This home is full of interesting angles and indents when it comes to the walls, especially in the great room. The wall in the living room (on the opposite side of this wall is the reading room) has been a little tricky. We always thought it would be a prime spot for some bookcases, but with the shelves we just installed in the reading room, it seemed a little redundant to have more bookcases. So we stuck a bench here and hung a grid of frames for the last month or so until we figured it out.
It’s safe to say I’m glad we held out. We inherited this beautiful piano from Chris’s parents this week and it fits in the space perfectly. The piano was originally purchased by Chris’s great-grandmother, Delilah, and has been passed down from generation to generation.
His parents are selling their home (the one Chris helped his dad build) and downsizing, and with that a lot of larger items they aren’t moving with them. We feel so blessed–beyond, really–to be the recipients of this beautiful piano that not only Chris grew up playing and practicing on, but his ancestors did as well. It makes me want to learn how to play, to teach Greta how to play, but I’ll settle for listening to Chris tickle the ivories until he gets around to sharing his knowledge. Chris’s mom refinished it about 16 years ago and it still looks amazing. That grain. It kills me.
The piano doesn’t have a bench, so we’re on the hunt for something to use there. I’d also love to get a larger plant for the corner–maybe a hanging fern (?) and a lamp. And some sheet music storage. So this once weird wall has a little way to go. But, I did hang a Ribba picture ledge we used in our last home in the stairwell and leaned a few art-filled frames above the piano. Initially, I had the frames leaning on the piano itself, but with Greta and Charly always running around, occasionally bumping the piano–it eased our minds a whole lot more to have them nestled in this ledge.
With Chris being the youngest of seven siblings, it’s a miracle we ended up with the piano. It turns out sticking with piano lessons longer than the rest of the bunch will eventually reward you with a pretty piano for your house. And, well, I guess I get to reap that reward too. #luckiest
Anyone else the recipient of a family heirloom? There’s something about having this piano (or anything that has been in the family) in our house that really makes it feel some much more like home. Finally!
I revently downsized and was forced to rid of a lot of furniture. But, I wasn’t willing to part with my antique hall bench. I’ll find the perfect space for it in my new home.
[…] on the couch in here and watch out the wall of windows and wait for Chris to come home. When we inherited our piano that has been handed down for generations on Chris’s side (which is, obviously, also very […]
[…] few months after we finished the reading room, we inherited a very beautiful piano passed down from Chris’s great grandmother. So the reading room went from […]
My piano wasn’t passed down; it was found at the dump! (Story shared in my link).
I love having musical instruments in the home. Yours is absolutely GOREGEOUS! That wood grain! They certainly don’t make it like that anymore… or if they do, the price is astronomical. Yours truly is priceless! What a wonderful gift.
It’s funny how siblings can covet different things so it all works out. When my parents down-sized I inherited the farmhouse table that started with my Dad’s parents, then was in our dining room my whole life, and now it sits in mine. My boyfriend and I will be moving into a new house together in a few weeks and my beloved table will fit into the huge kitchen dining space. He is slated to inherit his grandmother’s round dining table which will someday (hopefully not too soon) go in our dining room. We’re purchasing a placeholder until that happens. I love the symmetry that we’ll have the family heirlooms in our dining spaces.