This is at least the second time an upright piano has been shoved out of the room to be revamped in the name of design. Come on. Show us what to do with the piano. I'm not giving mine up, and it's not a baby grand, either.
Let's face it - pianos ARE difficult to handle in a design challenge. I'm in the process of doing a living room for some clients right now who have an upright piano that has to stay where it is. Fine - we're just bringing in all the other elements of the room that they want/need. A room HAS to be functional for the family that lives there or it's a complete waste. A couple years ago I had a client with a small living room AND a beautiful baby grand piano. Solution was to turn that room into a formal entertainment area - a couple of beautiful chairs, small sofa and a large wine credenza and it was all ready to go. Fortunately they had a large family room and a very open floor plan so the "entertainment room" is mostly used in conjunction w/ the rest of the downstairs living space to accommodate guests when they have a large cocktail party.
If you don't want to give up your piano, don't. Make the room work for the way you and your family actually live.
