Dan & Phil Part 69: our cherry blossom

[alittledizzy]

For anyone not wanting to watch Caspar Lee's whole video:

[hello9217]

Idk I guess my poor ass just cannot fathom people renting two flats and using one only to film/work in. Like renting an office space I understand, a lot of youtubers do it, but a whole flat just seems so ridiculous to me especially when they only need like three rooms to film in (dan, phil, and gaming.) Also phil's filming room is so damn small- I would think that he would have a bigger room option if he wanted. Yes ik that phil gave the bigger room to gaming but I would think that there would have been a master bedroom that would have fit better. So yeah the two flat thing is just really hard to wrap my head around.
And thanks dizzy for posting the dan part! I did not want to watch the whole video.

[flarequake]

Good point, I wonder how much it costs to rent an office space instead. Thing is, they need the kitchen, even if they only bake twice a year they need the basics while they’re there, and bedroom, and the bathroom and slounge have been in a few videos too, so maybe they’re using enough of it to make it worth it? And prefer the privacy and convenience of it being close by if it’s in the same building? And to have hallways and all to look like a real flat for their home-style filming.

[Kimship]

I still think IF it's "two" flats, they're actually rented as a single flat with one of them acting as, what we generally call in the States, a "mother-in-law-suite". So, a smaller apartment in a larger dwelling space(house or condo or whatever) that is connected to the main space(and maybe also outside), but has all the normal amenities(bathroom, bedroom, kitchen or kitchenette). Generally used for a widowed mom(in-law) to come and live with the family, but still provide some separation and independence.

[blackdenim]

Good point, I wonder how much it costs to rent an office space instead. Thing is, they need the kitchen, even if they only bake twice a year they need the basics while they’re there, and bedroom, and the bathroom and slounge have been in a few videos too, so maybe they’re using enough of it to make it worth it? And prefer the privacy and convenience of it being close by if it’s in the same building? And to have hallways and all to look like a real flat for their home-style filming.

(I try so hard not to weigh in on 2 flat discourse but... I CAN'T STOP MYSELF)

I think an office space with everything they needed would honestly be more expensive than a flat - at least in a central-ish area in London - or maybe just similar enough in price to make it not worth it. Unless they wanted to be in a coworking space, which they obviously don't, since they like their privacy so much.

And I think that's another big part of it: they want somewhere totally self contained and private. Somewhere they can walk to from their house without going outside so they're not spotted coming and going too much. If they were commuting in any sense of the word it'd be way easier for fans to bump into them and eventually someone would put 2+2 together and work out where they worked (or lived... which has apparently happened anyway so maybe this point is moot)

EDIT: I just realised I said the exact same as you haha.

[lilabet]

I still think IF it's "two" flats, they're actually rented as a single flat with one of them acting as, what we generally call in the States, a "mother-in-law-suite". So, a smaller apartment in a larger dwelling space(house or condo or whatever) that is connected to the main space(and maybe also outside), but has all the normal amenities(bathroom, bedroom, kitchen or kitchenette). Generally used for a widowed mom(in-law) to come and live with the family, but still provide some separation and independence.

I agree actually. There are so many places we haven't seen though so the layout really could be anything. Although they can write off a whole lot as business expenses

[neverneverland]

I don't usually actually make posts, but I haven't seen anyone bring this up and I thought it might be worth mentioning / interesting for those who didn't notice it in the video!

In the new video, when they're showing the where they might stand paper drawings (starting about 10:05), you can see a few captions for the row below what they're focusing on/pointing to. I'm interested to hear if anyone has any thoughts on what this could be (since some of you are supersleuths and pick up on tiny things that I never could)

Probably large photos / idk if this might be considered a slight spoiler for the show?

Getting Real / Conclusion


Awards Show (all I can think of is maybe something to do with the BONCAS moment? I cannot think what else could be an awards show but some of the things they're planning for seem a bit out of left field so who knows)

[ratlad]

it'd make sense for a second flat since it would probably have enough rooms for both of them to film in
one for phil
one for dan
and one for the gaming channel
I don't think one entire flat would have that many rooms + moon room.
i guess it could be like an office/work space in the same building.

