Musical Instruments Make Great Home Decor
Q: Everyone in my house is a musician. That means we have instruments, cases, and music all over the place. I’d love to put our instruments on display instead of having all this musical stuff get in the way. Any ideas on how to make our love of music into a decorating feature, instead of a pitfall?
A: Musical instruments are just made to be put on display. They’re sculptural and attractive, they make great conversation pieces, and they reflect your talents and joys. You’re wise to look at them as potential decor instead of as clutter.
Large instruments like pianos, drum kits, and stand-up basses use a lot of floor space. They can easily take over a room. Pianos are gorgeous display pieces, but they can crowd everything around them. But there are ways to incorporate instruments into your home’s interior design. Here are a few ways to display musical instruments with style.
Pianos & Keyboards
Grand pianos
Nothing’s more elegant than a classic grand piano. But they’re large beasts—even a baby grand can dominate a smaller room. When a piano is the star of a less-than-roomy room, consider using furnishings with smaller footprints. Chairs and love seats leave you more room to maneuver than sofas and sectionals do. You won’t feel as crowded by your Steinway in a room with plenty of space around each piece of furniture. Round coffee tables and side tables improve traffic flow. Tables with glass tops take up less visual space but still provide functionality.
When you plan the placement of a grand piano, account for the space the piano bench will take up when it’s pulled out. Having just enough room for the piano with the bench tucked under it looks great when its not in use. Make sure you’re not blocking a doorway or bumping into furniture when the stool’s out.
Placing items on pianos
Because pianos are so large and dramatic, it’s tempting to put decor on top of them. If you do this, keep a few important caveats in mind.
- Don’t put anything on top that might tip over. Pianos vibrate when played, and some people play with gusto. Make sure anything you put on top of your piano is stable.
- Never put liquids on your piano. It’s tempting to keep a drink at the ready, or to let guests rest drinks on the piano while you play. Please don’t. A single spill can be disastrous, both to your piano’s looks and its function. Moisture wrecks felts, warps wood, alters tuning, and ruins finishes.
- Avoid candles. Liberace’s piano-top candelabra was his trademark. However, dripping wax (or its removal) can ruin your piano’s finish. Once damaged, your piano will stay damaged. Refinishing a piano is an enormous and expensive task.
- If you absolutely must use candles on your piano, use small ones inside vessels like jars or tealight holders. Avoid candlesticks or candles that could drip or spatter when blown out. Then put those vessels on trays. Heat from candleholders can melt the finish on a piano, leaving permanent marks or discoloration. Finally, use a candle snuffer to put out the candles. Don’t blow them out—it’s too easy to blow wax onto surrounding surfaces.
Upright pianos & other keyboard instruments
Upright pianos, electronic keyboards, electric organs, and synthesizers are easier to manage. Their smaller rectangular footprints sit in relatively small spaces along walls. Keyboards on stands can also look great in front of windows. I loved looking at the view from my old apartment’s windows while playing my electric piano. However, think about whether the light will be in your eyes during playing hours. If so, choose a shaded window, or move the piano along a wall instead.
Keyboard lighting
If overhead lighting is poor, tuck a floor lamp to the left of the piano or keyboard. Leave room so you don’t bump it with your head or elbow while you play. That will provide better lighting for pianists or singers. Piano lamps designed to sit on the piano itself provide more focused light on sheet music, which a lot of people enjoy. Sometimes these can bounce a bit with powerful playing, though. That can make the heads on older piano lamps droop or rattle. If there’s room, I usually prefer a floor lamp with a three-way bulb.
Sheet music storage
Do you pile sheet music all over your piano? Put a small bookcase or a small chest of drawers nearby to store it. Have a grand piano and no room for a bookcase? Place sheet music upright in square wicker baskets or rolling wooden bins and store them below the piano.
Drums & Other Percussion Instruments
When it comes to percussion instruments, electronic drums are very practical. They take up much less space, and you can listen to them with headphones. This makes them ideal for shared living spaces. However, there’s just nothing like the acoustic thrill of a true drum kit. If you have one, you can either hide it away, or turn it into a feature.
I think drum kits are visually exciting, but if you don’t want to look at them, you can hide them behind a folding screen. If you hang a curtain rod from the ceiling, you can hang a floor-to-ceiling curtain from it in front of it the drums. Another option is to have a drum display wall. Use a tall wooden or metal shelving unit where you can display individual drums. Cymbals, old or new, look fantastic displayed vertically on a wall as art.
