The piano… it wasn’t just an acoustic instrument but also a piece of furniture in many homes. Something that you proudly placed in the living room, perhaps because it said something about you or your family, perhaps to ensure that it was played on often.
Is there a synthesizer equivalent for this? A synth that you want to place on a stand in your living room because it’s beautiful to look at and inspires you to just play?
I could do that with a Minimoog or a Theremin.
Piano 
Modular
Nah, no synth represents tradition, history and music in the way a piano does. At a point not so long ago in history, it brought the family all together at once to enjoy music.
There are furniture synths, but there is no synth that brings families together. Closest is maybe the electric organ.
Dear god 
Let’s include Wurlitzer then 
I feel that some “wall of modular” rigs I see are like furniture, but not quite in the same way as a living room piano.
I agree that there isn’t really a synth that will be generally recognizable as a symbol of status and cultural tradition to the same degree as having a piano in the house. Even the most impressive modular system will just be an esoteric jumble of knobs and wires to the uninitiated.
But if we’re talking about a single instrument, still in production, that could be a showpiece in a room, maybe the Analog Solutions Colossus?
Nice!
I think the closest would be the Prophet-5.
Would be a pretty sweet household if you gathered the kids around the Prophet 5 each Christmas.
Life goals:
(It’s actually my favourite guilty pleasure xmas pop song)
Prophet 5
Minimoog
Synclavier
Soma Terra
A tuba.
Seeing the price tag of the Prophet 5, it seems like the synth counterpart of the living room piano is very expensive. Following this direction myself, I’d cast a vote for the Moog One 16. What a beautiful piece.
But would anyone really want to put something that delicate (after all) in a living room with kids running around? After all, accidents happen. I feel like with an acoustic piano, you’re more likely to just get a dent on a part of the wooden case, which you can live with and even repair. But I can’t imagine the horror of spilling a glass of water over a Moog One 16.
I was typing what you wrote re the Moog One. It is absolutely beautiful and self contained not requiring a studio, perfect as a living room centerpiece.
I wonder why beautiful synths are so expensive. Would be nice with something in the price range of a Minifreak or Hydrasynth but built in a timeless design with wood and metal parts and less of the plastic ugliness, especially the glossy parts.
I mean, who would ever want to take one of these outside of their very dark and shielded studio environment?
