Shadowing Practice: Every Way Emma Chamberlain Has Updated Her Home | Architectural Digest - Learn English Speaking with YouTube
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Hey, Dee.
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Hey, Dee.
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Welcome back to my house.
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I've changed a few things around here.
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I'll show you around.
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I feel like over the last few years,
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I've been slowly but surely filling in the blanks in this house.
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I feel like that's the only way to do it.
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When you first move in,
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you don't really know what you need, what should go where.
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It's just, it's like that sort of comes to you as you live in a space.
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And so over time, I've been sort of figuring out what I am missing.
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For example, this little sponge holder.
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Are you kidding?
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This is so cute, but I didn't know I needed this when I first moved in here,
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but I was like kind of sick of this vibe.
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I didn't like that.
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And a lot the pieces i've collected since moving in here
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have been like flea market finds vintage store finds it's kind of a journey
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and that's why i'm
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so happy you're back like look you think this is just
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for show there's sweet treats in there this is my sweet treat jar i like to find myself through
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being eclectic mixing and matching i love so many different things from so many different eras 60s,
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70s, 80s, 90s, medieval times, who knows?
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But when I sort of tapped into that,
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I found that it magically had a cohesion because the through line was me.
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I do love birds.
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Kind of like favorite category of animal, I would say.
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I just love them.
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I also love Granny Smith apples.
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This is not like, oh,
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this is here because it's cute.
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Like I will eat all of these apples.
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It really, that's actually true.
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Cute little cart.
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Close your eyes, it's a summer day.
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And I'm pouring a glass of lemonade for you in this cute little apple cup.
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Just imagine how you'd feel if that happened to you.
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I think you'd enjoy it.
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I do really like playful items.
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I'm trying to strike a balance of beauty,
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perhaps elegance in the home with playfulness because that's who I am as a person as well.
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I enjoy a playfulness, but I also enjoy like,
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yeah, maybe a little bit of elegance perhaps.
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Hey, yeah, I'd say that, why not?
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Another apple thing.
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And it smells a little bit like apples,
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as if it doesn't already smell like apples enough in here because there's,
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I think, 200 apples in my kitchen right now.
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This area of my house has changed so much.
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It's random, but the entryway flow is so important.
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Like, you need to be able to throw the keys down,
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throw the glasses down, lightly place the glasses on a cute little pigeon glasses holder.
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Like, you need to be able to throw the keys down throw the glasses down
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lightly place the glasses on a cute little pigeon glasses holder
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like there's something about just being able to walk in
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and just throw stuff down but have it also be cute that's
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so important also too new addition new addition a little shoe
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bench imagine me putting my little shoes on right here on this cute little bench
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and then there's actually nothing in this drawer right now
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but this is a new piece for my collection with west elm it's really exciting i'm putting pieces
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that i made into this home it's kind of a magical moment we're kind of breaking it in together
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and to be back with you and we're here
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and now there's pieces in my home
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that i got to design with west dom
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because they're way better at the actual design stuff than me i just have cute little ideas and I'm like,
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hey, can you do that?
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And they were like, yeah,
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to 90% and then to 10% they were like,
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Emma, that's like physically impossible.
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This cutesy little pillow has a lot of little fun things on it,
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but a lot of these things are also tattoos that I have.
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An apple, apple, we have lighthouse,
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there's a lighthouse, a little cottage,
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that's the house I grew up in.
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We have birds.
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I have a bird.
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They're special to me, but I think hopefully they can find meaning to others as well.
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I also am obsessed with buttons.
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I have a button tattooed on my arm.
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Button inspired.
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Button on a candle.
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Smells exactly like buttons.
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You won't believe it.
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Oh my God.
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My favorite pillow ever.
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Button pillow.
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Also, button tray.
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It's like, does Emma...
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have any other things that she likes.
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There's also button coasters.
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This room is particularly button-y.
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Like I promise the buttons will sort of like phase out.
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I have to talk about what I'm most excited about in here,
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which is my new, wait for it,
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wait for it, game table.
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Boom, where was this the first time?
