📙 Part 2: Describe an ideal house or apartment

This episode's vocabulary

Block (noun) - a square group of buildings or houses with roads on each side.

Viable (adj.) - able to work as intended or able to succeed.

Handy (adj.) - useful or convenient.

Out and about (idiom) - active; doing the things you usually do.

Interior design (noun) - the art of planning the decoration of the inside of a building such as a house or office.

To envisage (verb) - to imagine or expect something in the future, especially something good.

Open-plan (adj.) - an open-plan room or building has few or no walls inside, so it is not divided into smaller rooms.

Setup (noun) - the way in which something is organized.

Cramped (adj.) - not having enough space or time.

To confine (verb) - to keep someone closed in a place, often by force.

To adjust (verb) - to change something slightly, especially to make it more correct, effective, or suitable.

Exterior (noun) - the outside part of something or someone.

Dilapidated (adj.) - old and in poor condition.

Colour scheme (noun) - a combination of colours that has been chosen for a particular room.

Explicit (adj.) - clear and exact.

Beyond/within the realm of possibility (idiom) - impossible/possible.

Outlandish (adj.) - strange and unusual and difficult to accept or like.

Questions and Answers

R: Well, this is a great task actually, because I've been thinking about buying a house and where it should be and all the design aspects involved. Ideally, I'd really like an apartment of my own as part of a larger block. Since that would really help me save on heating, especially if it's on the upper levels. Another reason for my choice is that I'd like to be close to the centre of town, and an apartment is pretty much the only economically viable option. Townhouses are, well, a fortune. And frankly, a complete waste of money if it's just me by myself. Plus, I have better access to transport links, which is really handy for getting out and about. As for the exact location, I think ultimately it will be in Dundee, since I'm used to, well, living here. And it's close to my friends and family. And, well, they would largely live nearby. I'd like it to have two bedrooms since even though I'd be living by myself, it would be great for my friends who live abroad to come and stay in. And I doubt they'd appreciate having to, well, just crash on a couch. I'm fine with that sort of thing. But I think it's nicer if you have your own room, to be honest. When it comes to interior design, I already mentioned the bedroom situation, but I envisage it having a lot of decorations, not just in terms of photographs and pictures, but also framed artefacts and objects that I've picked up over the years. I have this huge collection of shirts and scarves from around the world, that I think would look great on the walls, especially when combined with all the various bits and pieces I've been presented with. I'm hoping for a more open-plan setup, when it comes to the kitchen and living room. My friends have that sort of thing in their homes. And I think it makes the place feel less cramped and confined in addition to opening up opportunities for decoration and adjusting the furniture. As for the exterior, I'm not sure that's a big deal. Or at least it's not as big a deal as the inside. Of course, it shouldn't be dirty or dilapidated. But other than that, all I would ask for and expect is that there is a consistent external design and colour scheme. Which is up to the architects, but it doesn't seem to be asking too much. I think it's pretty much standard. I think I've talked a lot about why it's perfect for me. But to be more explicit, I find all these arrangements convenient, not outside the realm of possibility since I'm quite a reasonable person and I don't like anything too outlandish, like a pool or a massive fish tank or anything like that. Just a space where I can sleep and work and entertain myself and others with ease is enough. Hopefully, it's not asking too much.

M: And have you talked to other people about this one?

R: Not recently, no.

M: Thank you, Rory, for your story!

Discussion

M: Yes, dear listener, so your ideal house or apartment. An apartment, a flat, a house, could be anything, a cottage, a house, a villa, a tree house, a boat. You know, some people live on boats. You can talk about your current house where you're living now. Or you can imagine things. What it will look like in the future. Rory started it off with I've been thinking about buying a house. So I have been thinking. He started thinking in the past. He is now thinking. And, well, in the present he is still thinking. I've been thinking for some time about buying a house. Ideally, I'd really like an apartment of my own. Okay? We are talking about our ideal house. So you say ideally, I would like an apartment or a flat or a house or a cottage. Again, you can say whatever you want. I'd really like an apartment of my own. Or I'd really like my own apartment as part of a larger block. Block here, Rory, you mean a block of flats, right?

