EXTREME Makeover - the Pimp my Piano Edition!

Today was the long awaited reunion between me and my little piano! They took it away on April 8 and brought it back today. So a little over 3 months for the complete overhaul. But I do think that it was well worth the wait. A little background on my piano. This is the piano that I learned to play on in 1982. So it is about 27 years old (pushing antique status?) Definitely an heirloom! This piano moved once in Arkansas, then from Arkansas to Colorado and from Colorado to Texas. Poor little piano had enough! Next time we move we are crating this thing!

Here is my poor, pathetic little hooptie of a piano before. Please don't laugh or make fun of it. It triumphs in the end!






We drove down to see it on May 7th. They had it stripped down to the bare walnut wood:





We noticed that the piano actually has a beautiful wood grain pattern that was hidden by the original finish. From there we chose a stain and finish for the piano.

We visited on the 11th of June. I was completely awed by the transformation. But we realized that the keys really did look old and yellow. We opted to have them replace the keys. At the time they told us it would take an additional 7-14 days. For whatever reason it took an additional month, but still....totally worth it! Here is the finished piano in the shop (minus key replacement):



And here is the finished piano with brand new keys in my house! Now we have to get a decorative mirror to go over it. I also need a doily for the top so I can put my piano lamp there. Of course the first thing I had to do was play it, although it was pretty out of tune. We are supposed to wait 4 weeks to have it tuned since it needs to acclimate. It has been through sprayers at the shop. This was a great Mother's Day gift and I am so incredibly happy to have it back in my home all restored and beautiful!