The Bedroom
English Vocabulary
A bedside table, a night table, and a nightstand are all different names for a small table that is next to a bed.
This table normally has a lamp and an alarm clock on it. It is called an alarm clock because the clock makes a loud sound in the morning to wake you up. Sometimes the clock is called a clock radio, because it plays music from the radio instead of making a loud noise.
Also a box of tissues is often set on a nightstand. This way you can blow your nose at night before you go to sleep or other emergencies.
Sometimes people use their bedrooms for other things. They change the furniture depending on the time of day. A daybed, for example, is a bed at night, but becomes a sofa during the day with large pillows. The name for the large pillows on a sofa is a cushion. A convertible sofa has a mattress underneath that can be pulled out at night to sleep on. Some people also call it a sofa bed. A cot is small bed where babies sleep and is also used to describe a small temporary bed, something that you do not sleep on normally.
The bed is the most important piece of furniture in a bedroom. It has many different parts. The mattress is the large soft part of the bed where you sleep. Below the mattress is the box spring that holds the mattress up and makes the bed comfortable.
The pillow is where you put your head when you sleep. It is smaller than a cushion and is covered with a piece of cloth called a pillowcase. The pillowcase normally matches the sheets on the bed. There are two sheets for every bed. One is a fitted sheet that covers the mattress and has a piece of elastic around the edge. The other sheet is called the flat sheet, because it doesn't have any elastic. The person sleeps between the two sheets. On top of the sheets there are blankets that are thicker to keep you warm. The blanket on the very top is called a bedspread. It is a blanket that is made special for the size of the bed.
A dust ruffle, sometimes called a bed skirt, is a piece of fabric that hangs off the side of the bed, so that you cannot see what is underneath the mattress and box spring.
There are many different sizes for beds. The smallest one is called a twin bed; it is a bed only for one person, also called a single bed. Then there is a queen size bed, where two people can sleep. Bigger than that there is a king size bed.
A canopy bed is a fancy bed with four large posts (one at each corner of the bed) holding a piece of fabric high above the bed.
Kids like to sleep in bunk beds. Often there are two beds, one on top of the other.
A waterbed is when the mattress is filled with water instead of fabric. The bed moves with the person as he sleeps.
A special type of blanket is called a quilt. It is made by sewing many small pieces of cloth together. It was a traditional gift for families to give young couples on their wedding. Many woman would sew together to create a large quilt. It takes many hours of work to make a quilt.
A duvet is a set of two thick sheets sewn together on the ends. You put a type of blanket inside the duvet. This way you can change the look of the bed and change the thickness of the blankets on the bed depending on the season.
An electric blanket keep you extra warm by running electricity through it to create heat. Some people have a hot water bottle which is a container filled with hot water and sealed with a stopper.
A headboard is a large piece of wood or other material that goes above the bed against the wall.
A bureau is a large piece of furniture where people place their clothes that do not go in the closet or wardrobe which are the same thing through a part of the house. Sometimes there is also a small chest of drawers where people place their clean folded clothes and other small things like socks. Clothes that are not folded go on coat hangers in the closet or wardrobe. Another name for the chest of drawers is a dresser.
There are many different types of floor covering for bedrooms. Carpet is a common type that covers the floor from wall to wall with a soft fabric. Many people however have wood or tile floors and cover only a small part of the floor with small pieces of fabric called rugs.
Curtains hang on the wall near the window. They are large pieces of fabric that are used for decoration. Blinds are smaller, either made of wood or plastic, and are used to block out the light.
Sometimes rather than paint the walls people glue large pieces of paper to the walls with designs on it. This is called wallpaper.
Many times in the bedroom there is an area for the person to get ready in the morning. This area normally has a mirror, so that the person can see how beautiful he or she is. Near the mirror, on top of the dresser the person normally keeps a hairbrush or a comb, to fix their hair. Also on the dresser there is a small box that holds all different types of jewellery that a woman wears. She keeps earrings, necklaces and bracelets in her jewellery box.
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