I'm curious about how digital pianos works as part of people's furnishing...

If you keep it on a stand and live in a small appartment, do you put it away between sessions? Where do you store it?

Do you move it around a lot or does the instrument have its set place?

How well do you think your piano works as part of the furnishing in your home? How much did this question influence your choice of piano when you bought it?

I live in a 2 bdrm apartment with a roommate. The looks did affect my purchase, as did space considerations. The PX-800 didn't match any of my furniture, so that played a role in me choosing the PX-200 instead. The 200's price also helped.

I put it close to my computer and my speakers, and now consider it part of the 'fancy electronic gizmos' part of my room. I'm happy (enough) with how it looks.

I live in a relatively small apartment. Bought PX700, and it matches the rest of my furniture (as far as color at least). The piano is built into the stand, so there's no easy way to disassemble it, but since the speakers are mounted at the bottom it actually takes up less space than most digital pianos I know of footprint-wise.

I'd hate to have to put my piano away, because it would mean I wouldn't get to play it as much as I do now. I even keep my PC with Ivory on at all times, so that whenever I feel like it I can just sit down and start playing. I do it, even if I have to leave for work in 3 minutes.

I had a similar situation at work, I have a DP in my office. I had originally sketched up a piece of furniture that was basically a bookshelf down to the lowest shelf, which held the piano. This might work if you already have a bookcase of some kind that could be replaced by this combination. I was more concerned about concealing the piano and so planned to put a fold down door for the piano shelf. But I ended up just throwing a black piece of fabric over it when I'm not using it and no one even notices it's there.

Since the keyboard dimensions on all 88-key
pianos is the same, an 88-key digital
piano will take up about the same amount
of floor space as an acoustic upright piano.
This is surprising to many people because
digital pianos look very compact. Moreover,
once any digital piano is set up--even
the portable stage piano type--it tends
to stay right where it is, like a living
room piano, since storing it away becomes
too much of a hassle if you play regularly
(but if you live in one of those small,
two-person college dorm rooms, where there's
hardly any space between the beds, you'd
have to store a digital away after each
use).

Also, once a digital is set up, the space
it occupies can't be used for anything
else, which is why Roland has come up
with the innovative models, the DP-990
and the DP-970, which convert into a
table-like structure.

If you must overcome the inertia it takes to drage it out and set it up you will definitely play less. Playing more is the goal.

Mine is propped up on two little file cabinets that are just the right height for it. I practice daily, so it's nice to have it available for when the college practice rooms are closed or when I just don't feel like making the trek just to play on a horrible "piano-shaped object".

Wow, in your office? I'm envious. What kind of work do you do, and how did your management react to that sort of thing?

LM (contemplating pianos in offices...)

Like MarkL, I had my Yamaha DP in my office. I explained to my boss that it was a stress-reduction device - and it was!

Now I have a home office and the DP has an honored place. It actually is a great conversation starter when I get visitors and meet with clients.

And there's nothing like pounding out Beethoven to cleanse the world-weary soul!

I have my CLP in my lounge... I know with the CLP's you're paying extra for the cabinet but for me it's worth it to have a DP that fits aesthetically into my living room. Having my piano in this rooms allows it to become a normal part of my life and now my habit is to automatically sit at the piano rather than the tv - no effort required!

I have a DP on a stand against a wall, perpendicular to a wall with a window with track blinds in my living room. It goes very well with the room since I have no furniture. :p

I also have a tall, fake orchid sitting next to it, which works out quite nicely.