Piano Upcycle: Milk Paint Transformed Our Old Piano!

When our entertainment center started literally falling apart, my husband and I began to search for something old and sturdy second-hand that we could upcycle into a cute and unique tv stand. I love old furniture! It’s rock solid and lasts forever! After several nights cruising Pinterest, I realized that people were using old pianos for all kinds of upcycled purposes and an idea was born. I talked my husband into letting me try to find an old upright piano with the intention of using it as a one-of-a-kind tv stand. (Talk about a conversation piece!) I still think that this would have been an amazing idea, but what happened instead was pretty awesome too…

A very nice gentleman on marketplace answered my ad with a piano that was not only in playing condition, but free! I couldn’t bear the thought of tearing apart a piano that was in playing condition, so now I had to decide to either stick with the original plan, which meant searching for another piano, or embrace the idea of adding a playable piano to our home and teaching our son how to play. In the end, after thinking back on all the fond memories of when I played the piano as a child, I decided that I would love to add a working piano to our living room and give my son the same experience…so, a different kind of piano transformation began.

This blog post will be pretty short and sweet, but I’ll share with you our piano transformation step-by-step in photos. If you scroll down to the bottom of this post, you’ll see pics of the products that we used. Before starting our piano transformation, I found other blogs very helpful in building up my confidence. If you are thinking about painting your piano, I wanted to share our experience too so that you know that it’s not only doable, but very easy! I hope you enjoy it! And drop us a comment at the bottom if you have any questions!

Tip: During the sanding process, remember to brush wood dust away from the crevices and the keys. Also, several paint products say “no sanding required,” but I’m a huge fan of the prep work because I always like the results better.

***Tip: Light coats are the key here. Remember that you don’t want drips and leaks to go down into the crevices or keys.***

**To be honest, when the first coat of paint went on, I was nervous. I’d never used milk paint before. But keep scrolling and you’ll see the final product! It turned out beautiful!**

***Tip: Again, make sure to use light coats to prevent leaking and drips.***

***After about a week of having the piano painted but not sealed, I had several noticeable scratches in the paint. I highly recommend coating with poly to avoid this headache.***

Extra Thoughts: This was my first experience with milk paint and I’m torn, to be honest. I’m a huge fan of chalk paint. In review, I would say that the chalk paint requires fewer coats, goes on more evenly, and has the same final look, but some of that could be due to my inexperience with milk paint. The final result was beautiful, just more tedious and time-consuming.

***We found these piano key stickers on Amazon and they have been so helpful in teaching music since my little guy is only four.***

One Final Consideration: If you’re considering posting your own in search of ad for a used piano, I wanted to be completely honest about what I’ve learned. Even an “in great condition” piano will need to be tuned after moving (at least from what I’ve been told). Our piano needed a bit more work than that. We needed some strings replaced and a tuning. In all, it costs us about $250. There were actually $500 worth of repairs recommended, but we only did the basics. So, before you jump in, I wanted to share what we learned about the cost of piano repairs for even a free piano. I’m sure it will be very worth it in the end!