[onceinaugust]

I don't usually actually make posts, but I haven't seen anyone bring this up and I thought it might be worth mentioning / interesting for those who didn't notice it in the video!

In the new video, when they're showing the where they might stand paper drawings (starting about 10:05), you can see a few captions for the row below what they're focusing on/pointing to. I'm interested to hear if anyone has any thoughts on what this could be (since some of you are supersleuths and pick up on tiny things that I never could)

Probably large photos / idk if this might be considered a slight spoiler for the show?

Getting Real / Conclusion


Awards Show (all I can think of is maybe something to do with the BONCAS moment? I cannot think what else could be an awards show but some of the things they're planning for seem a bit out of left field so who knows)

The Awards show one makes sense since there was a trophy in the background of a bunch of shots in the video. And given that the stage diagram for it is after the conclusion, maybe that's how they end the show? Giving awards to themselves? Or maybe that's something else people get to submit.

[hello9217]

it'd make sense for a second flat since it would probably have enough rooms for both of them to film in
one for phil
one for dan
and one for the gaming channel
I don't think one entire flat would have that many rooms + moon room.
i guess it could be like an office/work space in the same building.

I mean their last space had almost that many rooms. The only difference is that this one has the moon room and since it's a larger space that makes since to me. I can get on board with the mother in-law suite attached to their flat. Besides just having one flat, this theory makes the most since to me.

[sonicgreen]

Just wanted to weigh-in on a tiny detail of flat discorse. The pigeon fest/slounge patio has the same flooring as what looked to be a balcony/second patio? (when phil is crouched in the formal lounge with his crispy plant, you can see the flooring through the window). Are those the same patio “upstairs”?

[autumnhearth]

Just wanted to weigh-in on a tiny detail of flat discorse. The pigeon fest/slounge patio has the same flooring as what looked to be a balcony/second patio? (when phil is crouched in the formal lounge with his crispy plant, you can see the flooring through the window). Are those the same patio “upstairs”?

The red Japanese maple (where pigeon fest was) seems to be outside the upstairs lounge, while the no longer blooming cherry blossom tree appears to be outside the baking kitchen and slounge (where the snow ball selfie incident took place. More plants there and orange tiles match up). The decking does look similar, but I haven’t closely examined or anything.

[malday]

I mean their last space had almost that many rooms. The only difference is that this one has the moon room and since it's a larger space that makes since to me. I can get on board with the mother in-law suite attached to their flat. Besides just having one flat, this theory makes the most since to me.

This place already seems to have double the rooms their old one did (two kitchens, two lounges, x bathrooms), just from what they showed in skits in various videos. and that's excluding the rooms they probably don't even film in?

The large number of rooms plus the strong difference in interior finishings is what makes the idea of two apartments make sense.
The only disagreement i see people are really having is whether the two are connected or not internally.

[greenergrass]

I was rewatching the week in the life video, and I noticed at 12:20ish there's a sign in the background (by dil's head) that says 'Dan & Phil's live stream studio". Have we seen that before? Did someone just make that for them as a fun gift? Did they used to put the sign up when they were livestreaming gaming videos or something?

[sonicgreen]

I was rewatching the week in the life video, and I noticed at 12:20ish there's a sign in the background (by dil's head) that says 'Dan & Phil's live stream studio". Have we seen that before? Did someone just make that for them as a fun gift? Did they used to put the sign up when they were livestreaming gaming videos or something?

Its not new! Heres a screencap from “I killed my houseplant!”. It looks like its a reference to their Brit awards streams?

[phantastically-avg]

The two flats theory always made sense to me. The flats have very different looks and feels, and they clearly wanted more privacy in the lives, and this would give them that. It's not just Phil's cupboard, Dan's desk and the gaming room. By having two flats it gave them a clutter free area for their baking videos (that looks better than the glimpse we've seen of their other kitchen), and a large lounge space when they need more room to film. Given we saw a printer in Dan's filming space photo he posted when he was setting it up, I'd imagine that the glass door room may double up as a general office for work stuff for them too (like their old gaming room originally used to be). Plus it means that they can keep all their filming gear, tripods and huge softbox lights away from their daily living area.