In my home, we have an assortment of Afro-Caribbean percussion instruments. You might hang maracas, kalimbas (thumb pianos), tambourines, or other small percussion instruments on walls to great effect. We like having them at the ready so anyone can play them at a moment’s notice. We display musical instruments like these on coffee tables, bookcases, chests, even on the piano itself. Keep them in trays or baskets, or just lay them out on a fabric runner. Congos and djembe drums look great clustered on the floor or on console tables under windows and behind sofas. There they won’t get bumped. They also look stylish displayed in bookcases or on shelves.
Stringed Instruments
Violins & related instruments
A stand-up bass or cello resting in the corner out of direct sunlight looks effortlessly cool. Standing it on a sturdy, slip-proof stand in a corner also makes it less likely to be bumped, dropped, or tripped over. (Nothing’s safer for a valuable large instrument than being in a case resting on its side, though.)
Cello and bass players often rest their instruments on their sides on the floor because it’s so convenient. This is a good way to get your instrument scratched, nicked, and tripped over. My friend placed her cello in a corner between practice sessions, but didn’t bother to place it in the stand that held it steady. It slipped and fell, and cost $600 to repair. Take a moment to store yours safely.
Violins and violas look gorgeous hung on walls. However, it’s best to display musical instruments that are kept just for sentimental value. Instruments you actually play are better kept in cases, since stringed instruments can be delicate. Direct sunlight and temperature changes can significantly affect their varnish, or cause their wood to crack or split.
Guitars, electric basses, ukuleles, & other members of the lute family
Guitars, electric basses, ukuleles, banjos, mandolins, sitars, balalaikas, and bouzoukis look wonderful hung on walls. Hanging them up keeps them handy but avoids taking space in cases or on floor stands. Hide their cases under beds or on the unused top shelves of closets or attics. Then buy sturdy wall instrument hangers, making sure to screw them into studs. Or you could use molly bolts to make sure the hangers keep your instruments safe. Hang instruments in rows, or stagger them across a wall in a zigzag pattern. Just keep them out of direct sunlight (watch for skylights), and gently remove dust from them regularly.
Woodwind & brass instruments
I wouldn’t display my high-quality flute, clarinet, oboe, trombone, or saxophone out of its case where it could get knocked about. Temperature and humidity changes can affect the finish on woodwind instruments. They can also tarnish brass instruments like horns. Bumping instruments not only leaves marks—dents affect the sound of an instrument. A well-worn but still cool-looking tuba, sax, or trumpet, though? Those would look fantastic on top of a bookcase.
Instruments like kotos & dulcimers
Flat stringed instruments like dulcimers, zithers, and kotos, and percussion instruments like xylophones just beg to be shown off. Display musical instruments like these on a coffee table in the middle of your living room. If that means they’ll get bumped or caught up in clutter, they’re best placed on their own on a table or bookcase against a wall. They also look lovely on the shelf of a bookcase, or in a glass-fronted display case.
A collection of musical instruments would look amazing in a glass-topped display table. That way you can arrange instruments inside and keep them safe from dust and curious hands.
Instruments Meant Just for Display
If you have an old instrument of great sentimental importance (but not much musical value), it’s an ideal candidate for display. I also like to pick up old instruments at yard sales or at online auctions. You can pick up a well-loved but still attractive old flute, trumpet, or sax for as little as $10 to $20. Why not put a collection of old brass instruments on top of an armoire, or on a console table behind your sofa? Place an old piccolo on a wooden music stand. Drape an attractive shawl over your grand piano and rest a French horn on top. They’ll spark smiles.
Decorating with Sheet Music & Album Covers
While you’re displaying your instruments, how about decorating with the music you play on them as well? Vintage sheet music and album covers make stylish and inexpensive decor. You can decorate with music in the form of album covers or sheet music from thrift shops, garage sales or online auctions. Used bookstores often sell these things for just a few dollars apiece. Pop them in a set of matching frames and voila! Instant chic.
For more musically themed decorating inspiration, see my article Decorate with Music: Display What You Love.
Top Image: Hanging instruments | Fey Marin for Unsplash
