Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Piano Forum Where in my living room would my grand piano be happiest?

One thing that has always bugged me about that Piano Buyer article is that they have this magic room with no doors. (how are you supposed to get in there? let alone getting the piano in there... )

I think having a doorway (which is what I have, no door so it's always open into a hallway) changes things.

And I would bet that most people have a grand in a shared space (living room etc) that has at least one always-open doorway, rather than a dedicated room where the door is always closed.

I wish they discussed that more specifically.

Maybe start with a boomy room with a lot of hard surfaces.

What is the item against the lower wall that looks like a stretched out letter "M"?
I would personally weigh the value of looking outdoors while playing as well as the sound. That would favor 1a since you can look over your left shoulder, or look straight ahead through the small window and see out. Or rotate the piano in diagram 1a 45 deg counter clockwise so the tail points into the corner and you can see out the french doors and the small window.

Looking over a grand into the room as you play is a great pleasure. My piano is in position 3a, but modified so that the tail end is a bit further from the wall, i.e. the piano is rotated clockwise slightly on the diagram. (In other words rotated in the opposite direction from 3b.) I find this very satisfactory. This way the piano is slightly angled, but does not protrude into the room as much as in 3b. In 3b the corner is essentially wasted, but in my arrangement it isn't.

I also have placement 2 but if my room matched yours, I’d consider 3b. Just keep a nice distance from the fireplace and any heating or cooling vents. Don’t put yourself or the tail end of the piano in a corner. My priorities in piano placement is a) piano protection (not in direct sunlight, heat or cooling vents 2) how the piano sounds to me from the bench 3) room functionality. It’s not an essay but it can help you decide. Best Wishes!

Another vote for #2

With house concerts, do you want people to see the keyboard when you are playing like many of the audience do in a regular concert (we always sit on the keyboard side). That will eliminate several of the positions.

Thanks. 2 is definitely winning.

I would vote for 1c or 2, but not the options that start with 3. Here are my thoughts.

I originally had something closer to your options for 3, and the sound was not so great. I had my piano (Yamaha C2, 5'8") moved and the placement is now fairly close to your 1c. My room is a little smaller than yours, but so is my piano, so it seems like a similar set up would work well for you.

In my experience, it is very nice to sit at the keyboard and have the room extend out to your right. This is both aesthetically and acoustically. Acoustically, I was amazed at the sound when I had the piano moved, it is 100 times better! I have a door similar to where your door is, and I believe that helps a lot with the sound.

Aesthetically, the room looks lovely when you enter it and the piano is on the opposite end. Also, it's more conducive to having piano parties and an audience in that arrangement.

One other thing I would add. Make sure that you can walk all the way around the piano. In other words, don't push it too close to any walls or those french doors. I have a window on the straight side of my piano, and I can slide around behind the piano to change the direction of the blinds or open and close the drapes. You will want enough space to do the same with those doors.

Lastly, on the keyboard side, make sure you have enough space to move the bench out from the keyboard, and also to pull out the action in case you want some regulation or other work done (which you may at some point).

If you like, later I'll measure to tell you the space I have on all three sides of my piano.