Plus, by having this filming apartment, they can set it up with filming in mind when it comes to decoration and nicknacks, and don't have to worry about personal photos or things they don't want us to see having to be hidden, or accidentally getting in the shot.

I don't think they planned to show their other flat at all really, but sometimes they decided the upstairs flat worked better. Plus the lighting in the upstairs living room is way better than the slounge, which always looks a little gloomy.

It was definitely two separate apartments at least at one point though, as there are two video/door buzzers, one in each flat (photos under the cut).

The layout of the flats in general I've pretty much got figured out, the only part that does confuse me is the gardens. I'd always assumed there was only one, off the filming flat, but it does look like there is one off the upstairs area too (that I think pigeonfest was filmed in). Given the upstairs lounge is at least 1 story up (as the moon room is on the floor below), if not more, I wonder if it's more of a terrace built on the roof below (aka the floors below are bigger).

whatdoiknow - I think I remember them saying they stole that from the Brit Awards.

[greenergrass]

I was rewatching the week in the life video, and I noticed at 12:20ish there's a sign in the background (by dil's head) that says 'Dan & Phil's live stream studio". Have we seen that before? Did someone just make that for them as a fun gift? Did they used to put the sign up when they were livestreaming gaming videos or something?

Its not new! Heres a screencap from “I killed my houseplant!”. It looks like its a reference to their Brit awards streams?

ah that makes sense, thanks!

[lesterchuu]

what if they are just trolling us and they actually got a proper nice size house jk

im still open to all theories honestly, i couldnt care less about the flat situation. all i care about is that ~domestic goodness~ that comes out of it.

[sparkle]

Hello this post is brought to you by insomnia. Like I should be asleep right now because I have to get up stupidly early to go to a doctors appointment, instead I got into our other bedroom just so I could try and unwind and sleep before 3am and stop fantasising about how much I want to buy a new denim jacket - despite having three.

With the two flat theory - if they had one flat for living and a second flat for filming could flat #2 be written off as a business expense?

Also I can't stop thinking about how 'Phil's Room' (if that is anyway the current bedroom of Phil Lester I will buy and eat a denim jacket) is becoming more and more of a set. They've literally put tatinof props in there, it couldn't be more of an obvious set if they tried.

[ladyknight1512]

@ladyknight1512 ive started becoming their fan late in my highschool years (2011~2012? yeah i was right smack dab into the no homo phase) and i can sort of understand where he is coming from. i definitely thought i was aware of many things and seemingly got my shit together when i was 16~17 but now im almost 24 i know that i MOST DEFINITELY DIDNT. also, as a fan, i was so much more of a vocal demon phannie back then. my tumblr was full of my shippy fanarts and headcanon text posts about their private lives - not that im dismissing people who do those things even now, im just stating how much more intrusive i was being. this coupled with dan being very vocal about being a separate person to phil, so everyone was just so jumpy and on their toes. i didnt care most of the time; i mean, at the back of my head i knew i had to treat them with respect because theyre real people but i never really knew how. its not until now that im actually working in an environment where im involved with families and children's lives as a daycare teacher that i understand how keeping privacy and professionalism is important.

so yeah, its a pretty interesting thought because i do certainly feel like them and the fanbase has "grown up" to some extent. at least, on my part.

Thanks for sharing your view! I guess everyone did weird, maybe not-so-great stuff as a teenager (I know I sure did) but it hits you differently when it's in response to something/someone like DnP and in such a massive online space as tumblr. Back in my day tumblr didn't exist - in fact, I think MySpace was only just becoming a thing in my last two years of high school - so when we did crazy stuff it was limited to the people we saw every day and the kids cool enough to get on the MySpace bandwagon early. haha

[lesterchuu]

@ladyknight1512 tumblr in a nutshell is just................chaotic evil lol. i mean, i made some friends there, ive learned so many things there, but its kind of a double edged sword. i actually took a break from being in the phandom for like a year or so because:

1) the culmination of the "no homo howell" era had everyone stressed and jumpy
2) tumblr culture in general was not good for my emotional health
3) so many changes in my life that i need to take care of like a new job and doing adult things like insurance and taxes

but hey i came back just in time for 20gayteen i guess so alls well that ends well lol

its interesting how the progress of internet and technology is changing everything. i feel like my generation and the few before me is in this weird cusp where we know how it was when the internet was a rarity. theres so many differences in how fandoms were before internet grew bigger and compared to fandoms now. im sure theres long ass essays out there but yeah i digress. its quite an interesting topic actually.

