Help with piano placement

ShiroKuro

I asked this over at PW but would love to hear advice from everyone here as well.

We will be moving into our new house soon. (Yay!) The piano will go in the dining room (now “the piano room”) so in that regard there’s not that much to decide. But I realized that my original intention of having the piano \ parallel to the back wall (I.e. the all opposite the doorway of the room) might not sound as good as if the piano were were angled …

Here is a very sloppy drawing of the room.

The bump out at the top is a bay window. The dotted line diagonally opposite is an open doorway, which as you can see is at an angle.

If I put the piano opposite the doorway, top left corner in the photo but angled so the curved side points toward the opening, I wonder if it would sound better.

My original plan was to have the piano in the top left corner so the bass side was parallel to the wall where the bay window is. With this placement, the piano essentially opens out to the opposite wall.

As an aside, if any of you remember my rug that I have under the piano, well, if I want to put the piano at an angle on the rug, I need to get a new rug. :whome: This is only partially a joke. The rug has a sort of geometric/line based design and I don’t think it would look good if the piano was angled while the rug was straight. So if I want to buy a new rug (and repurpose this one for a different room) I need to decide fast.

For reference, Here is the piano in our rental house, notice the lines on the carpet, I think it would look wonky to have the piano at an angle.

BTW this rug is 8x10, the piano is 5’8” and with the bench pulled out, the piano+bench fits perfectly on the rug. This will fit in the new piano room if I put the long side of the rug parallel to the wall with the bay window.

Thanks in advance for any comments/advice etc.

twocats

ShiroKuro I think angling it is a great idea, and I don't think it will look bad angled on the current placement of the rug (as long as it fits ok, which it looks like it will)!

navindra

ShiroKuro I'm just here to say, the piano + the rug and painting and overall decor all look very very nice!

It feels so inviting, even though it's "only" your rental home, it's clear you put a lot of thought into this!

Would the movers be willing to hang around and let you try out your ideas? For me, I have trouble visualizing or predicting what the outcome would be... maybe they would let you try out both ideas and see which one you prefer?

Congrats again on the new home!

A piano in a new home is as good as discovering a new instrument. I can't wait to learn how it turns out! 🙂

ShiroKuro

Thank you!

I need to get a photoshop version with the piano at an angle!

I e had it this way for so long it’s hard to imagine what it will look like…

ShiroKuro

Thanks Navindra!

BTW TwoCats, my main concern isn’t so much the appearance but the acoustics. I think I can make it look nice whatever the positioning, but the sound could be radically different depending on the position, and that’s hard to figure out.

Speaking of which, Navindra, I can ask the moving company… I wonder if they would charge more. :/

twocats

ShiroKuro BTW TwoCats, my main concern isn’t so much the appearance but the acoustics.

I meant that angled is good for acoustics (I always angle if possible) but also looks fine on the rug!

Josephine

I think I would place the piano with the bass side parallel to the wall on the right, so with the keys and the bench on the side of the wall with the bay window.
I read once that you also want to invite others to make music together, and when I imagine the people that are walking into the room I think this is the best way to gather around the piano.

keff

Are there any sources of heat to worry about? Acoustically I agree with Josephine's suggestion although may be tempted to alter the position ever so slightly by putting the straight side of the piano on a diagonal between the upper wall containing the bay window and the wall down the right hand side of the drawing. I would place your fabulous carpet parallel to the walls so the piano would be on the diagonal to the lines in the pattern.

ShiroKuro

Re heat, there's a vent near the bay window, I will close it. That's what I do in my current piano space.

So, Shawarma_Bees made this visual for me and posted it at PW, it's super helpful to see it. I think this is the diagonal you mean, and it's what I'm thinking will offer the best acoustics.... The question is, will it look ok, and will the room look/feel too small that way...

keff

ShiroKuro Yes, Shawarma Bees has illustrated what I tried to describe although I might have tried to achieve 45 degrees and get the left hand side of the keyboard nearer to the window. There does need to be space to be able to withdraw the action; 20 inches I think. This adjustment should release some of the space in the room.

PS When I was thinking of putting a grand piano in my dining room I used Floorplanner.com to explore the best position. It was relatively easy to use.

twocats

ShiroKuro I prefer to angle it more like this (pretend the lines aren't there). And if the heat vent is leaking air you could put a piece of foam in it.

cheeeeee

ShiroKuro This layout looks great 👍. If possible, the upper side of the rug can be positioned closer to the bay window so that the end left corner wouldn’t stick out too much at the entryway.

ShiroKuro

Thank you!

ShiroKuro

I've been using floor planner for the past hour now, I find it hard to get it to do what I want it to do. Probably I need to play with it more.

Anyway, here's my attempt at one layout, with my rug. But the floor color doesn't match, so I don't know how helpful this is...

ShiroKuro

here's the straight positioning...

keff

ShiroKuro Well done for getting floor planner working. Both your layouts look good.

Animisha

ShiroKuro Just from looking at the pictures, I like the straight positioning the best. When you enter the room, there is this nice option to sit in the lounge chair or on the piano bench.
My thinking is also that the room has enough angles and that the straight piano will provide some balance.

twocats

Or like this against the left corner! This is how my piano is placed and I really like it, especially how the "thin" side of the piano tapers into the room. I can take measurements of how far I am from the wall if you decide to go this route!

twocats

My piano has one leg on a rug and two off. I dealt with this by putting caster cups on the two off and leaving off the cup on the rug leg. You don't have to have the piano in the "middle" just because the rug is there!

ShiroKuro

In the angled one I made, I set the angle so the straight edge of the piano is parallel to the doorway opening. It's hard for me to visualize the difference with your suggestion.

Also, thanks for suggesting angling the other way, I quickly made two more versions:

Because that lefthand wall is the shortest wall in the room, I don't think it will work. In order to have enough room for my bench, I'd have to push the piano's tail into the bay window bump out, which I'd rather not do. Maybe... I'll keep looking at these and thinking on it.

Any other suggestions are welcome!!

twocats

ShiroKuro In order to have enough room for my bench, I'd have to push the piano's tail into the bay window bump out, which I'd rather not do.

Ooooh I actually like the placement of the piano taking advantage of the bump out so that it takes up less space in the room, but then I think it should be rotated the other way for acoustics. And you definitely need some kind of window treatments (but even thin gauzy sheer curtains could be pretty and keep the direct sunlight off the piano).

Edit: hmmmmmm maybe not enough room to rotate unless you made it parallel to the bay window? But possibly could scoot it closer to the window off the rug? Interesting because you still have angled walls to liven up the sound reflections.

Edit #2: I think my preferred position is probably parallel to the angled back right wall in that corner with the keyboard sticking a little off the rug, to have more space in the rest of the room.