📙 Part 2: Describe a room you really like in another person's home

You should say: where it is, what it is like, what you can do in it, and explain why you really like it.

This episode's vocabulary

To stand out (phrasal verb) - to be very noticeable.

Centrepiece (noun) - an item, issue, etc. intended to be a focus of attention.

Setup (noun) - the way in which something, especially an organization or equipment, is organized, planned, or arranged.

To dim (verb) - make or become less bright or distinct.

Symmetrical (adj.) - made up of exactly similar parts facing each other or around an axis; showing symmetry.

To accommodate (verb) - fit in with the wishes or needs of.

Chaise longue (noun) - a sofa with a backrest at only one end.

To sit (verb) - to be in a particular position.

Soulless (adj.) - showing no human influence or qualities.

Host (noun) - a person who receives or entertains other people as guests.

Functionality (noun) - the quality of being suited to serve a purpose well; practicality.

Well-planned (adj.) - suitably devised or drafted in advance to ensure success.

Flattering (adj.) - full of praise and compliments.

Questions and Answers

R: I mean, my friend Rob has a wonderful home, but if I had to pick one room in particular that really stands out, it would probably be his living room. The centrepiece is like this widescreen television, which is absolutely massive, and it's also supported by this sound bar system, which is connected to the TV electronically. I think it's via Bluetooth or something, but I'm not very good with these things. And on either side of that setup, there are two smart lamps which can be dimmed and brightened as required. And then there are two mini olive trees as well, on either side of those which keep it all nice and symmetrical. And then opposite that side of the room is this kind of L-shaped couch, which is extremely comfortable and can accommodate about four or five people at a time. There's a chaise longue next to that, if anyone wants to lie down, while they relax too. And that's very useful after a long day, probably because you can just lie there instead of sitting. And sat between all of that is this very low coffee table where you can put your drinks or some snacks. I suppose it goes without saying that the thing people do there the most frequently is watch TV and listen to music, which sounds a bit soulless, but since Rob is such a good host, it's actually quite fun to sit there and just watch something while making the occasional remark on what's going on. As always, it's more about the company than what's actually there itself. However, I still quite like that room. It's a nice example of style and functionality working well together, and a really understated and well-planned out way. If I hadn't seen it, I think my own living room might look a lot different since I took a lot of inspiration from the design, but, hopefully, that's quite flattering to hear.

M: And what about your friends? Do they like this room?

R: I haven't heard any complaints about it.

Discussion

M: Hey, Rory, thank you very much for your story! So dear listener, you should have a room that you really like. Maybe you can imagine a room from your, I don't know, favourite hotel. And imagine that it's your friend's house, maybe your parents' house, I don't know, somewhere. Or maybe, you know, Jason Statham's house.

R: There's a theme here. Why have you suddenly taken such a liking to Jason Statham?

M: I don't know. Well, I've always enjoyed his films, so... And we talked about extreme activities and, well, who is super extreme? Jason. There we go. Rory told us about his friend Rob and his wonderful home. And Rory, Rob lives in a house, right? Not a flat.

R: No, he lives in an apartment. It's just on the ground floor.

M: A good start is if I had to pick one room, One room in particular, it would be his living room. So second conditional, if I had to pick. Pick is choose. If I had to choose one room in particular, it would be his bedroom or living room or kitchen or dining room or toilets, bathroom, I don't know...

R: The toilet.

M: Yeah, my favourite room is toilet. Maybe a pink toilet with golden toilet paper.

R: And where have you seen this toilet?

M: No. Only in pictures, I think, online. Yeah. And this room could stand out. Stand out because it's unusual. So it like, it stands out from other ordinary rooms...

R: You notice it more easily than the others.

M: Yeah, I notice it more easily than the other room. And then, dear listener, you need specific vocabulary to describe the room, furniture, the objects you can find in the room. Rory started with the centerpiece.

R: Yes, but that's... The centerpiece is, well, I mean, I'm using it to mean the thing that you really notice and what the room sort of geared towards. And that's definitely the big TV.

M: So you enter the room and you see a wide screen television, which is absolutely massive. So this is a centerpiece. And the super sound system, which is connected to the TV. There are two smart lamps. Oh, you tell them to switch on the light, and they do it? Like, hey, lamps, light!

R: Well you can or you could just remote control them from your phone.

