Tired of the patch of sod next to that helicab landing concrete square of a patio that rates as your backyard? Before you schlep home new plants from your favorite nursery, do a bit of planning. Oregon Home talked with a garden designer, a landscape architect, two landscapers and a water feature designer to get to the root of what makes for a backyard makeover success.

Technology has come a long way, but if your TV set is still atop a turn-of-the-century chest of drawers, you need to get with the program and rethink your media room needs. Oregon Home talked with a home theater specialist, a fine-furniture maker who’s built retractible TV cabinets, a designer, and an electrician about what to watch for when you set up a TV room.

Having a productive and successful relationship with the man or woman who's turning your sorry excuse of a kitchen into a dreamy cookspace requires a well-honed set of interpersonal-relationship tools. Oregon Home talked with two contractors, two architects and a homeowner who's been in Remodelingville about how to make the most of your partnership.

Yeah, you got a deal on that huge round window, but are you sure you want to muck up your turn-of-the-century house with it? Oregon Home talked with an architectural salvager, two restoration contractors, an architect and the executive director of the Architectural Heritage Center about how to balance remodeling with respect for your old house.