Aesthetic Plans & Alternatives

(featured image credit: luxury-pianos.com)

(image from tomzgoods on ebay)

The aesthetic of my main project will be vintage and highly ornamental. I want my final product to look old and well-used. I will use antiquing painting techniques to imitate natural weathering and wear. I personally like this aesthetic because it emphasizes the history of the object, which I find beautiful.Since I’m making the actual piano myself, I will try to construct it from old, weathered wood and other materials to help jump-start the aging process. Many vintage pieces focus on the Arts and Crafts movement, where designs are intricate and handmade, which I want to replicate in whatever way I can.

(image from artparts.org)

Similar to the recent upcycling project, I will try to use materials that are donated or repurposed from other projects. I’ll likely stop by Art Parts again, and I may visit some lumber yards—even though my project won’t require a lot of material—just to find the best options. Of course, I could buy lumber from Home Depot and age it myself, but it would be cheaper, more eco-friendly, and more unique to find older, used wood. I’m committed to this aesthetic; however, it’s always fun to think about other options. It may also turn out that another aesthetic is better once I see it and think more deeply about it.

(image from ABTModern on Etsy)

One very different aesthetic is mid-century modern style. I love this aesthetic too, but I think my carpentry skills would limit what I could do with it because of the interesting angles and clean lines. Even if it weren’t for my construction abilities, I think I would still opt for the antique vintage aesthetic over mid-century. This is mostly because of the things I already own and have in my space that share a similar aesthetic. If I wanted to go for a mid-century aesthetic, I would have to change a lot about my current space. Maybe I will someday, but for now, I’m not planning to.

(image from schimmelpianos.com)

Another different aesthetic is minimalist modern. This is not at all my style, although I still respect it. If I opted for this minimalist aesthetic, I would probably need to find a way to hide the piano keys since they are naturally not very minimalist. Their shapes are inconsistent and don’t fit a strict minimalist look.I want my project to clearly be a piano that looks good no matter what, so this minimalist style is not the right choice for me. The construction of a toy piano in this aesthetic might be easier since all the lines are straight and there’s not much dimension, but I don’t want a simple project. I want a project that will challenge me and look great in the end.

Here are some sketches I did to more accurately show what I would do with each of these aesthetics. The top two are minimalist modern, where I tried to conceal as much of the piano as I could so it would just look like a white box when not being used. The last two are mid-century style, which I’m really into. I would incorporate some rattan and use lots of warm, clean wood tones. The rattan might even help with the acoustics. I’m almost on the verge of choosing this med-century aesthetic over my original vintage aesthetic, but for now, I just have to start working on something.

(image from Stephanie Williams on Pinterest)

While it’s valuable to consider alternative options, I often arrive at the same decision I had before exploring different versions. I will stick with my original antique vintage aesthetic and start working on sketches and plans for it.