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If I'm being completely honest,
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when we were like designing this room,
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I was like, it's gonna be really gorgeous,
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but I'm never gonna use it.
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This room is all about gathering, being social.
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There's no TV in here.
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It's interesting, like I never would have thought of putting a table in a living room.
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It was actually my mom's idea.
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She saw this table from the West Elm Collection and was like,
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that needs to go in your living room and it needs to be a game table.
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This little area has changed up a bit.
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And to be honest, I love this piece so much,
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but I don't necessarily have the place for it for its like intended purpose.
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So I was like, how can I make it make sense?
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Well, it's now my game dresser.
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I had like a hosting phase a few years ago,
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kind of fell out of it.
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We're bringing it back, 2026, Emma's hosting game night.
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This painting is actually somewhat of a family heirloom that I just received.
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And it's of these dudes playing games.
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And so just like all really fit.
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Speaking of art, I finally finished my gallery wall after years,
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actually it's not finished.
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There's still some gaps, but this is now like a complete collection.
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I will say though, the one piece that has been on this wall since day one and will be here probably forever,
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This is a piece that my dad did for this wall.
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It's just a blessing to have a dad who's an artist.
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There is a piece I painted on this wall, and it is bad.
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Here's a self-portrait.
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It's not great, but there's something kind of funny about it to me.
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And to be honest, I just needed something to hang here.
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Otherwise, I wouldn't have hung it up because it's really not that good.
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Aren't these cute, though?
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My cats are in here.
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So if you hear a little bit of meowing or hissing,
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because they like to play.
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Although it's like, is it playing if you guys are hissing?
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There he is.
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What's going on, big dog?
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All right.
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This room, the last time you were here,
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I had a different couch and it was a rental couch because I didn't have this couch yet.
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This is the couch I was always meant to have.
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It's kind of a relief to have you here.
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I'm like, no, you're seeing the truth.
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This is great for like a little movie night.
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I've played video games in here.
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And then there's little things like this.
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I don't know.
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Sometimes I'll see a little thing like this and I just have to have it.
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I also used to have a drum set in here.
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It was right in the middle of the room,
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as though I'm a full-time musician.
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No, I'm not.
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When I say I'm not very good at drums, I'm actually awful.
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I enjoy doing it anyway.
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There are still some guitars,
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because one day the music will flow out of me.
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I just don't know when.
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So I decided to turn this space into sort of half office, half hangout space.
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I like this room because it's very cozy and I work from home.
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To me, I was like,
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let's just make another spot to sit around on my laptop at.
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The other desk I have is in my podcast recording studio,
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which is a very boring room over there.
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We're not even going to look at that today because it's boring.
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And so now here's my new like real desk.
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There is nothing I can't do here.
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I journal, I've been journaling daily.
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I have been known to watercolor paint.
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You'll notice I do a lot of self portraits.
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Huge red flag about my personality.
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And every single time the proportions are very off.
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Also, I did make this.
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This is a little glasses thing.
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So I could also make things out of clay here too.
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It is weird how much art that I make that is just of me.
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I don't know why I do that.
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But anyway, if I talk to a therapist about it,
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I'll let you know.
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I know.
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She hates.
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She's not, she's more of a behind the scenes girl, you know?
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Now we're in my bedroom.
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So this ottoman is a new addition.
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I wanted something soft to have at the end of my bed.
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What I love about this piece is this little pocket.
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You can put a book,
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remote control for the TV.
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Like, I love little things like that.
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It's just this gorgeous mossy green color.
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I feel like the energy I'm trying to cultivate in my room,
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kind of like a soft mossy garden.
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It makes sense to me.
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You might look at my room and say,
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this is not a soft mossy garden.
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Because it's not.
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There's like pops of red.
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It doesn't quite feel like that.
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But to me, I don't know.
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It sort of feels outdoor to me.
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I love this basket.
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It's actually, if you look at it, it's another apple.
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So this I love.
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This is my new vanity.
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I am so excited about this.
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This is like the vanity that I wish I had when I was a kid.