R: Yes, I think that's the only place that you would find an apartment block even.

M: And ideally, it would be on the upper levels. On the upper levels? On the upper floors. So I'd like to live on the 15th floor, or on the 25th floor. I'd like to be close to the centre of town. So I'd like an apartment in the centre of town. Or I'd like an apartment downtown. If I say that it's the only economically viable option. So what's economically viable?

R: It just means the one that you can afford without totally destroying your finances. So for me, I could afford to buy an apartment, not a townhouse, that would be millions of pounds. And I don't think that's worth me spending all of that money on just for a place to live. It doesn't make sense.

M: A townhouse is a fortune, which means a townhouse costs a lot of money. So, townhouses are a fortune, they are very expensive, and a complete waste of money. So you just waste all this money. Well, that's Rory's opinion. So you can afford a flat in the centre of town. In the centre? That's kind of... Usually, they're pretty expensive in the centre.

R: Well, close to the centre.

M: If I had a flat in the centre, I would have better access to transport links. So all the transportation, we call it transport links. A better, to have a better access to transport links. Which is really handy. Handy? Like useful for getting out and about. And again, we use it would be, because kind of ideally, I would have it in the future. But if you have it now you can use the present. Okay, now I have my ideal house, it is, it is handy. It will be in Dundee, it will be in Paris, it will be in Rome. Dear listener, you can just go wild and crazy and say, oh, my ideal house is in Rome, or is in Brazil, Rio de Janeiro, in I don't know where. I'm used to living there. It's my habit. I'm used to living there in Dundee, close to my friends, close to my family. I'd like to have two bedrooms, or three bedrooms, I'd like to have, I don't know, three rooms in my flat, I would be living there by myself, Future Continuous. An interesting tense form. Ideally, I'd be leaving there by myself. So in the future, a process in the future, I'd be living there by myself. It would be great for my friends who live abroad to come and stay. So it would be great. I'd have a couch to crash on. So if my friends come to visit, they can crash on my couch. Couc like a sofa. And crash on just they can sleep over, yeah?

R: Yeah.

M: It's nicer if you have your own room. Yeah? So a room only for you, your bedroom.

R: Or at least a room that's dedicated to you for that time that you're staying there.

M: When it comes to the interior design, I... So when it comes to the design, when it comes to the interior design of my place or of my flat, of my house.

R: The inside.

M: The inside, yeah, the inside of your house. And you used this envisage, envisage.

R: Envisage. It's like saying I imagine but about the future in particular.

M: Envisage is a formal word. C1 word, by the way, advanced. Yeah. So for example, I envisage. How do we use it in a sentence?

R: Well, if we talk about the interior design of a house, I envisage that it will be quite nice. If we talk about your dream job, then I envisage that it will be less stressful.

M: Very formal, dear listener, but it's possible to use it here. I envisage it having a lot of decorations. So envisage doing something, yeah? So I envisage that my house will have lots of decorations, photographs, pictures, and framed artefacts. Framed. Like a frame. We usually frame a photo and hang it on the wall. Artifacts, okay? So for example, elephant heads Rory will have.

R: No, just clubs and brain forks, very normal things.

M: I've picked up lots of items over the years. So you can say I've picked up some objects over the years. So my house will host and will have everything I've picked up. I have a huge collection of something. Even if you don't have a huge collection just say that you do, dear listener. Okay? Rory has a huge collection of shirts and scarves from around the world. So this would look great on the walls. Okay? So whatever you put there, it would look great on the walls. And I have, I will have various bits and pieces, you know, bits and pieces like all the stuff, decorations, photos, statuettes. I'm hoping for a more open-plan setup. So I'm hoping for a spacious kitchen. I'm hoping for something, for three rooms. A more open-plan setup. Like a studio do you mean?

R: I don't know. Is that what a studio is? Open plan for me just means it doesn't have many walls in it.

M: So when it comes to the kitchen and living room, I'd prefer a more open-plan setup. Setup the design of the walls, of the rooms. This makes the place feel less cramped. Dear listener, cramped is a band nine word. Which means what, Rory? Cramped.

R: It just means that everything is closed in and it feels like it's difficult to move around or you're trapped.

