Piano in Dinette Table
Okay, okay, it's not a piano... it's a MIDI keyboard :)
As part of their homeschooling program my kids need to be studying music, and the instruments they are both learning to play are the recorder (simple to transport) and the piano (um, not so easy). Prior to our departure I did some research and found a 49 key MIDI keyboard that is compact enough to travel with us. It has great feeling, velocity sensitive keys, it's USB powered, and can play on/through my iPad and from there into the TC's stereo speakers (or headphones).
The big challenge was finding a place in the TC to store it... Then I realized that the keyboard was about the same length as the dinette table and I decided to make a new tabletop with the keyboard built into it :C
These photos show the rest of the story...
This is the bare tabletop & doors before the storage boxes were attached and the Formica was applied. I used 3/4" 13-ply birch for the top and 3/8" 7-ply for the boxes.
This is the completed dinette table top installed in the TC. I was able to find Formica HPL that's a pretty good match with the existing wallpaper & upholstery.
Here you can see the keyboard & iPad in action. There's plenty of room for sheet music too.
The left side of the table top has storage for school supplies, and provides a great place for book-reading. There are internal adjustable dividers which drop into slots in the compartment.
This is the bottom of the tabletop showing the configuration of the boxes. It is designed to integrate with the existing Dream Dinette.
I used invisible hinges so that there are no protrusions above the top surface.
For times when the kids are working on projects (or meals) that might get messy I made a pair of LDPE cover sheets that are fitted to the tabletop. When not in use, these sheets are stored behind the dinette's back cushions.
Cheers,
-Mark
As part of their homeschooling program my kids need to be studying music, and the instruments they are both learning to play are the recorder (simple to transport) and the piano (um, not so easy). Prior to our departure I did some research and found a 49 key MIDI keyboard that is compact enough to travel with us. It has great feeling, velocity sensitive keys, it's USB powered, and can play on/through my iPad and from there into the TC's stereo speakers (or headphones).
The big challenge was finding a place in the TC to store it... Then I realized that the keyboard was about the same length as the dinette table and I decided to make a new tabletop with the keyboard built into it :C
These photos show the rest of the story...
This is the bare tabletop & doors before the storage boxes were attached and the Formica was applied. I used 3/4" 13-ply birch for the top and 3/8" 7-ply for the boxes.
This is the completed dinette table top installed in the TC. I was able to find Formica HPL that's a pretty good match with the existing wallpaper & upholstery.
Here you can see the keyboard & iPad in action. There's plenty of room for sheet music too.
The left side of the table top has storage for school supplies, and provides a great place for book-reading. There are internal adjustable dividers which drop into slots in the compartment.
This is the bottom of the tabletop showing the configuration of the boxes. It is designed to integrate with the existing Dream Dinette.
I used invisible hinges so that there are no protrusions above the top surface.
For times when the kids are working on projects (or meals) that might get messy I made a pair of LDPE cover sheets that are fitted to the tabletop. When not in use, these sheets are stored behind the dinette's back cushions.
Cheers,
-Mark
