macuaig turning the piano and the player to be facing another direction is a big decision for a space
It is, but it’s very do-able.
The tricky thing is that there are lots of variables to consider, and different people will have different priorities.
For example, the curve of a grand piano is its most distinctive feature, so one question is where/when you want that to be seen. The way they have it now, it faces the front door, and you could say that’s good because it will be the first thing people see when they walk in.
OTOH, if you turn it, the curve can be seen from other places in the space, and maybe seen and enjoyed longer than just for the fleeting moment when people are walking into the space.
Then there’s the sound. You might think that having the piano’s open part facing people would be noisy, but with a grand, it’s not so intense as it seems. The sound spreads out (and down) and if the space is open, as this one appears to be, then it may feel much less noisy.
Then there’s the position of the pianist. I moved/re-positioned my grand a few months after buying it because I realized that the orientation I originally chose meant that I had to sit with my back to guests whenever I played for people. I hated that. I didn’t realize that until the first time I had a music party after buying the piano. I reqqrgend the piano room and re-positioned pretty quickly after that! Some people might not care, but I hated it and I was very pleased with the results after repositioning. With the orientation in the real estate listing, the pianist can look to their left to see people sitting, or look to their right to see the door. But looking straight ahead, they’re looking at … a wall? I don’t know, it’s hard to tell but I think that’s not the best view. Also, for someone who’s practicing and study piano, not just playing, having a somewhat closed in space may make it easier to concentrate while practicing. This open area is lovely from a decor standpoint, but it’s less conducive to serious practice or learning.
Then there’s the view of people listening. On a concert stage, the audience is always (ok, almost always) looking at the pianist’s right side, the melody side, and can see the pianist’s hands. So people are most familiar with this orientation. So again, in that regard, the piano placement in the real estate listing is backwards.
Lastly, for a home piano, there’s the issue of how the space used in a total sense. So it helps to think about whether the piano takes away room for seating space. Also the height of a piano is just below eye level as soon as you sit down. Or if the lid is up, it could block one’s view completely. So the placement should take into account whether the piano’s tail blocks the sight lines of people sitting chairs and on sofas.
As you can see, I’ve thought way too much about these details! 😅
