Don't Hide it Away
- Details
- Published on 11 August 2012
Hope you're all enjoying the warm glow cast by the sunshine and the success of the Olympics. There is such a holiday mood in the air that it seems noone should be working at all at the moment. If you are working, I hope it is as rewarding as the job I was doing this week. I spent a very happy afternoon overseeing the implementation of a scheme for a playroom-cum-music room. It is so lovely to see imagined rooms made real. One detail of the scheme triggered the subject of this post, which is that of displaying musical instruments.
Most musical instruments are so attractive that it seems a shame to hide them away. I took this snap just after we'd hung the vintage articulated wall light (to light up the sheet music for the pianist) and the three beautiful violins:

I seem to have quite a few clients with musical talent and often get to use guitars, especially in the bedrooms of young people. I was particularly pleased with how well this guitar went with the other elements - can't claim to have chosen the desk etc. with the guitar in mind, any guitar would've worked, but it does coordinate uncannily well:

The guitar in this image packs a great punch in this young boy's room. I also like it because, as in the images above, it really injects something of the personality of the user into the room. The image below is taken from:
http://www.housetohome.co.uk/childrens-room/picture/modern-boys-bedroom A good site for getting ideas and a taste of a variety of interiors magazines.

The display and positioning of this cello is really rather clever: The box base is very simple but looks secure and though this is quite a large instrument. by positioning it next to the window it doesn't feel like it impinges too much on the room. The chair and the music stand are also lovely pieces - music stands so often are rather beautiful.
This image was taken from http://www.houzz.com/ A site that covers such a variety of styles it is bound to offer something of interest but should be used with care for that reason too. Definitely worth a look though.

One of the trickiest instruments to accommodate is the drum kit. I'm just grappling with one at the moment. In the absence of a free spacious corner in a room, I think the set up below is worth considering: Have the drums (or percussion instruments) next to the wall and have the drummer sit facing the wall. This means that you don't have to leave room for the drummer to get in behind the kit and you could also keep and use the stool in another part of the room when it is not in use. I would seriously consider adding a wall mirror here so the drummer can see the room rather than just the wall. A device often employed for piano players in bars.
The image below was taken from http://remodelista.com/ An excellent source for interiors inspiration. The designer is Annabelle Selldorf:
http://remodelista.com/posts/childrens-rooms-sophisticated-boys-rooms

Finally, if you or your child get fed up with a rather attractive drum kit you may like to put it to good use. This is such a simple and clever idea by designer Rebekah Zaveloff:
http://www.houzz.com/%2BRebekah-%2B-Zaveloff-%2Bdrum

As for pianos, well that is a whole other chapter. I think I'll leave those for another post.
Triciax