @ The Inspired Room

      It’s sad how few pictures are shown of REAL HOUSES with normal things. Ha, I love seeing a piano in a house, even if it isn’t trendy in the magazines! :-)

      Reply
  9. Barbara (WA)

    BTW, mine is an upright grand like the last row of photos, on the left.

    Reply
  10. Seana Turner

    My daughter plays piano, so as she progressed, we had to get one of our own (vs. the loaner we had been using). We decided to go for a baby grand, and the sound is terrific and I don’t regret it, but I have to admit it pretty much takes up about 1/3 if not more of our living room. You have to walk around it to get into our home office, and it definitely too large. But… it isn’t all about looks, and I figure someday this daughter will have a home of her own and take this piano with her. I do love listening to it!

    Reply
  11. Kristin

    Yes, we have a small spinet that belonged to my mother-in-law. It’s not in great shape, was never a great instrument to begin with, and takes up valuable wall space, but how can we get rid of it? Buying it was a true sacrifice for her factory-working parents back in the 40’s. It was one of the few pieces of furniture we owned when, as a young, BROKE, married couple, we relocated from the East Coast to Portland, and we probably paid more to move it than it was worth! The “model” name is Betsy Ross, so it references my husband’s Philadelphia roots. Decorating around it has always been a challenge, so I appreciate all the inspiration photos! My boys both took lessons for several years so it was always littered with music books, a metronome, etc., but now that they’ve “retired”, it can be a focal point rather than a functional space. It’s still a pain to have to arrange a room around, but how do you get rid of a piece of family history….?

    Reply
  12. teresa

    Yes, we have always had a piano in our home….and I love when the grand-kids come over and can play it. To me home isn’t home unless it has a piano…. My husbands first gift to me after we got married was a piano…after 37 years of marriage we still have the same piano….it’s a little old fashion looking and I have been tempted to paint it from time to time…but I can never bring myself to do it….so it will be light oak forever…just the way it was from day one.
    Love all the pictures you shared.

    Reply
  13. Carolyn

    Thank you! I had started considering getting rid of ours…but maybe not until we really have to, if we downsize to another home. The pictures really inspire me! We used to have old family photos above ours, which was fun. We’re moving everything out ( mold in the house, ugh) and then back in, so I can do something new if I want. Fun to change things once in a while!

    Reply
  14. BJ

    I grew up with a piano. I still have it. Can’t imagine life without it. My only regret is that I recently had it refurbished and went traditional with the stain. While I think it’s beautiful, I’ve seen so many photos of painted pianos that I just love. Kind of wishing I’d been braver in my choice. We have a little nook that is difficult to furnish and the piano, a large upright, tucks right in.

    Reply
  15. Karen on Bainbridge Island

    Saw you in BHG! Really enjoyed the article and the photos of your kitchen

    Reply
  16. Pam

    I have a gorgeous square grand piano that is at least 100 years old. It was in our home where I grew up and my sister didn’t want it. I think I got it since I took more lessons than she did. LOL I am like Molly and do not know how to arrange it in my living room nor how to put decor on it. I think about it at least every other day. Help!!! I have another upright one that I did most of my practicing on in the TV room that is decorated with mostly framed photos! Not very original!

    Reply
  17. Suzanne

    I’ve always thought of placing a plant or two on my piano, such as #2 of the white pianos, but been afraid it may ruin the piano if water leaked.

    Reply
  18. Tamela

    Wow Melissa, this brings back memories of my childhood. My grandparents had an organ and a piano in their home. My aunt took piano lessons and I would sit and listen to her practice, then once she left the room, I would jump on the piano and the “tickle the ivories” so they say…LOL! Unfortunately, my skills were very elementary compared to my aunt’s. Thanks for sharing this Melissa!

    Reply
  19. Rebecca Narum

    I totally agree! I love music and a house filled with music and musical things. I’ve played piano my whole life but due to the fact that I have been moving around so much in the last couple years I haven’t been able to have a piano in my home. That said, one day I do hope to find a more stable home and place a beautiful piano in there that I can sit down and play whenever I have a spare moment.

    I’m absolutely in love with these blue pianos you have shared above and am going to remember idea when the day finally does come to buy a piano again :)

    Reply
  20. Janet

    I would also love to see a post on baby grand pianos! We have a player baby grand that has been in the family since 1919 when it was built. We spent a good deal of money restoring the player mechanism and it plays beautifully. We are retiring soon and will downsize. I’d love my daughter to take it, but with 3 and 5 year old boys, fear it would get Ninja Warrior damage. Maybe you’d show us a way they can fit into smaller spaces.

    Reply
  21. Biswajit Dhir Deo

    I am a big music person and Piano is one of my most loved music instruments after guitar. I don’t know how to play either. LOL. But I always have thought Piano also gives the house a posh expensive look besides giving the owner a place to just play music and be happy with whatever sound he/she can get from it. :)

    Someday I would for sure would get one Piano for my dream house

    Reply
  22. Susan

    Thanks for sharing this! I have an upright piano in my living room, which was purchased for me as a little girl by my folks. I love sitting down a few times a week to plunk away at the keys. I so rarely see pianos in shelter mags or on blogs, so it’s wonderful to see examples of how people decorate around them.

    Reply
  23. Rae

    Enjoy the pianos and don’t worry so much! They will be around long after we are all gone…I love my almost century old Sohmer…now I need to decorate the room for it. thanks for the inspiration!

    Reply
  24. Loran Polder

    We’ve had a piano in the house for years and it’s so wonderful to have the live music in the house.

    Reply
  25. Staci Richard

    Ahhh, love them! I think I need #1 – the turquoise one! It makes our digital one seem so devoid of personality.

    Reply
  26. Barbara (WA)

    Yes, I have the upright grand I grew up with. My dad traded a TV for it when I was a little girl – I imagine that TV is long gone (we are talking the 1950’s here)! I have a Pinterest board with these types of photos since it can be tricky to decorate a piano. I’ve always wanted a baby grand but would need a new house – that would make it a rather expensive instrument. ?

    Reply
  27. Sue @ Home Heart Harmony

    Oh I love this. Thank you for the inspiration. I have really been in two minds about whether to paint my piano. It has such sentimental value for me (given to me by my parents as a gift for my 21st birthday) but the look of it doesn’t fit with anything in our home these days and I would love to paint it but have been hesitating. I think you’ve just given me the push I needed!

    Reply
  28. Bonnie Hula

    We are downsizing and I have a Grand Piano I need to get rid of and replace with an upright my daughter grew up with and has stored it in her garage for about 20 years. Called a piano company and sent pictures and they said they can’t sell them so were not interested I couldn’t believe that. Anyway I would think a decorator shop would be interested for displaying items on it and under it. It is a beautiful piece of furniture. Any suggestions?

    Reply
  29. Bonnie Hula

    Thank you for helping me out. Bonnie Hula

    Reply

Leave a Reply to Jules Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

 

Decor Finds:

browse categories:

browse archives:

let’s stay connected!

Follow for daily
Home Inspiration:

get my free decorating guide

home decor inspiration, free downloads,
and more, straight to your inbox

css.php