Once upon a time, there lived an antique, upright piano in a cold, lonely basement. No one looked at it. No one played it. This beautiful piano was my great grandmother's piano and while the family loved the significance of the piano, it wouldn't fit either with the decor or because of its size.That is, until I bought my home and then it was time to move into my house...
Now, I will be honest... This poor piano sat in my garage for a couple of months, also. In my own defense, this was my first house and there are A LOT of unforeseen projects when you buy a new home.
First things first - I had to DEEP CLEAN the piano. Who knew that there was a simple latch which allowed the panels to easily come right off?? The inside of the piano was definitely dirty, but BEAUTIFUL!!
There were some suggestions that said to take a leaf blower to the inside on a low setting. This made me nervous but I allowed my husband to try. The blower did get some of the dust out, but this baby had been sitting in a basement since I was a baby so I brought out the q-tips and soapy water and got to work... That was A LOT of q-tips!!
I began painting the panels first. Each panel received two coats of Annie Sloan's Chalk Paint in Old White and then a coat of clear wax.
After we got the piano out of the garage and inside, which was not an easy thing to do, we started painting the piano.
I love the contrast of the diagonal wooden slats up against the chalk paint. Also, my great-grandmother's initials are carved into the wood and I want to keep that intact!
I have not quite finished the decoration of the top of the piano and am still shopping around for knick-knacks but I love the way this looks in the sitting room!