M: Nice. So the light could be dimmed. Dimmed? Like when you make the light less bright, you dim the light, or you brighten, or the lamps.

R: That just makes the light lower or higher.

M: There are two mini olive trees. Like trees inside the flat? Like trees like, like real trees?

R: Yeah, at least I think they're olive trees. But either way, they look quite nice.

M: Wow. But they are like alive, like real.

R: Yes.

M: Wow, nice. Opposite that side of the room is something else. You see? So we use prepositions. Like opposite, or to the left, to the right, in the centre, or you can say in front of that side of the room is a couch, or is a bed, or kind of to the left of the TV is a bed, an L shaped couch. A couch, like a sofa, but it has this L shape. It looks like an L. L? You know, like love.

R: Yes, it's got two sides instead of, well, two sides of places to sit, rather than just one.

M: Yeah, this couch is extremely comfortable. About the furniture we use comfortable. This armchair is comfortable. And this couch, or sofa can accommodate four or five people at a time. So four or five people can sit on this couch at a time. Or there is a king-size bed, it can accommodate five people on the same bed at a time, and then Rory, you said, what is...

R: Oh, a chaise longue is kind of chair. Gosh, it's really difficult to describe. It's like a long chair, I suppose, and you lie down on it rather than sit on it.

M: A reclining chair or a deck chair. Yeah. So dear listener, just Google. Google a reclining chair. But Rory is using a specific word to mean this particular chair, which you also should do. So you can say like a chaise longue sofa or a reclining chair. Then Rory said, sat between it all is a low coffee table where you can put your drink. Rory, why did you use like, set between it all? What is this sat?

R: Oh, sat just means placed, or put between it all, or positioned.

M: Yeah, so a coffee table is between the sofa and the chaise longue. Rob is a very good host. So it's his house. He welcomes people into his home. He's a good host. He takes care of you, and you can say that his room is very comfortable. It's quite fun to just sit and watch some good television in a comfortable environment, pleasant environment. I quite like that room, or that's my favourite room ever. That's an amazing place, and you can add that it's a nice example of style and comfort. It's a nice example of style and functionally working together.

R: Functionality.

M: Functionality, yeah. Functionality, meaning that everything's is practical. Right?

R: Well, it's usefulness, yes. So the same idea.

M: And you can say that I took inspiration for the design of my house from Rob.

R: Or from the design of this house.

M: Yeah. Or it's, it's my inspiration for my own design. Yeah, Rory, what helped you to organize this answer?

R: Well, having a good friend with a nice house, it's always helpful. But I think I pretty much followed the prompt again. I talked about where it is, it's in my friend's house. And then I described what it's like by describing a position of things and what you can see and do there, which is part of talking about what you can do there. And then I talked about why I liked it. It's a nice example of this. So I wouldn't say I like it, because. I just say it's a nice example of this, and then talk about, what would I, what I would have done if I hadn't, or what might have happened if I hadn't seen it.

M: Super. So dear listener, thank you very much for listening. And make sure you know the room that you want to talk about. You can talk about your own room, but just say that, well, it's my best friend's room, and use a couple of words like coffee table, an L-shaped couch, sofa, chaise longue, a reclining chair. Google some interesting words for furniture, right? Maybe... What are other good words for furniture that we need that are kind of like interesting?

R: Ah, fold-out table.

M: Standing lamp or something... This, this...

R: Yeah. No overhead lighting.

M: Ooh...

R: Ooh... A fireplace is nice.

M: A fireplace. If you don't have fire, just imagine. You can imagine your ideal room.

R: Imagine fire.

M: Yeah, imagine fire. French windows, a beautiful balcony, you know? Yeah. Or you can talk about a bathroom with a bath made out of gold. Yeah. You can, you can say anything, dear listener. So, you know, imagine your ideal room.

R: Go to IKEA and find some furniture that you like the look of.

M: Oh yes, go to the IKEA's website and check out the names for different thingies that you want to have in this room.

R: I went to IKEA a few weeks ago. There were so many ideas. I love it.

M: Sweet. Like you need three five words for furniture. Okay? And we'll get back to you in our next episode about rooms and homes in general. Bye!

R: Bye!

Make sure to subscribe to our social media to see some of the “behind the scenes” stuff:

Our Instagram: bit.ly/instagramswi

Our Telegram: bit.ly/telegramswi