Hannah Beckett
Repurposing Pianos
You have a beautiful, old ornate piano that has been in the family for about 100 years. It sounds terrible. The bass is thumpy, the high treble sounds like wood hitting metal, and middle C won't stay in tune.Â
"I'm so sorry, in order for your piano to actually sound like a piano again, it needs to be completely rebuilt. I don't usually recommend rebuilding if you have an upright piano. It's very expensive, and if you want to play the piano, you're better off buying a new instrument," I say.
Bad day.Â
Unfortunately, like all things, pianos have a limited life-span. If you have a strong sentimental attachment to your piano, or recoil at the thought of taking a beautiful instrument to the dump, here's a few ideas to repurpose your instrument:
1. The Wine Bar!Â
If you have some power tools, a dad with lots of time on his hands, and a sister with some artistic skills, you might try converting that old upright into an entertainment conversation starter!
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2. The TV Stand
Large pianos can also be good entertainment centers for your unusually large TV.
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3. The Computer Desk
This one is a good option for smaller console and spinet pianos, and is much more simple than the wine bar.Â

 Unfortunately, I can claim no credit for these repurposed pianos. They were all my dad's projects with pianos I had on hand.Â