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The room has a tv on a tv stand, and a digital piano, nothing else. The tv is for yoga/fitness DVD’s. The room is actually my activity room. It is hardwood floors and open concept to the floors above via an open concept staircase. So I’m really concerned about echo, and noise travelling through to neighbours. I intend to put the upright on an inside wall, behind which is a washroom and walk-in closet. Behind those are the neighbours on one side. The other short wall has my tv because that’s where the cable outlets are, and behind that wall is my other neighbour. The long wall has windows and double doors to the backyard. I put my digital under the window because it just fits there. The other long wall is the open concept staircase so not really a wall.

I wish I knew how to post a picture or PDF because then you guys will get an idea, probably better than me explaining. After all, a picture is worth 1000 words. Please tell me how to do it guys. Thanks.

LadyBird,
I should have explained a little more. The reason I recommend these foam cushions is the following:

1. They stand up on their own if you lean them against the wall behind the piano. So unlike a blanket, they stay in place and you don’t have to do anything to hold them up or hold them in place

2. You can buy them in 20 inch square or 24 inch square (50-60cm) size and then cut down so that you only have as much or as little as you need.

3. You can start with one cushion, play and see how it sounds. Then add or take away cushions, while continuing to test by playing various pieces. This makes it possible to mitigate an overly live acoustic room without muffling the sound.

4. These cushions are the most easily added and removed item I’ve found.

5. They are super inexpensive compared to other options (including voicing, which I considered for my upright but didn’t do but/c my tuner advised against it since he knew I’d be selling it soon).

I used the cushions with my upright because after we moved here and I no longer had soft furniture in the same room as the piano, the tone was a bit too loud, jangley and harsh. I added the cushions and that made all the difference!

Now I have the grand so the foam cushions are in the basement.

OK this just a joke WeakLeftHand but I suppose we could have an " oasis "in the middle of the
the room a lille curved couch and a fake banana tree in the middle of the floor behind the piano.
A biG Teddy bear sitting on the edge of the couch to absorb any overwhelming sound.
Did someone say "kitchy" ?
No offence MarkL .I have thought of doing that but no fake tree or Teddy bears !

LadyBird scroll up if you missed my response to you.

I think sound reflected of walls is a bigger problem with uprights than with grands, and sound reflected off the floor is a bigger problem for grands than for uprights. This has to do with the room surfaces that are parallel to the soundboard.

OK ShiroKuro it sounds like it could work.I do not really have to worry about neighbors.,I once had a
an accoustic board which I covered with material
before I had the carpet it made it softer but ruined
the tone.Should not the soundboard "breathe "
One technician said it could give the wrong balance
of humidty if you block the back of an upright?
The inner side of the soundboard, humidity may
be lower or higher ?

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Greats! Thanks! I needed this! Now I can go post a picture.

LadyBird, I don't have to worry about neighbors either (in my current house or where we live now). I was more worried about my ears and the sound, which was quite unpleasant. I can't speak to the humidity impact, but my upright was very stable tuning-wise, so I don't think it had an impact.

And yes, my grand has a totally different sound profile (and there's more in the room now). But if I want to make any changes, I won't use foam, because there's no where to put it without it looking horrible!

Sorry I do not mean you with your grand ShiroKuro.,I meant WeakLeftHand who is getting a K500
upright and has to worry about neighbors because she lives in an apartment.

Oh I somehow missed that she has neighbors to worry about!!

In that case I definitely recommend trying the foam cushions for starters. As long as you don’t cut them they are returnable.

WLH good luck!!

WLH
I would recommend some soft furnishings for the room. A comfy chair, some giant floor pillows, drapes all work well.

I have tried a sample of accoustic foam when I thought I needed to soften tone and found they do
not work.

Yes, that's what I meant. My experience is uprights sound nicer when they project out into the room instead of against a wall.

I had a similar piano for a while in a similar room.

I placed it across a corner, so my bench was in the corner, and I faced the room when playing. It was a great setup. I really really dislike facing a wall.

We had a small loveseat with its back against the back of the piano, which looked very nice.

I highly recommend this arrangement. It was someone else’s idea and I was surprised by how well it worked, both for appearances and acoustics.