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I have another vanity that has like all my makeup and all that stuff.
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This is more so my vanity for like,
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I want to sit down and I want to enjoy doing my skincare.
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I just want to soak it up.
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I want to enjoy it.
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I want to put on my little headband
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and I want to open all my little drawers and get out all my little skincare.
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And I want to do all my little things.
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I want to take out my earrings for the day,
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put them in this little tray.
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That's the energy.
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This is like, I actually have to put my earring back in.
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Because like, you know, okay, now we're back.
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Before, this area had a little tree and it had like a little table for a little while.
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Like it was more of just kind of a visual moment.
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And now this is such a special little corner for me.
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The home is sort of always a work in progress.
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in a way, it really is a relationship where over time you're learning how to work together.
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It's kind of the same thing with a home.
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You know, you're figuring out where you like to spend the most time,
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at what time the light shines through what window,
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and where it makes sense to have a desk or where it doesn't.
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Are you going to play the drums or was that just something you did when you were bored during COVID?
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You know, and then you figure these things out.
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Kind of letting the home grow with you.
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I think that's the sentiment.
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Well, thank you for stopping by.
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It was a joy to have you back.
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You're welcome anytime, but I don't think things are gonna change for a while.
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So maybe I'll see you in like three years.
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Cheers.
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Why practice speaking with this video?
Emma Chamberlain's video offers a unique opportunity for English learners to engage with authentic and relatable content. As she gives a tour of her updated home, she demonstrates natural language use in everyday contexts, providing a wealth of vocabulary and expressions related to home decor, personal tastes, and lifestyle. By practicing speaking with this video, learners can enhance their comprehension skills while also learning how to express their own preferences in a conversational tone. This engagement not only improves fluency but also builds confidence in using English in social settings.
Grammar & Expressions in Context
Throughout the video, several key phrases and grammatical structures stand out that are beneficial for learners:
- Present Continuous Tense: Emma uses the present continuous to describe ongoing actions, such as “I've been slowly but surely filling in the blanks.” This construction is great for learners to discuss current projects or activities.
- Descriptive Language: Phrases like “this little sponge holder” and “sweet treats jar” showcase how adjectives can enhance descriptions, making conversation more vivid and engaging.
- First Conditional: Expressions like “if that happened to you” reflect hypothetical scenarios, which can be useful for discussing dreams, plans, or wishes in English.
- Personal Opinions: Emma shares her views with phrases like “I do love birds,” which is useful for learners to articulate their personal preferences effectively.
Common Pronunciation Traps
In this video, there are a few pronunciation aspects and potential traps that English learners might encounter:
- Vowel Sounds: The word “apple” is repeated often; some learners might struggle with the short 'a' sound. Ensuring clarity on vowel pronunciation is vital for daily conversations.
- Connected Speech: Emma sometimes blends her words - for example, “kinda sick” can sound like ‘kinda-sick’ when spoken quickly. Practicing shadow speech can help you get used to these natural speech patterns.
- Intonation and Stress: Sentences like “this is not like, oh, this is here because it's cute” demonstrate how intonation can change meaning. Learners should pay attention to how emphasis is placed on certain words for conveying feelings.
By utilizing a shadowing app or participating in a shadowing site, learners can further develop their ability to mimic Emma’s speech patterns, making their practice more effective. Engaging in shadow speak can not only enhance speaking skills but can also lead to a deeper understanding of language use in context.
What is the Shadowing Technique?
Shadowing is a science-backed language learning technique originally developed for professional interpreter training and popularized by polyglot Dr. Alexander Arguelles. The method is simple but powerful: you listen to native English audio and immediately repeat it out loud — like a shadow following the speaker with just a 1–2 second delay. Unlike passive listening or grammar drills, shadowing forces your brain and mouth muscles to simultaneously process and reproduce real speech patterns. Research shows it significantly improves pronunciation accuracy, intonation, rhythm, connected speech, listening comprehension, and speaking fluency — making it one of the most effective methods for IELTS Speaking preparation and real-world English communication.
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