Our piano-less home now has a piano again... Douglas has a beautiful black Kawai grand piano that he bought in his single days, but it resides at his studio. I've missed hearing him play when he's at home. We found this FREE 1922 Mason & Hamlin upright piano on Craigslist in a town nearby, just the brand and year that Douglas wanted (he was looking for pre-1929, when the company merged with Aeolian and subsequently went down in quality). Isn't God good? We're getting it tuned later this week. I can't wait to start up the home concerts again!
I'm a 31-year-old Christian. My hope is to live a quiet life filled with home and hearth, family and friends, loveliness and simplicity. I'm wife to Douglas (married October 2008) and mother to Edmund (born November 2009), Lavinia (born May 2012), and Rosamund (born February 2014).
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that's lovely! Clearly your guy knows a thing or two about pianos! We had to get rid of our gorgeous Schiller cabinet grand because it could not be tuned without expensive work. We got a nice bland piano for $40, but it doesn't give the dining room the same air that our Schiller did. . .
ReplyDeleteThanks, Margo -- yes, he certainly knows much more than me, but I'm glad to learn from him! It's too bad you had to get rid of your Schiller. Did you sell it or give it away? I believe we got ours for free because most people are more interested in looks than quality (and also because the previous owners didn't want to deal with moving it themselves). Ours certainly looks old (which I don't mind at all -- it fits right in with the era of our house!) and is a bit scuffed and dinged up. As you can see many of the key faces have come off, but the previous owner saved them so I imagine we'll glue them back on soon. Anyway, I like "old" and "well-loved" so I don't even mind the imperfections! And Douglas was right, it does have an extremely beautiful tone!
DeleteWe gave it to my brother and his wife, and they are turning it into a desk. My husband did contact a piano restorer, but our Schiller was rather far gone. Here's a post I did about it: http://thriftathome.blogspot.com/2013/09/the-new-piano.html
DeleteI bet those old keys on your piano are ivory! Isn't that amazing?!
Yay! I am so exited for you all! I can't wait till I can come out and Douglas play it! :)
ReplyDeleteHow about a family concert? :)
DeleteThat would be very fun! Hopefully we can all get out there (at the same time) soon! :)
DeleteWhat a marvelous find! Even down to the right year (and free, to boot). I'm sure you'll enjoy the live music again!
ReplyDeleteBlessings,
Shannon
Thanks, Shannon! I've been inspired by some of your recent posts to look for things on Craigslist I wouldn't otherwise think about... it's certainly a great place to find deals.
DeleteThat's wonderful!! A 1922 piano!!
ReplyDeleteThanks, isn't it great?
DeleteKawai piano's are great!! Your piano looks lovely.
ReplyDeleteThanks! We had a Kawai in my house growing up and that's what I practiced on for my two whole years of piano lessons. ;-) Glad my husband stuck with his lessons longer than I did...
DeleteWhen we moved our baby grand 20 years ago our tuner said that it needed to sit and adapt to it's new surroundings for a few months. He said that tuning it right away would be a waste of money and that it would not hold. So anyway, you may want to check on having your new to you blessing tuned too soon.
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