how big of a grand piano can i purchase and put in my room??

[onesurfer1]

one of my rooms is 12feet x 15feet (365cmx460cm) with 10-foot ceilings (300CM).  It has two double door entry that i can leave open when i play if needed.  i can also install that sponge-recording-studio sound-proofing on the ceiling if i need to.  Hardwood floors but i'm putting (almost wall to wall) area rug in there, fabric curtains/drapery floor-to-ceiling on one entire wall (where the double doors are).  Only two club chairs and two side tables/lamps, armoire.

Can i put a 7 foot (215cm) piano in there???  I'm afraid even a 6'3" (190cm) would be too large.
Then again, I've seen a medium sized grand in the conservatory at USC Thornton of Music, and their rooms were so small that they crammed only two grands and two chairs and nothing else fit in there! (their walls were white cork tiles with holes...which is not an option for me...ugly).

THANK YOU in advance for your input!!!

[outin]

I have similar worries and about a similar size room...I personally have set my goal to about 168-180cm. Anything smaller would feel inadequate as a long term investment and anything bigger seems out of the question. But I am still not sure. I guess I will only know if it's the right choice after something finally arrives.

If I find a cheap used one of decent quality I might even try something small like 155cm, but I might regret it later because it's really not easy to get rid of grand pianos around here... The grand action is what I desperately need right now, but after some time I think the sound will become more and more important...

[hfmadopter]

My  6ft grand ( actually 5'11-3/4"), which is basically 182cm in a room 2 ft longer than yours but with 9 ft ceilings ( so really about the same volume of area ), with the top fully up, no sound treatment in the room, playing loud can really clock my ears. But, add tapestry, acoustic texturing to the walls and ceiling and it's not bad. And I'm not talking about acoustic tiles but just a textured surface vs flat sheet rock. Still no carpet,and a carpet really sucks up reverb. Even just an area rug added under the piano makes a difference.  Heck six people in the room makes a big difference. So changes happen fast, I'd do one at a time. Added to that is to play with the top down or up on the first peg really changes it up as well. I like the sound of my piano best on the lowest peg actually, always have ( the top is then up maybe 14")..

Now the real caveat , voicing on the piano. As the hammers get compacted ( I've owned my piano since the early 1980's so have lived this over a couple of times now), this increases harshness to unbearable, it actual is painful to the ears. But a piano can be voiced so soft as to be unbearable in the other direction, no volume, muffled tone..

So you have a lot of wiggle room with a lot of options.

I personally would have 0 use for a 7ft grand in this house unless it was the only piano in the world that had an action I liked coupled with a tone that made me melt. A Shigeru Kawai maybe , if I could afford one, maybe so, I could make it work ! But that is not the case , i am not affording one of those in this lifetime LOL. There are plenty of pianos out there with alluring tone and great action in the 6' range ( 182cm- ish) range. I played a Steinway S which is more or less 155 Cm, 5'1" I believe. Tone was good but action stiff. I didn't like the piano but not on tone, rather action as it was regulated anyway. It even had a decent bass for it's size, if it lacked it was in the way high register treble. Granted a bigger grand will generally have more harmonics going on ( Steinway M's can be beautiful sounding instruments). But 7 ft, to me, is not a magic number. If I ever shopped for a new piano my low limit would be 67" ( 170Cm). Just sayin.

[pvastola]

Personally, I would purchase the largest, most wonderful piano I could afford. Especially if this could be a long term or lifetime instrument. who knows? you could move and have a larger space sometime and wish you had a bigger piano. You could for now, employ some of the sound control measures you mentioned. I would start with the ceiling. then add some soft hangings or sound panels on the walls as needed.  An area rug will have effect also. Don't get it too dead in there tho. Then get that 6'8" to 7'6" baby and enjoy playing it.

[cynxing]

Hey OneSurfer,  have you bought your piano yet?  This one is still available, and from the sound of your handle you just might be in SoCal where this piano lives.  I know you sound done with older, more mature instruments that might possess more character than a piano that was born/built yesterday but take a look at this opportunity. 

 1915 Mahogany Steinway Model A for sale
   
Owned by a concert pianist. Has been in climate controlled piano storage since 2003.

This Mahogany Steinway 6'4" model "A" #117385 is 100 years old this year.  The cabinet is well preserved and has round, fluted legs.  Fully original parts.  The moving parts are worn out because the instrument was well used.  Hammers are worn flat, soundboard shows stress along the treble bridge but very little bridge rolling has occurred.  The ring time is excellent even though the strings are likely to be original and should be replaced.

This 1915 piano is in Southern California, where it was purchased in 1934. They stopped making this model in 1936.  Most of what we know about it came from an appraisal in 1995 by Bill Shull Piano Services.  He recommended rebuilding the action, fixed structure, and some minor refinish to the cabinet.  At that time he said it would be worth $6000, but if you put the repairs in it would be in the neighborhood of $18000.

We are seeking any interested buyers.  Photos available upon request.  Make an offer.

[richard black]

I've got a 6ft8 Bechstein in a room that's only about 12 by 11 feet, sloping ceiling rising from 7ft4 to 9ft. Sounds OK. I keep the lid of the piano completely closed (keeps dust out, too!) and put the desk on top of the lid.