@Sgisela good catch on the lid, I was too taken in by the beauty of the room to notice! 😅

raagamuffin While it has a soft close lid, I'd be loath to take any chances.

I am pretty sure that the “soft close lid” is not the actual piano lid but the fallboard, the lid that covers the keyboard. A piano’s lid would be much too heavy

No, wait, I googled… there are actual slow close mechanisms for piano lids! I had no idea!! How cool is that!

Wow, I actually wish I had that on my piano! 😅 the lid is so heavy, I often think that I wouldn’t be able to open it all when when I get old(er) 😁

Ok, wait #2 I thought the slow close mechanism just prevents it from slamming down. It doesn’t make it easier to lift does? Or does it?

      ShiroKuro

      I took those pics of the doorway (and a panorama) to give you and @pianoloverus an idea of the geography so you can critique. My wife was (mildly) unhappy with the piano coming into that room, I told her, what's a furniture rearrangement when our daughter starts composing for the next 'Lord of the Rings' movie 😉

      The soft close lid makes it easy to also open it in addition to closing softly.

          raagamuffin My wife was (mildly) unhappy with the piano coming into that room

          Well, of course I don’t know the “before” arrangement, but it looks really great now and nothing looks out of place, nor does it look crowded or “overstuffed” to me. 😊

            raagamuffin The piano is beautiful, but I think you will end up moving it from that position near the doorway - it's problematic on so many levels. Your daughter is very lucky that you have indulged her by buying this lovely instrument, but how are her practice sessions going to work out if people are regularly walking behind her through the partly obstructed doorway? Also, is it possible to shut that door when she's practising? If not, are you happy with the prospect of hearing her endless repetitions of lesson pieces?

            "Don't let's ask for the moon, we have the stars." (Final line from Now,Voyager, 1942)

                Nightowl The piano is beautiful, but I think you will end up moving it from that position near the doorway - it's problematic on so many levels. Your daughter is very lucky that you have indulged her by buying this lovely instrument, but how are her practice sessions going to work out if people are regularly walking behind her through the partly obstructed doorway? Also, is it possible to shut that door when she's practising? If not, are you happy with the prospect of hearing her endless repetitions of lesson pieces?

                I also think the location is problematic but mostly from an aesthetic viewpoint. I must have seen hundreds or thousands of photos of pianos in rooms and don't recall seeing anyone placing it in that kind of position. It's hard to tell from your photos but it seems like it might be other places for the piano. It looks like there might be a big empty space on the other side of the doorway across from the couch near the guitar? Of course, if you like it there that's all that matters. If you do decide you want to try other locations it should be relatively easy to move the piano safely because your floors are wood and the piano isn't some 1000 lb. monster.

                    raagamuffin Even with a soft close lid, the prop stick may not fit properly into the hole if it's going at the wrong angle or the soft close mechanism might not work if the lid is too high.

                      Nightowl how are her practice sessions going to work out if people are regularly walking behind her through the partly obstructed doorway?

                      I don't think we can know how this will feel for the daughter or the rest of the family without knowing the rhythm of the family, the rest of the house etc.

                      It may become an issue, it may not. And if it does become an issue, having to relocate a piano within the same room isn't the end of the world. That's actually what I did, about three months after I got my grand. (I wrote a lot about that over at PW back then! 😅 )

                      pianoloverus I also think the location is problematic but mostly from an aesthetic viewpoint.

                      Again, this is individual. I think it looks lovely!

                          pianoloverus @Nightowl You make some good points and suggestions.
                          Regarding space, the 'large' space near the guitar is actually a wide entrance way to enter that room. The door in the pictures links this room to the family room and its a very low traffic passageway. (We usually enter the family room through the other larger entrance. ) We tired a bunch of configurations before settling on this one (for now). Let's see how it pans out, we will recalibrate if needed.
                          @Nightowl I'm a bit weird in the sense of practice etc., I actually relish hearing her play the piano. We have discussions around chords etc she's playing and how it fits on the guitar, as one example. I'm conditioning her to not just 'play' the music, rather, analyze the chord structures and tones she's producing.
                          BTW, I didn't expect the piano to be this loud compared to the prior digital keyboard, so that is one adjustment.

                          As for the piano itself, a technician came to work on it and now it sounds quite nice after his tweaks. A number of issues were resolved. I'm looking forward to playing this instrument for years to come.

                              raagamuffin Sounds like you considered everything very carefully. Your daughter is very lucky to have a grand piano and even more lucky to have a musical father who actually enjoys listening to her practice. (My own father was fond of using the expression "children should be seen and not heard" when I was young - the polar opposite of your attitude.)

                              "Don't let's ask for the moon, we have the stars." (Final line from Now,Voyager, 1942)

                                What a gorgeous piano and piano room! Congrats!

                                raagamuffin BTW, I didn't expect the piano to be this loud compared to the prior digital keyboard, so that is one adjustment.

                                If the piano still seems too loud after a while, there are many things you can do to quiet it down. If you are playing with the lid raised at all, you can lower the lid and just fold the fly lid back. It's even possible to close the lid completely and put the music desk on top of the lid which is apparently quite common in Europe where the residences are often quite small. You can probably have the piano voiced at least somewhat softer although you don't want to do that to an extreme that ruins the tone of course. If there's not an area rug under your piano, you can add that which should lower the volume because a lot of sound comes out under the piano. You can also install acoustic foam either underneath or on top of the soundboard or in both places. That's what I did when my neighbor started complaining about my practicing and it worked quite well.

                                  raagamuffin did the technician take out the action? My only concern about the placement of the piano was whether there would be enough space to pull out the action. If they were able to do this, great! If not, this may be an issue in the future, for specific maintenance issues.

                                      Sgisela Yes, he did to tweak the voicing of a few keys. There was enough room to take it out.
                                      @pianoloverus the piano not so loud that its bothersome yet. We currently keep it closed during practice sessions.

                                      @Nightowl without waxing philosophical, kids are the primary reason we exist biologically* (to propagate genes). Best to give our genetic profile the best chance for success (defined via an agreed set of terms, of course) 😃

                                      • Human existence through the lens of mental & spiritual faculties is a whole other matter.

                                          raagamuffin Thanks for the lecture. I never had children but now that you've pointed out that I've omitted to fulfil my prime biological function maybe I should take a swift exit route and stop wasting oxygen.

                                          "Don't let's ask for the moon, we have the stars." (Final line from Now,Voyager, 1942)

                                              Nightowl
                                              I didn't mean to offend.
                                              I was only saying that if one had kids then one should give them a good shot at life (biological ). I had the * to indicate the other aspects of life (mental, spiritual directives) that are also important (kids don't come in the picture here).
                                              In retrospect I should've stayed away from that comment, point taken!

                                                  raagamuffin No offence taken, your daughter is lucky to have such an attentive father.

                                                  "Don't let's ask for the moon, we have the stars." (Final line from Now,Voyager, 1942)