redrabbit If the floor had wall to wall carpeting it would be somewhat more risky to move the piano even with two helpers. But because the piano is not some monster sized instrument and especially because of the hard floor I think any risks are minimal as long as you have three people and look at a video explaining the proper technique.
Piano placement question
@redrabbit Welcome to PT!!
Add my vote for 3. It will sound better and probably look better too, esp. if you have seating in the bottom right of the photo.
Congrats on the piano! When is it being delivered?
iternabe 15min is quick! The software I used for the floor plan doesn’t allow customized picture, will definitely check out the one you recommended, thanks for sharing!!
pianoloverus Yeah the baby grand size feels still manageable, though I used to think hard floor and carpet are similar since you will have to lift it anyways (I plan to use caster cups, but I’m not sure if those are necessary on the hard floor, mainly for floor protection I think?).
twocats great to hear you are happy with the setup! Giving me more confidence on option 3 
Thank you!!
I’m still debating where to put sittings tbh haha. I used to have sittings around the upper right corner but am thinking about moving the couch to another room, so the piano room can look more spacious. Another option is to get a smaller couch.
The piano is still being worked on by the store, and will probably arrive by the end of next week if they can finish soon, I will post pictures once I get it!
I would choose 4, but rotated 180°. So you are with your back to the walls.
*
... feeling like the pianist on the Titanic ...
@redrabbit just looking at the pictures, I also think 3 might be your best option. But I like the idea of giving yourself flexibility and trying out the different options before choosing.
redrabbit I’m still debating where to put sittings tbh haha. I used to have sittings around the upper right corner but am thinking about moving the couch to another room, so the piano room can look more spacious. Another option is to get a smaller couch.
I think the question here is how you want to use the room. Will you have music parties where people come and you play for them and they play for you? My piano space isn’t very roomy, but I have three chairs around the piano because I want to have music parties. And the piano sort of opens up toward the living room, where I have a vaulted ceiling. My tuner told me that the unevenness of the ceiling really helps the sound, and even though the piano room and living room aren’t a]exactly an open space, the piano sounds amazing from the living room. (It sounds fine in the piano room, but even better if you’re sitting in the living room).
Anyway, back to your placement, you want the piano to open up toward more space, not less. Which is why photos #2 and #4 are the worst choices acoustically, because the piano sound has no where to go. Let me see if I still have photos of the floor plans I considered in my old house…
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@redrabbit fiund them!
This first photo was the placement I had when I bought my piano.
After my first piano party, I realized that it had me sitting with my back to people, which I really disliked. Back then I regularly played with a violinist and with her there, and a few people and chairs, the layout just wasn’t working. I actually paid the piano movers to come back and relocate the piano to this layout. It was the best money I’ve ever spent! I was only motivated by the logistics of it, and the aesthetics of who it looked, and by wanting to not have my back to people. But after the piano was moved, it was like it was a totally different instrument acoustically. The sound filled the room in the most delightful way! And the bass really came alive. And it looked better too. And wa such nicers for piano gatherings.
In my case, with the second layout, not only did the piano open up toward the full length of the room, but also, at the opposite end of the piano were two doorways (without doors, so the space was always open). (I don’t count the front door, that was always closed). Those two doorways allowed the sound to roll out and not get trapped anywhere, giving the fullness and richness of the piano’s acoustics room to breath.
@redrabbit ok one more post. The above floor plans are from our old house, we have since moved and here’s the floor plan I settled on:
My piano room is much smaller than yours (it’s supposed to be a dining room) but it works because it opens out. That’s what that dotted line is, the open space, which feels bigger than it looks in the picture here).
Anyway keep us posted on the placement you decide!
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ShiroKuro Anyway, back to your placement, you want the piano to open up toward more space, not less. Which is why photos #2 and #4 are the worst choices acoustically, because the piano sound has no where to go. Let me see if I still have photos of the floor plans I considered in my old house
I don't see how #2 would be a problem acoustically since the lid opens out into the room. Number 4 might be a problem if you plan to play with the lid open but I think an awful lot of people don't raise the lid on their grands and just keep the fly lid folded back.
