Robert Oshtaz designs unique residential and commercial buildings. The floating home he designed for Randy Fennell and Kazuyo Tojo on the Willamette River seems to be part of the water. A house he designed for another client appears to echo the trees around it. We talked to him about his design process.

Managing Editor Vivian McInerny reminisces about living on a Portland houseboat in the late 70's.

Floating homes range from fancy to funky, but their allure is constant. Check out additional photos of all three floating homes from our June/July 2011 cover story below.

Musician, writer, actress, and co-creator of Portlandia Carrie Brownstein takes us inside her home.

What’s fire-engine red, has wheels and is utterly fantasy inducing? No, not a sleek Euro sports car but the Don Vardo, a 7-by-10-foot mobile structure with French doors, a tiny cedar deck, radiant-heat cork floors and hemlock walls.

A 1920s farmhouse in Hood River Valley is recycled into a new home that blends naturally into its surroundings.

Floating homes can be fancy or funky, but residents all share a passion for being on the water.

Hot trends, cool stuff, big ideas, little wonders.

Like many people living in Craftsman homes, bicycle commuters Marti Frank and Lev Tsypin discovered what they gained in architectural charm they lost in convenient bike storage. "We have no driveway or garage,” says Tsypin of their Southeast Portland home. “We just had a makeshift, awkward bike area in the back.”

Aurora Glass near Eugene produces home products made entirely of recycled window glass.

Good design looks effortless. It rarely is. Ask anyone who has tried to create a cool mid-century look only to end up with a hot mess of mishmash. Getting the right color, texture, lighting and proportions within four walls is a balancing act. The Hotel Modera lobby in downtown Portland strikes that balance with a look that is pulled together without being too matchy-matchy.

Ingredients for an easy summer soiree.