[KatjaZoe]

Not to detract from the current, more interesting conversation but I saw that Dan liked this post from Antoni from Queer Eye, which made me chuckle bc of the caption. Think he might relate?

Mods please help w the embed? I’m on mobile and I can’t make it work. Thank you

[Foofie]

Hey Y'all!

So I just recently started watching Dan and Phil, not sure why I ignored them for years, but I digress. I understand peoples obsession with them. They're adorable and hilarious. I haven't watched too many videos as I keep re watching the funny ones . As I was watching them though, their apartment wasn't making sense to me. Finding this forum reassures me that i'm not crazy Parts of the apartment look soo different from other parts. Since I haven't see as many videos, I have no idea what he moon room is. What is the moon room?? I think a filming apartment makes total sense as other youtubers have done something simliar with office spaces. Playing devils advocate, what makes everyone so sure they aren't living seperately in the two apartments? Again not seeing as many videos as my more experienced, wiser, fellow phans..phannies, Yeah not sure what "we" are called yet, I'm not sure what to think. So any tips or videos you want to enlighten me with, I'd be greatly appreciative. I'm just happy to not be the only one who didn't think the apartment flowed lol.

[Amiaw]

Welcome!

What is the moon room??

It is Dan's room. He has a mirror right above his bed that looks like the moon and that, combined with his "floating bed" and monochrome aesthetic, gives us what Dan calls his "moon room"

I think a filming apartment makes total sense as other youtubers have done something simliar with office spaces. Playing devils advocate, what makes everyone so sure they aren't living seperately in the two apartments?

I used to have some doubts about the living situation but imo because they've both said repeatedly that they live together and they have shared pictures where they are sick or in their pj's and are in the living flat, I believe that they spend the majority of their time there together.
They also have their shared possessions all over the flat and in liveshows they are both usually around making noise when the other is live.
The other thing that has me convinced is that they've tweeted after midnight and sometimes even after 1am saying that they are watching shows together (The Crown) or there are pictures (Fortnite, PJ and Sophie playing boardgames, etc.). They've also both said that they share Dan's Switch that is upstairs and they bought a shared Bluray player in January. Now these things could all be half-truths and they could live apart but with all of this It's easier to assume that they do live together.

[captainspacecoat]

Hey Y'all!
Since I haven't see as many videos, I have no idea what he moon room is. What is the moon room??

Welcome!! The moon room is 'Dan's room' - it's referred to as 'the moon room' because when they first moved in Dan said he'd decorated his room like the moon (the moon mirror above the bed, silver and grey furnishings etc).

Playing devils advocate, what makes everyone so sure they aren't living seperately in the two apartments?

The reason I believe they live together, regardless of whether or not they have two apartments, is because the living apartment is filled with a mixture of things they both own (games, books, DVDs, candles etc). Both Phil and Dan have tweeted pictures of them hanging out and relaxing in that upstairs living area, and it seems to me very obviously a shared space. The tiled areas of the house (presumably, the work apartment) seem comparably impersonal: the fridge in the kitchen is empty, it isn't filled with many knick-knacks that are identifiable as belonging to one or the other specifically etc. Also, given that I believe without a doubt that they're in a long-term relationship, it makes sense to me that they live together :')

As for whether it's one apartment or two, at the moment I'm 50/50. One thing I feel certain about is that both spaces are within the same building. It's either a large apartment contained over three or four floors, or it's two apartments in the same building. I think I lean toward the latter, and I could see them renting two apartments directly above each other, if that makes sense? So the living apartment is presumably directly above the work apartment. Just because I can't see them travelling more than like, a minute to get between apartments.

To me the balcony off the slounge seems more like a little courtyard or deck, and the lighting also makes it seem like it's a downstairs flat. The balcony off the upstairs area, meanwhile, is definitely a balcony and the skylight would also suggest that that space is upstairs. But I mean, who really knows, I can't make sense of the space for the life of me tbh.