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I am exceited that my new baby grand will arrive this week but I have yet to decide where to place it in my living room I have basically two places that I think would work. One is to position the piano near an interior wall with the tail possibly being in a corner. Unfortunately I think this keeps the prettier front of the piano hidden from view. If I turn the piano around, I use more floor space but will have the front of the piano visible to everyone who enters the house. Another option is to place the piano along an exterior wall near a window. This placement is more visually appealing overall but I worry about the piano being near a window. Is this an issue or would it be ok as long as the window had curtains to block direct sun in the afternoon?

Hi cathpenello !

I think You should avoid placing your piano so that if fires into a wall - the inside of the cover should face toward the room; this will make for a far better acoustic.
A window in the sunlight should be avoided unless a shade or curtain blocks the sunrays.

Congrats on your new baby grand; You are aware that it is mandatory to post pictures of the arrival and placement in the room on this forum
Cheers

This topic has rarely been explored...until now. There is a fantastic article in Acoustic & Digital Piano Buyer that you will find invaluable. And, it's FREE.

How to Make a Piano Room Sound Grand

Let me know what you think!

Thanks! The article is very detailed and useful

The Piano Buyer article is great for acoustics, but doesnt take into account interior design factors. If you're more concerned about how the piano piano will function as a beautiful piece of furniture rather than making it acoustically perfect then there are probably more optimal placements than what the book recommends.

what an excellent article. I particularly liked the insert about acoustical treatment products. a great resource this Larry Fine online edition. I've been browsing lately. a big thumbs up.

My own sense is that a piano, especially a grand piano, is sufficiently elegant (stylish and graceful; possessing simplicity and consistency of design) that it can stand on its own with regard to interior design and that it's not necessary for the piano to either take or to give design cues to the rest of the room contents or room design. The principal, perhaps only, design consideration may be that the room be sufficiently sized so the piano doesn't overwhelm the rest of the room.

Thanks Apple.

As we were drafting and editing PB I was sure that this article would be one of the more valuable topics covered. Advice on the basics of piano buying is available from a number of sources, but "room acoustics" and optimizing a piano's tonality by adjusting its position and other room treatments isn't covered well elsewhere.

This article will likely be kept in future issues.

Two things are important to me as a pianist.

The piano should 'open' into the room. Not bounce off a close wall.

The keyboard should be open, smiling, and begging the pianist to come play!

oooh....excuse me, mine is begging me to come play before lunch hour is over

Your description just made me want to play!

A trade off between acoustics and aesthetics for most. In my room there's only one place the piano would look OK visually.

To me, one of the important ideas in the Piano Buyer's article on acoustics is that even a small repositioning can change the sound a lot. Of course if one has a BB on a carpet like I do, you don't have the luxury of being able to experiement.