I'm fine with painted pianos. Yes, do your research to make sure you wouldn't be drastically affecting sound, but if a piano is being used to play for fun, and not to teach or when trying to compose (where sound is very important), a piano should still sound really good.

I disagree with cittykitty. I think the color is lovely and unexpected. It looks more like fuscia/coral. I also love the fabric accent. I think you did a great job. The piece was very dark and drab before. Now it's bright and modern.

Or is the trick not turn into a horrible person just because you have anonymity?

I like the piano a lot. From my own research into restoring a family piano, pianos only have a lifespan of 40-50 years, at which point it is far more economical to replace than restore, and this piano looks like it's nearing the end of that. So painting it isn't doing great harm either way.

I think the pictures might not be doing the color justice - I suspect it's actually much more red in person. I think it would have been better with more of a lacquer finish, but maybe it is and that's not coming through in the pictures either.

Either way I think it was a good idea - it turned a very functional, old looking piano in to a design element of the house, and that's a good thing.

That fabric really makes the project, love it. It's not something I would do at my house (I'm more into neutrals, jewel tones and darker colours) but I like it. I can picture a lot of happy people gathered around, singing and enjoying life. No worries about putting your drink down on some perfectly polished precious antique while you bang out a few tunes.

But you should still use coasters!

I'm a pianist and I think it's adorable! I would love to sit at an instrument that looks as delightful as that.
And to those who had negative things to say about the color or what not, well, just ignore them. Now go enjoy your lovely instrument and have a sunny day. :D

I love it as well. Fuchsia makes me happy. Who needs everything to match as long as a piece is functional or gives joy. This does both. Congratulations!

The color choice doesn't work for me at all, but I applaud the work that went into this project. It's also nice to have a piece of furniture in the house that pops.

This piano looks great!
I'm really sorry to make a critical comment, but I think this article used the word "site" when the word "sight" was needed.
sight = something that is seen
site = the spatial location of an actual or planned structure or set of structures (as a building, town, or monuments), or the place, scene, or point of an occurrence or event.
I know it's annoying when people decide to be the grammar police, but I have seen this error more than once recently!

Sounds like everyone is getting a LITTLE intense here... This is a response I gave to the other painted piano post that was up yesterday....

I have been a piano technician now for 26 years, and honestly, I wish more people would be this creative. The old piano finishes are usually a mess, scratches, chips and dings, looks horrible. I do prefer this on a spinet, console or upright piano, for some reason it never looks right on a grand piano but I have seen exceptions...

Now for the technical facts:
Painting a piano DOES NOT alter or ruin the sound
The paint actually preserves the veneer better than the original finish
Refinishing a painted piano takes slightly longer to strip but not by much
You can pick any color you want! Don't like it, paint it again!

One tip would be to pay your piano tuner/technician to come out and remove the piano keys while painting, he/she can also pull all of the case parts so those will be easier to paint as well. Should be a simple service call fee...

PS... I think the piano looks awesome! Great job!

My 1992 piano has a fug golden oak finish but I'm not brave enough to paint it. It feels a bit blasphemous to me. But some of these comments are making me rethink that!

"From my own research into restoring a family piano, pianos only have a lifespan of 40-50 years, at which point it is far more economical to replace than restore"

@Robotropolis, it very much depends on the quality of the piano and the time when it was made. If you're talking about a piece of junk from the '70s or '80s, I agree, its time is probably up. But turn-of-the-century workhorses, made well in the first place, can still be going strong. The upright I had as a kid (still have at my parents' house) is from 1901, and it's still an excellent family piano with no major rework needed.

The after makes me smile. I'm on the lookout for a piano to paint!

@GREENWOODGAL - Why have a broken piano just to have something large in a certain color?

If you aren't a serious pianist and have it just to play for fun and want to paint it, I say go for it!

I have no problem with painting pianos, especially old uprights. (Maybe a concert grant shouldn't be messed with, don't know...)

I'm not fond of this particular color choice and I really dislike the fabric used, but that's my taste, so not important.

Some people in New Hampshire were working on painting a piano similar to this one with Zentangles, those complex black-and-white doodles... I saw a few in-progress photos but not finished ones. It was going to be SPECTACULAR! (Found a blog post...) http://zentangle.blogspot.com/2012/05/zentangle-diversity.html

My daughter, who is currently begging for a piano, would love this! And it would be perfect for her!

I have no compunction painting a piano such as this! If painting it keeps it loved and used, I think it is a brilliant idea!

@username26 Wait until you get a comment wiped for disagreeing with an article with regards to if something is good design or not.

@RJZII: I rarely see comments taken down. I didn't see the original comment that was removed, but I doubt it had anything to do with disagreeing and everything to do with tone. It's completely cool to disagree, as long as you keep it classy.

As long as the piano is in tune, and everything works as it should, I'm totally fine with this piano reno!

@juliabren - Depending upon when you actually look at an article they might be long gone by the time you actually read it. I've actually seen quite a few get taken down over the years and while the ones that are obvious trolling make sense, the ones that I don't get are when people are disagreeing with the article from a design standpoint.

I can't imagine painting a piano. The idea of all that sanding LOL. Plus, some things are one or two colors or a reason. Who here would paint their led lcd TV?

Hey everybody! Thanks for the comments regarding my painted piano makeover. I would like to say that the picture doesn't display the true actual color of the piano. It is more of a coral/red and has a high gloss finish.
-Jill
Inside Out