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In the sentence:

The main space contained several pieces of furniture, such as some tables, several cabinets, and a grand piano.

is it ok to refer to include a grand piano in the enumeration of furniture? I am not sure what the boundaries of furniture are, and whether pianist may take offence at this.

Yellow
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    Yes, in this example, the piano is a piece of furniture. – GEdgar May 07 '16 at 17:46
  • You really have a choice. It depends if you want to emphasise that one of the items of furniture is a piano. If, for example, you are instructing a removals company, you may wish to say a piano and some furniture just so they get the message that they have to shift a piano. But you could equally say some furniture, including a grand piano. – WS2 May 07 '16 at 18:39
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    As a musician, I (and other like-minded people) have referred to pianos owned by those who rarely or never play them as "just furniture", and my intention is to criticize the ownership of such an amazing instrument for primarily cosmetic purposes. – Todd Wilcox May 08 '16 at 04:49
  • One extra word to put a little distance between the piano and the furniture label might help to avoid offending @Todd Wilcox and myself. i.e. "The main space contained several pieces of furniture, such as some tables, several cabinets, and also a grand piano." People can parse that either way. – Niall Cosgrove May 08 '16 at 13:22
  • @ToddWilcox still, in this case, that piano is "just furniture", but your piano is both an amazing instrument and also a nice piece of furniture as well (and it also may be a heirloom, an antique, and a bunch of other things at the same time). – Peteris May 08 '16 at 13:46
  • Counter argument: Are guitars furnishings? I think not. – Niall Cosgrove May 08 '16 at 14:00

4 Answers4

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A piano is a well-known instrument, but given its size, form and the quality of its manufacture, it is generally considered also a "valuable" piece of furniture:

From chicagotribune.com:

  • A piano isn't simply a musical instrument. It's fine furniture, often the most expensive piece in a home. It becomes the focal point of whatever room it's in," says interior designer Elizabeth Pascoe, owner of Paris Flee Market in Mission, Kan. "The seating arrangement works around it."

enter image description here

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    The photo seems to contradict the quotation from the Tribune. The piano is stuck in corner by itself; the seating arrangement would make more sense if the piano weren't there. (Why are we seating people with their backs to the piano?) – David K May 08 '16 at 15:46
  • @David K - because it is mainly a piece of furniture in the context, it is a living room, not a concert hall. –  May 08 '16 at 16:00
  • The part about "fine furniture" is not contradicted by the photo. I was referring to the statements, "It becomes the focal point of whatever room it's in," and, "The seating arrangement works around it." Based on my recollection of rooms with pianos in them, these statements usually are true. They merely seemed not to apply to this particular room. In fact, aside from the slight incongruity between the photo and the quote from the Tribune, I think this is a fine answer. – David K May 08 '16 at 20:49
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I disagree with the currently accepted answer : furnishings includes pieces too small to be furniture, such as curtains, possibly wall hangings or paintings and so on.

A piano is a musical instrument and a pianist may be insulted to see it considered merely "furniture". However in some times and societies, it has also been a normal and expected part of the furniture in a civilized household, whether or not anyone plays it regularly - or slightly pretentious if nobody does. Or more than slightly pretentious if it's a grand piano.

So, listing a piano as furniture may be a sly way of telling us something about the household, and not necessarily complimentary unless one of the characters actually has some musical talent.

The "Chicago Tribune" quote in another answer turns this notion on its head, suggesting that its role as furniture is even more important than its music - and perhaps for their audience, that might be so.

user_1818839
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    I don't think there is any doubt about the fact that a piano is an instrument, and that is not what OP is concerned about. The issue is if it can *also* be a piece of furniture, which, with all due respects to pianists, I think it is. Unlike other instruments (guitars, drums etc) a piano has the size, the form and the aesthetic of an important piece of furniture. –  May 07 '16 at 20:32
  • @Josh61 maybe my answer is unclear? I agree it is also furniture, but adding some background about what calling it furniture might imply. – user_1818839 May 07 '16 at 20:40
  • I agree with @BrianDrummond. To me (as a Brit), furnishings means just what Brian has said: curtains, paintings, maybe vases & other decorative items. Furniture generally resides on the floor: furnishings generally reside off the floor. Is there a British-American difference here? – TrevorD May 07 '16 at 22:53
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I think you want furnishings. Merriam-Webster gives

: an object that tends to increase comfort or utility; especially : an article of furniture for the interior of a building —usually used in plural

For example,

The main space contained several furnishings, such as some tables, several cabinets, and a grand piano.

or

The main space was furnished with tables, several cabinets, and a grand piano.

Elliott Frisch
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    See my comment under @BrianDrummond. I certainly would not call "tables, cabinets, and a piano" *furnishings. Furniture - yes; furnishings - no. – TrevorD May 07 '16 at 22:56
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    In the United States, you have furnishings (things that you take with you when you move) and fixtures (things that remain). – Elliott Frisch May 07 '16 at 23:16
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    We talk of 'fixtures & fittings' as things that would remain. But, as I said below, we would distinguish between 'furniture' & 'furnishings'. I wasn't previously aware of this AmE/BrE difference. – TrevorD May 07 '16 at 23:20
  • In addition to being "an article of furniture", would you agree that a piano, table, and/or cabinet tends to increase both the comfort and utility of the room it is in? – Elliott Frisch May 07 '16 at 23:25
  • Further investigation shows I may be wrong here! I had noted your quoted definition of furnishings, but had also noted you were using a US dictionary, so to that extent I discounted it. I've now checked a UK dictionary, and it actually concurs with yours. Maybe I'm getting confused with 'soft furnishings'. – TrevorD May 07 '16 at 23:35
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Like all musical instruments, piano's are versatile. Just put a doily on them: voila! they're furniture!

If you need to list them in an insurance record, you definitely want to list them as a musical instrument (probably an antique!).

However, if they are worn out or cannot be tuned, but big enough to sit on, or too big to carry conveniently, they are furniture by default. But if they can be conveniently carried, set on a mantle, or hung on a wall, they can't be called furniture since that would imply some sort of utilitarian capability. In this case they are surely 'foinashings'!

Kimball Johnson
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