A baby grand piano is an elegant piece of furniture that easily fits into the living rooms of many homes.

The smallest of the grand pianos, they start at just less than five feet to 5'2" and are measured from the front of the keyboard end to the back, with the lid closed.

• Where to Place

The signature shape of a baby grand give presence to a room and most likely will be the focal point, so determine where to position your piano in the room first before arranging the rest of the furniture.

Never place your baby grand piano near or against a working radiator, heat or ceiling vent.

Ideally the piano should not be placed on an outside wall that gets cold or near a window or door because of possible drafts.

Unless the conditions are extreme adhering to that rule may not be practical and still have a piano. You will need to use your judgment.

If you are not sure and an outside wall is the only option, insulate the air space by placing the piano 6" away from the wall.

• Make Room

The room you place your piano should be at least twice as long as the baby grand and the ceiling should not be taller than 12' for ideal sound.

Once the piano is placed, arranging your furniture for the enjoyment of listening as well as for conversation could be centered around the piano, or at the opposite end from where the piano sits.

Humidity plays an important role in the maintenance of the piano because it is made largely of wood. Keeping the temperature in the home at a constant and moderate level will help.

• Sound Off

Room acoustics are also factors that can affect the tone of the piano.

The sound we hear in large part is reverberated and reflected from the walls, floors, ceilings and windows. In a small room like a living room the reverberation time is short. The key is to find the right combination of sound reflecting (hard) surfaces and sound absorbers. (Soft surfaces)

Hardwood floors would be considered a good sound reflector. Balancing the sound with an area rug underneath will also help with the vibration, or using rubber caps under the legs will accomplish the same.

Draperies on the windows should be of the type that can draw to be able to adjust for the proper amount of sound absorption and diffuse any direct sunlight that could cause damage to the piano's finish and harm the tuning.

Upholstery is a useful sound absorber.

Experiment with wall hangings, tapestries and the placement of objects around the room that will absorb, reflect or scatter sound.

If your room is long and narrow positioning the piano in a corner may work better acoustically, otherwise the sound could just bounce back and forth on the two short parallel walls.

Remember it is easier to deaden sound with carpet, draperies or upholstered furniture than to make a room more "live" with reflective surfaces.

• Move It

A baby grand piano is extremely heavy to move. The tendency is to try and drag the piano especially if you just want to move it within the room. Please don't. It is best to hire professional movers when you need to move a piano. It is really easy to break a leg on a piano and with a baby grand it could be disastrous.

If you should decide to move the piano yourself get 3-5 strong men to gather around the circumference, not to lift it completely but to relieve stress on the legs.