8 Decorating Ideas From A Music Room

Not everyone has a music room or plays an instrument, but most people enjoy music! It’s relatable, and there’s something for everyone. Kind of like my music room decor.

This music room is chock-full of ideas you can riff on in your own home.

Like an eighth note, which is played quite quickly, this blog post will be a quick read.

Here are 8 decorating ideas from a music room that anyone can use anywhere in their home.

Music Room Decor Ideas #1: Make a statement with something bold and unexpected.

Do I have a piano harp – the guts of a piano – hanging on my wall? Why, yes. Yes, I do.

It’s sculptural-looking to me, and not something you’re going to see hanging in everyone’s home.

To be fair, this could be because most married people aren’t crazy enough to test their relationship and narrowly defy death by dismantling a piano and hanging a several-hundred-pound metal object on their wall. Thankfully, it all worked out. Our marriage, too.

Music Room Decor Ideas #2: Display something period-appropriate in your home. 

I don’t know what’s period-appropriate to a home built in the 1990s, but if you have the luxury of living in a home as old as mine, it’s fun to display something period-appropriate.

I have an antique console radio in our music room. I know for certain that in the early to mid-1900s, families would have gathered around a radio like this one to listen to news reports, a presidential address, or baseball games. It was their connection to the world. Wouldn’t they be shocked to see iPhones and Bluetooth speakers?

Music Room Decor Ideas #3: Hide tech in plain sight.

Speaking of the console radio, it isn’t just for show. It’s where I hide our router and modem.

Those big radios are completely hollow, so it serves my purpose of hiding our tech very well.

I’ve also used baskets, bins, trays, and console tables to hide the necessary elements of modern life in plain sight. Each situation is different, and sometimes it takes a little creativity, but it sure is nice not to have to look at techie stuff all the time.

Music Room Decor Ideas #4: Mix art styles.

The art in our music room ranges from actual instruments to landscape paintings to abstract art to hand-embroidery. One of the paintings is of my daughter, so it’s wildly personal and sentimental. The clock on the piano was a gift from my piano teacher. Both the bench and the step stool were DIY creations.

I tend to think that if you display what you love – however eclectic – that somehow, it will all work out looks-wise. At a minimum, it’s going to make you happy and be a reflection of your personality and lived experience.

Isn’t that how the decor in our homes should be?

Music Room Decor Ideas #5: Create a double-take moment.

Is that a real bird sitting on the harp? Nope, but I made you look.

It might even give us something to talk about when we exhaust how the weather is treating us.

Music Room Decor Ideas #6: Introduce greenery.

I used to think I couldn’t keep plants alive.

I was right.

But that wasn’t a permanent state of being. Eventually, I got better, mainly due to picking one day of the week to always do the watering.

Plants always add life to a room – literally. They also do an excellent job of filling in an empty corner. Can’t thank them enough for both of those things.

Music Room Decor Ideas #7: Display what you regularly use. 

In a kitchen, you keep your coffeepot out on the counter because you use it daily or maybe all day long. No one thinks twice about seeing your coffeepot when they come to visit.

If you are an avid reader, you might have books displayed in various rooms in your house. You don’t usually hide books behind closed doors.

I treat my music books like I would a coffee pot or a stack of novels. I keep them out where I have easy access to them. If you visit, it’s an open invitation to sit down and play my piano. For the guitar players who visit, there are also guitar picks waiting at the ready in a shallow dish on the radio.

Hopefully, these things convey that this is a space that’s well-loved and well-used, and not as fussy as it might initially appear.

P.S. I also have 3 harmonicas and a recorder, but I hide those for obvious reasons. My hospitality and eardrums have limits.

Music Room Decor Ideas #8: Have high and low lighting.

I know people who do not like to use their overhead lighting. Sometimes, it’s referred to as “the big light,” and it is way too aggressive a lighting situation for their mental well-being.

I get that. I was that person.

And then I turned 45.

It was all downhill after that point.

Since aging is so rude, I need multiple lighting sources for practical reasons…to see what I’m doing. That’s it. So, I’m going to need a myriad of lighting options to cover any number of scenarios.

The overhead light. Task lights. Table lamps. Personal headlamp. Night light. Phone flashlight.

If your eyes haven’t failed you yet, start gathering your high and low lighting. You can use it to create a warm, cozy ambiance now. When you need to light your house up like a surgical operating room just to figure out if that sock is blue or black, you’ll be ready for that too. You’re welcome.

Long story short, I’ve been working on decorating this music room for six years. I’m still not done. I’ll probably never be done.

Part of the fun, for me, is the slow evolution of each of the spaces in my home.

If you can enjoy and appreciate your home in each of its iterations, it makes life so much sweeter. Don’t wait until it is finished or perfect to fill it with music, laughter, and people, because those things bring out the true melody of life.

Do you play an instrument? How do you feel about quirky decor?  Do you slow decorate, too? Help me keep the conversation going. Comments really do make my day. You can comment on this blog post, email me here, or reach out via direct message on Instagram or Facebook.

Happy Decorating!

P.S. The only thing that you can buy in this room is the green table lamp. It’s rechargeable and comes in green, amber, or clear glass.

P.P.S. I say this with affection, the ol’ ball and chain in our house is the piano.

Do you know how many of our housing decisions have revolved around where we would put the piano? All of them. There have been a couple of times, like when we lived overseas, that the piano went into storage.

If you weren’t aware, there’s a special type of climate-controlled storage facility just for pianos. They wrap the pianos up in blankets and let them have a long nap next to their piano friends. It’s like a piano daycare. Sounds kind of nice, actually.

If you want tips for moving and storing a piano, read this blog post.

If you’re still reading, THANK YOU for being here. I appreciate you. If you’d like another blog post to read, try one of these.

Reclaimed Kitchen Bar From an Old Piano

Taking Apart a Piano is Hard

DIY Piano Hammer Christmas Tree

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