Do put the seating piece in the curve, I agree.

The difficulty in decorating around a grand piano placed in a typical living space is that all the Mass is up off the ground, around seated head level and there is nothing but air underneath.

By placing seating that fits into the curve it compensates for all the negative space underneath the piano, and grounds the whole thing a little bit.

I personally prefer them with the lid up at least on the short prop, and nothing on them.

I'm rather a purist on this and perhaps I'm in the minority - but I feel a Steinway can stand on its own without extraneous decorations. You're fortunate that you can place it with the lid facing the room.
The tufted ottoman sounds interesting. What type of floor covering do you have in the living room - area rug, wall to wall, bare floor?

This post was edited by maire_cate on Thu, Aug 8, 13 at 22:07

Thank you both for the responses!

Maire cate, I currently have a large area rug over a hardwood floor (my dog races to bark at the mailman every time he puts mail through the slot in the front door, which opens into the living room -- without the rug, the floor was quickly achieving a level of distress most colonial-era floors wouldn't even have by now!). If it turns out that the piano/ottoman situation just won't work with the rug, I might be able to scale back to something smaller or even a different shape, while still maintaining some level of protection against the hound and her nails. I'll have to see once the piano is in place.

Here is a Houzz photo of the tufted ottoman look. Of course, my piano will not be black, but you get the idea.

[Traditional Spaces[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/traditional-home-design-ideas-phbr1-bp~s_2107) by Denver Architects & Designers Jill Cohen Interior Design LLC

Palimpsest, that is a very helpful explanation of why this look appealed to me, although I never could have articulated it.

We have a 6'3" grand in our living room . It is used many times a day as we both play and my DH has professional jazz piano gigs. That said we never have anything on the piano except music and nothing ever on the lid. The piano is kept open unless we are away. We have several rugs layered in the room for the sound control as we have 12 foot ceilings and wood floors. Our home is an 1890 Bungalow. We have only 2 chairs in the room as the piano is the main focus. The chairs are for reading or studying. We wouldn't have the ottoman as it would be in the way for walking and also we love the open space under the piano...in the pic above, the ottoman blocks the shape and grace of the instrument. c
I see that I don't have a current pic...I can take one tomorrow.

We have a small Kawai in our very small living room. Our couch was moved to our den/music room, and we have a loveseat and chair in the living room. Cramped, but it works.

We never put anything on the piano except for music and a lamp. The lid is sometimes closed, sometimes open all the way, normally open half way as in the photo.

The picture above our piano is too high, IMO, and the piano needs to be moved closer to the wall. We're planning on changing the flooring in the living room/dining room; we'll make those changes then.

Enjoy your Steinway! Lucky you!

Here's another view, from the dining room (also a small room).

Thanks, trailrunner and wags! Very helpful.

Here are two pics from this AM...hope this helps. You are lucky to get such a wonderful instrument ! I hope that someone plays it or is planning on learning. A true gift. c

Just want to say that I love the tufted ottoman with the grand piano -- the inspiration photo is lovely! :)

I also love the idea of keeping the top bare -- but perhaps adding a standing lamp behind/next to the player .... and perhaps an artwork on the walls?

No pianos here -- no talent at all -- just a true admirer of such a wonderful gift -- both the instrument and the player! :)

Teacats, thanks - any suggestions for a particular style of floor lamp? I wonder if I did that if I would still need a lamp on the piano to light the music?

I am so glad you shared your story...how absolutely wonderful for you all. I hope you have many hours of enjoyment. About the lighting. You will note that we have a lamp sitting on the left side of the piano. You will find that there is no floor lamp that will adequately light the music/keyboard. You must have a lamp on the piano. A floor lamp has to have the shade tilted at such an angle that you don't get the light where you need it. If you Google piano lamps for grands you will find what you need . I look forward to seeing your pics when the piano arrives. I too started taking when I was 4..I am now 62 ! c

The piano has arrived!

(In this very blurry iPhone photo, the room looks very white -- technically, BM Marscapone -- but the wall opposite is BM Espresso Bean, and the dining room that opens to it is Behr Mexican Chile.)
I would love any further thoughts that anyone has on what to around/near the piano. I do like it open (this is the lower setting; it can also open significantly more), so am strongly leaning against putting anything on it other than a lamp. Thanks!

What a beautiful addition to your home! Can you get the dog to sit up a bit and cock his head like the RCA Victor dog? That's all it needs... :)

Beautiful !! c

Thank you, trailrunner and bpathome! Bpathome - love the RCA dog reference :-)

Did you find a round ottoman?

I've been searching for one to do the same thing as you. I would like it tufted and maybe even skirted. I think if it has legs, there will be too many "legs" (piano legs + ottoman)

It's beautiful! How lucky you are to have it.

Just lovely! And the wood tone of the piano is perfect for your carpet / rug! You may want to find a standing lamp to go in the corner that casts light over the player's shoulder, in conjunction with a small focused lamp that illuminates the music itself. The former would shed light on the keyboard as well as an additional source of light for the music.

I'm concerned about the ottoman being where it is. It's likely to affect the acoustics of the piano, absorbing some of the sound. It's best not to place any furniture - especially upholstered furniture - too close to a piano.

Would like to say how envious I am of your baby grand. We had one when I was a child, placed happily in the corner of my parents long living room, and my mother played it nearly every day. She was a purist, and wouldn’t allow anything on the piano but a small music light and she always kept it open. I took lessons for many years, yet elected to play oboe, so I wan’t the lucky one to inherit the piano when the time came. I do miss it! I trust you will enjoy it very much.

We also turned our small living room into a music room. I think formal living rooms are a waste of space. Over the years, I have had the piano either half-way open or closed w/ photos on top. Fully open seems too much for the size of the room. I have a big chair in one corner and a 5'? potted silk plant in another. Our room opens up to the foyer/stairs and the dining room.

In our last house, the piano was in a great room and we had a round, skirted ottoman in the curve ( a designer recommended that). The top was kind of pleated w/ one button in the center. Good luck!

I am in the process of finishing a sitting room with the same color baby grand piano you have pictures. My client wanted the Hollywood glam look so wall paper went up from Candice Olson. A silk velvet chaise on one corner and round tufted ottoman underneathe the piano large stand up mirror from. zgallerie. . Because your piano is a cherry walnut I would go lighter on the rug if you can. Depending on the size of your room, a tucked rounded ottoman would be beautiful with a skirt as it seems your leaning toward the traditional look. I will post pics once done.

Ours is in the corner as it is the only practical place. It sits in front of the large front windows. My husband plays several times daily and prefers to look outside while playing anyway. We are in the process of getting new furniture delivered so I will post pics when it comes. It usually doesn't have anything but music on it. The original bench seen here is usually set off to one side as it isn't very stable when he gets playing(it is close to 90 years old.