M: Yeah. Like, imagine a small house. Lots of things are in there. It doesn't have enough space. So a cramped room or a cramped house. Cramped, cramped. Make sure to use this when you talk about an apartment or a flat. You can say that now I have a cramped house. But I'm hoping for a spacious kitchen, for example, or an open-plan setup or a studio to make the place feel less cramped. And another adjective Rory has used is confined.

R: But that's almost the same thing. You're trapped in the space.

M: Confined. Like you can't keep children in a confined space. In a very kind of closed space. And an open plan set-up opens up opportunities for decoration and adjusting furniture. So you can adjust your furniture, kind of move your furniture?

R: Yes, but it could just be not necessarily moving around the room but just moving the position it's in, for example.

M: We talked about the interior design. And you can also mention the exterior. Okay? Exterior? What is outside your house or a flat? As for the exterior, I am not sure that this is a big thing. This is a big deal. It's not a big deal. As the inside. The inside of the house is far more important for Rory. So the exterior isn't as big a deal as the inside. So it's not as important as the inside of the house. It shouldn't be dirty or dilapidated. Another band nine adjective. Dilapidated.

R: But that just means in a terrible condition. Maybe even falling apart and dangerous.

M: Dilapidated. In poor condition. Old. For example, this, a dilapidated old car or a dilapidated hotel. Half destroyed. Like you look at it, at the walls, and they're kind of like, oh, they're half destroyed. You can also mention the colour scheme.

R: But the colour scheme is not just one colour. The colour scheme is how the colours interact with each other.

M: How can you use a colour scheme in a sentence about the exterior?

R: Well, for example, if it's made of sandstone, it would be different shades of red blended together. That's the colour scheme.

M: So what can I say? Like, I prefer a bright colour scheme for my house.

R: Yeah, that would be the colours working together. Yes. And it's been planned that way.

M: It would be perfect for me. Or a cottage by the sea would be perfect for me.

R: What kind of place would be perfect for you?

M: I think a cottage, yeah. Close to the mountains and the sea with a massive kitchen. Definitely a pool and jacuzzi with forest nearby. And a huge bed. I'm not too outlandish. You see, dear listener? Outlandish meaning?

R: It's like crazy. Or not standard.

M: Yeah. And I mentioned like a jacuzzi, a swimming pool, mountains and the sea. So it is a bit outlandish. But Rory isn't too outlandish. So he doesn't want a pool. He doesn't want a massive fish tank with sharks in his house. Well, he's Scottish, he just, he lives in a castle. So not too outlandish.

R: I do not live in a castle.

M: Outlandish, it's negative, dear listener, okay? So it's like strange, unusual. So for example, an outlandish hairstyle or outlandish clothes. So you can say, well, I don't like anything too outlandish. I don't need a pool or a massive fish tank. A fish tank is this tank, an aquarium where fish usually live. We call it a fish tank. So I need just a space where I can sleep, work, and entertain myself. Just an old Scottish castle would do with ghosts.

R: Why are the ghosts so important?

M: Well, because they are part of your culture. A part of Scotland, ghosts.

R: No, they are not part of Scotland.

M: And what kind of castle is it without ghosts? Come on...

R: A normal castle.

M: No. A proper castle should have ghosts in there. Right, dear listener? Yeah. All the stereotypes we have about Scotland, freedom, castles and ghosts. Right, dear listener, what helped you organize this answer, Rory?

R: Oh, God, well, again, going back to the task, like it's asking you what kind of accommodation is it? Well, I didn't say straight away, I talked about why the task was ideal. And then talked about the kind of accommodation. And why. And where it would be, and what it would look like on the inside and outside. So for a place, we need to think about the interior design on the exterior design. I said why it would be ideal throughout my answer. And I even said that towards the end, like I've already said this, but I will be more explicit. And then I found other words to say what I was talking about. So here, I find all these arrangements convenient. All these arrangements like the open plan and the closeness to the transport system. But this time, I didn't round off with my alternative. If I didn't, then... Because there's no need. I have one dream house.

M: Yeah. Thank you very much for listening! And we'll come back to you in speaking part three about accommodation in general. Bye!

R: Bye!

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