There are basically two considerations... How the piano looks aesthetically in the room and how it sounds in the different positions. It should be very easy to try the piano out In all four possible positions. So even if you like the first position you choose, it might make sense to try the others out because they might be even better.
With regard to a rug, you could first take a blanket and fold it up to roughly the size of a rug that you would want, and you may be able to get an idea of the effect on the sound it might have.
Just one thing: if the rug is going to be positioned under the pedals, you want to make sure it is also being held by at least one or two of the piano legs as well.
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pianoloverus I don't see how #2 would be a problem acoustically since the lid opens out into the room.
My point with #2 is that it has the piano opening to the shortest distance. IOW the distance from the piano to the wall (bottom of the photo) is much shorter in this arrangement. If that door is open, that gives the sound somewhere to go but if not, the sound bumps into the wall much sooner than it would in placement number three.
And as you can see, placement #2 is very similar to the placement I had with my first piano, so I’m speaking from experience, from what I literally heard with my own ears. And the difference I heard when the piano was repositioned was amazing beyond words.
Oh and my piano is 5’8”, so also similar to @redrabbit ’s.
ShiroKuro My point with #2 is that it has the piano opening to the shortest distance. IOW the distance from the piano to the wall (bottom of the photo) is much shorter in this arrangement. If that door is open, that gives the sound somewhere to go but if not, the sound bumps into the wall much sooner than it would in placement number three.
Agreed. I have zero experience with acoustic piano, but I do have some with setting up home audio. The points on the wall that gives sound the shortest route to reflect back to the listener/player are called first reflection point. They are the first place that need treatment (diffraction or absorption). The reason is these reflected sound arrives so soon that our brain interpret them not as echo but as part of the original sound, and that mixing with sound that arrives directly (and a little early) reduces clarity. If the plano lid opens parallel to the side wall that's the closest and the sound is muddy, then this might be why.
iternabe If the plano lid opens parallel to the side wall that's the closest and the sound is muddy, then this might be why.
With my old placement, I didn’t experience it as muddy so much.. but after moving it, the sound was so much richer and alive, I think before moving the effect was a flattening, dulling of the sound.
Wait, maybe that’s what muddy means 
pseudonym58 With regard to a rug, you could first take a blanket and fold it up to roughly the size of a rug that you would want, and you may be able to get an idea of the effect on the sound it might have.
Just one thing: if the rug is going to be positioned under the pedals, you want to make sure it is also being held by at least one or two of the piano legs as well.
Testing with a blanket is a good idea. Even if the piano sounds OK without a rug or blanket it might sound better if you used one and this can only be determined by testing it both ways. Based on my experience it's not necessary to have any leg on top of the rug to keep the rug in place which I assume is your idea. This might be true if the rug is very thin and the floor is wood. In my case, the rug underneath the piano is on top of wall to wall carpeting and doesn't move at all even though the rug goes underneath the pedals and even beyond the front edge of the keyboard..
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ShiroKuro My point with #2 is that it has the piano opening to the shortest distance. IOW the distance from the piano to the wall (bottom of the photo) is much shorter in this arrangement. If that door is open, that gives the sound somewhere to go but if not, the sound bumps into the wall much sooner than it would in placement number three.
My piano placement for a 7 foot piano is just like number two and there is no problem.
My piano placement for 7 foot piano is just like number two and there is no problem.
There are so many variables including personal preference involved in the piano placement I think trying out the different placements is the best idea. Even if one likes the initial placement the only way to know if it's the best one is to try the other placements. Because the OP's piano is reasonably small and on a wood floor moving it around to the four different placements should be easy and safe. Things would be very different if the piano was bigger and on wall to wall carpeting.
