Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Piano Forum Piano First or House First?

Lots of good suggestions here. Yeah in today's market you have to compromise. I would love to have a high ceiling room but it's been so hard to find it.

Non-load bearing walls can be taken out for that open floor plan look that’s been “in” since the early 1990’s.

This is excellent. I really think myself as a minority when I prioritize my piano, but I'm not a minority on this forum!

I'm going to disagree with this. What says class better than a massive Steinway!?
I think this will score the OP big points.

If she's not into pianos.... dump her.

This isn't too hard if you live alone and don't entertain much (like me). And can afford something other than a small apartment. You just turn the dining room if you have one into a room for the piano, and then don't eat at a dining room table. Which I don't do, anyway, I just eat with a plate watching TV or at the most, a TV tray. Actually, I know lots of people who just have so much junk piled on top of the dining room table they can't use it anyway. Of course it would also work just to have a second bedroom you use for that, or a den (which is often what the extra room is in some apartments which often means it has no windows so can't be legally called a bedroom with no egress).

And if the apartment is on the 37th floor, does it still have to have a window for "egress" in order for it to be called a bedroom. Just askin'

Cheers!

The good news about using a dining room for the piano is that there might be a chandelier for the lighting!

If it's your dream, then it's a no brainer. Buy the B and figure out where to put it later. Don't meander and miss out like alot of other people would. Go after what you want with a strong conviction. Otherwise what's the point? Life's too short

A.
One can save a lot of space by thinking about the chances to sleep A1- under a grand, A2- above of the grand.

B.
I did it Frankie's way, oops, westphalian triathlon - house, tree, son. Expanded to fourathlon, bought a grand, eleven years ago when I was 55. When the son was grown up in our own house, the house was fully paid, and with the trees it is not that easy here...

I would have wanted to have had my 1st grand when I was 5 yrs but I had to fetch my 1st piano when I was 17 because a piano was too expensive for my parents. Then I got another very good upright by my bro-in-law for 29 years without any problems. So the grand (S&S Centennial D) was the ever first piano which I had to pay for.

Our 55 square meter living room is half occupied by our beloved black dragon. And we made him sing smoother by ripping off the flame new BIG hammers, and installed finest U.S. old light hammers, maybe 80, maybe 100 yrs young, with a much better sound.

So no further need for any better sound here.

....oops, why do I actually struggle for parts to complete the frame of a 1955 BMW R 69 to a whole motorbike..., the fastest thing you could ride in Germany at the time I was born?

Is it for fast riding?
For smooth comfort, to ride from Dortmund to Munich and instantly go into Hofbrauhaus without feeling exhausted by five hours motorcycling?

Or is it the sound of the "roller boxer" motor (flat-two) which can perform the "Rolls Royce engine test", take a piece of money, 2 Deutschmarks or Dollar on the gasoline vessel, idle running, and the money shakes from left to right, but does not tumble down...?...

Ahh I recognize, might have to do with a thing named "culture".
;-)
It's all about our senses.
(No other connections exist from my innards to life on Earth.)

So one has to care for his eyes, ears, tongue, and skin.

But...
You know that Petrus (Heaven's doorman) did not allow Horowitz to enter Heaven?
Denial reason: He yet had Heaven on Earth with his "Beauty", 1938 Steinway D.
(joke, and Petrus let in in the players of other brands. The poor men now can relax in Heaven.)

But I never understood why one needs to live in Bay Area.
;-) Is it about culture too?
I live in the ex black smoke coal pot region of western Germany.
Which is much much much greener than any is willing to think - until he is looking here.

One can also bring culture to his life by booking a table at the "Lameloise's" in Chagny, Burgundy, AFAIK the three-star Michelin restaurant which has the three stars the ever longest time without a break.
I recommend this too!

Are you in a rush to buy a home, or are the low interest rate mortgages motivating you? Yes, housing prices are crazy in the Bay Area. Here too, in Seattle.

Why confine your housing options to a 3-bedroom townhome? If you are single, why do you need 3 bedrooms? Maybe you should expand your search to other neighborhoods or towns to find a house or condo that has an open floor plan or large living room where your Steinway B will get the space it deserves. That way you can have some comfortable furniture and your Steinway. I don’t think selling the B and downsizing to a 6 ft grand will open up other housing options for you.

99% of the pianists I know are not in a relationship with another pianist. OK, to be exact, I know one couple where both are pianists. All the other pianists I’m friends with are partnered with fisheries biologists, techies, and assorted other professions.

As I mentioned in another thread, I bought a (used) M&H BB and managed to fit it into a 350 square mobile home in Palo Alto (the only place I could afford in that insane housing market while saving for a move to Vermont). It helped that I (1) was single, (2) had no TV, (3) had only a tiny wicker couch to fit into the living room along with the piano. I had previously had a S&S M that had belonged to my mother. The difference in size between the two pianos was pretty small, but the difference in sound was huge. My feeling is that there are very few living situations where an M would fit but a BB would not. Heck, I could have put a S&S D or M&H CC in that mobile home; there were still a couple of feet left in that tiny living room before the piano would have protruded into the kitchen.

This is exactly our family! We eat at the kitchen counter or in the TV area.
Our dining room (high ceiling and biggest room in the house) currently houses the N1X which will be moved out to accommodate an upright. We don't entertain much other than tea with our relatives so this hasn't been a problem for us so far.

Yes, exactly the point I've been trying to make. I think part of the problem is that, for pianists used to playing a less than 6' piano, a 7' piano can look very big until one gets used to it. In terms of floor space the difference is usually not significant.

Buy house first for sure.
A used piano and a piano tuner you trust (i.e., to do the prep work) will get you the most bang for the buck. Don't buy a brand, buy the function.

And it's probably for the best! You'd have to fight over who gets to practice when, you'd feel self conscious about your playing or practice approach...

"Honey, have you seen my copy of the score for ..."

"What? No, of course not..." (quickly hides score with own fingerings written in....)

One pianist and one person with the perfect ability to tune out sound = marital bliss!

This is pretty practical but I'm bit worried about putting the piano too close to a kitchen due to the huge humidity fluctuation.

It is the low interest rate mortgages. I'm currently having my eyes on a 2-bedroom townhouse with larger living rooms. Unfortunately relocating is not an option for me right now due to work and other reasons.

Oh shoot I can't imagine a life like that even if I like having a grand piano so much! I know you could just rent a separate studio in someone's house and put your grand piano there and you don't need to worry about disturbing anybody.

Thanks for the input. Yeah the 7-foot doesn't seem to a lot larger than a 5'7, but I do think a 9-foot is larger. Especially an M&H CC is 9'4, and a Steinway D is 8'11.

I had many encounters with real estate agencies, but few of them lived up to my standards. One example is Tulum Real Estate. They helped me with everything I needed, and I was impressed to be able to contact them 24/7. They assist you with everything you need. It might be a little bit more expensive, but I can assure you it's worth it. I mean, it depends on what you want too, but I'm sure you're looking for professionals, not amateurs I hope I have helped you, if you have any more questions, let me know.