Are you ready to be jealous?!

Because I seriously have the prettiest piano ever. EVER.

So we got this piano back in January (I think) for FREE from a guy in Salt Lake. I found the piano on ksl.com and we immediately went to snatch it up before someone else did!! It was a 1903 Cable upright. The piano itself was HIDEOUS! But it was in good shape and played perfectly. And I have been dreaming of a red piano for YEARS, so the finish didn't matter to me too much. We brought her home.

And she sat in the family room. Just sat there. I mean, the kids banged around on her and I played her pretty often, but we never made her pretty. Poor girl.

We finally found a week with no (or just very few) plans to keep us from beautifying her. So we jumped on it! We rolled out the tarp and shoved her million pounds (she's a serious fatty) onto it and started to clean. She was super dusty in her back parts. Nasty cobwebs and debris were vacuumed out and then we scrubbed the rest of her with Murphey's Oil Soap.

Here she is. Waiting to be cleaned. I was not a fan of her finish, but I LOVE her bones.

Especially these columns. Even with that big scratched up corner. I just love all the details!

And she has gorgeous legs!! Just seriously banged up. She needed some cosmetic surgery for sure.

Once she was on the tarp and clean we sanded some of the rougher edges and re-cleaned her. Then it was time to prime!

One coat wasn't quite enough, so we added another. She was looking beautiful already! I told Jason that if this gray primer color had matched our decor I might have left her this way. She already looked beautiful!!

That first coat of red had me a little nervous. She was much brighter than I had anticipated, but we kept going.

After a few coats of red I sanded her edges and areas that might have shown more natural aging.

And then we started to stain. And I started to fall more and more in love with her.

Especially those details that had drawn me to her in the first place.

After just one good coat of poly she was finished! A whole new piece!

After a day of drying we moved her back against the wall and I couldn't stop staring!! She looked so different!! I couldn't believe I was looking at the same piano!

I know I'm no photographer. And colors don't really show as well on camera as they do in person. But trust me! She's gorgeous!! (And she's not so shiny as the pictures appear. I don't know what's going on there.) I can't wait to get her all decorated. The bench that came with her was mismatched and I keep debating on what to do with it. I'm considering upholstering the top and re-staining the rest to match, but the more contemporary lines don't match her curves. So I'm also considering donating her to DI and finding something else entirely. Any thoughts there?

So just a reminder. BEFORE:

AFTER:

Maybe a red piano isn't for everyone. I get that. But I'm completely smitten with her. And she brings me one step closer to being completely finished decorating my family room (which I can't wait to show you!!).

So let me have it! What do you think? Jealous? Or not for you? (Don't worry. I can take it!)