ESL Podcast 310 - Shopping for Furniture

furniture - large things that are put inside one's home or office to make it more comfortable and/or easier to live or work in

Maude's bedroom has only three pieces of furniture: a bed, a small table, and one chair.

to do the trick - to meet one's need; to be good, fast, or big enough; to be satisfactory

Becky's bicycle made loud squeaks when she rode it, but putting a little bit of oil on the wheels did the trick, and now it doesn't make any noise at all.

to match - to have the same color and style so that something looks good next to something else

Does this shirt match these pants?

dining chair - a chair put next to a table and used to sit on while eating

Their dining chairs are very uncomfortable so they never spend very much time talking around the table after they finish eating.

dining table - a large table that holds plates, silverware, and food while people are eating

We like having dinner parties, so we have a large dining table that has room for 10 people.

hand-me-down - used; things that are used by another person and then given to oneself, because they can still be used, even though they aren't new

Todd wears hand-me-down clothes that used to belong to his older brothers.

dresser - a piece of furniture with drawers that are used to store folded clothing

I use the small dresser drawers for socks and underwear, and the large dresser drawers for pants, t-shirts, and sweaters.

nightstand - a small, short table that is placed next to a bed

Christophe keeps a small lamp, his favorite book, and a glass of water on his nightstand.

headboard - the large piece of wood that stands next to the wall and is attached to the end of the bed where one rests one's head

Danielle's parents bought her a new bed and put up a large wooden headboard with flowers painted on it.

wardrobe - a large piece of furniture that has doors that open so that clothes can be hung inside

Bjorn's room doesn't have a closet, so he bought a wardrobe where he can hang his suits.

bed - a piece of furniture that one sleeps on

We stayed in a hotel with very uncomfortable beds, so we weren't able to sleep well that night.

couch - a long, soft piece of furniture that is put in the living room for three or more people to sit on

Alicia didn't feel well, so she spent all afternoon sitting on the couch and watching TV.

love seat - a piece of soft furniture that is put in the living room for one person to sit on, or for two people to sit on very close to each other

Dana and her boyfriend like to sit on the love seat, so that they can be very close to each other.

coffee table - a long, short table that is placed in front of a couch or love seat

I set your cup of tea on the coffee table a few minutes ago. I hope it's not cold already.

side table - a small table that is placed at one end of a couch or love seat

Richard keeps interesting magazines on his side tables in the living room.

table lamp - a small lamp (light) that is placed on a table, usually next to a couch or bed

Ita keeps a table lamp on the nightstand next to her bed, so that she can read before she falls asleep.

floor lamp - a tall lamp (light) that rests on the floor and reaches toward the ceiling

This room doesn't have any lights built into the ceiling, so we bought a few floor lamps to provide light.

to entertain - to invite other people to one's house to eat, drink, and have fun together

Martha likes to entertain, so she often invites people over to eat dinner at her house.