Only a frenemy would put you up in a typical guest room. You know, the one with the lamp you can’t read by and the decades-old mattress with the ditchlike dip in the middle. How to be a Hostess with the Mostest to your overnight pals? Oregon Home asked two interior designers, a home-couture seamstress and a designer-builder for the elements you need to end up with a stylish retreat.

Got a small fortune wrapped up in vinyl records that you want to enjoy hearing throughout your house? Want to recharge yourself in your favorite outdoor living area enjoying both the sound of the birds and the bebop hits of the Bird? Well, remove your earbuds and listen up! Oregon Home asked three in-home audio professionals to fill us in on what makes for an audiophile’s dream residential sound system.

Are you a climbing-rose devotee who doesn’t see the buckling trellis for the pink wave of Cecile Brunner blooms drifting onto your roof? Or maybe you want to accent the front of your Craftsman with a wisteria that doesn’t look like the botanical comb-overs you see snaking across porches in many old neighborhoods. Oregon Home asked landscape designers for tips on growing plants up in style.

The mountain of boxes. The rolls of BubbleWrap.® The weeks of winnowing down your earthly goods and packing up what you’ve decided to keep. If you’ve got a move in your near future, chances are you’re dreading the time suck that awaits you. Oregon Home talked with four movers about how to best move your household from here to there without damaging your art or losing your marbles.

Are you a foodie who craves the taste of a just-off-the-vine cherry tomato? Or maybe you’re thinking about growing your own veggies to slash your grocery tab during these penny-pinching times? Oregon Home asked a longtime victory gardener, two landscape designers and a professional backyard farmer to detail how you can transform a typical backyard into your own private farmer’s market.

Only a tightwad would make do without a firescreen, right? Sadly, we’ve seen plenty of sparks flying toward unprotected spendy Oriental rugs. And don’t even get us started about the looks-like-a-double-oven trend of hanging a TV above the mantel. Oregon Home asked two interior designers, a fireplace resurfacer and two firescreen makers for tips to ensure that you end up with a fireplace that sizzles.

Whether you work out of a home office because your company encourages telecommuting or because you’re newly self-employed, you need to think about form and function when it comes to an at-home workspace. Oregon Home asked a sound engineer, two interior designers and a home designer for advice on what works once you leave working in a cube.

Oh, the joy! You’re finally going to demo your dated kitchen cabinets and invest in a roomful of custom wenge—or cherry or lyptus—doors and drawers. Oregon Home asked kitchen remodelers, custom cabinetmakers, a cabinet installer and a cabinet hardware maven to open up about how to ensure that your kitchen cabinets cook up the look—and function—you want.

A tiled shower room. A rainforest showerhead. A soaking tub you can truly hunker down in. His-and-her sinks. A heated travertine floor. If you’re steaming for a new master bathroom, these are undoubtedly some of the features you’re going to try to squeeze into the space. Oregon Home asked a tilesetter, two designers and an architect for ways to do the room right.

Maybe it’s time to spin the color wheel again and energize your too-neutral interiors. Before you start adding more swatches to your paint chip collection, note this expert advice. Oregon Home asked interior designers, color consultants and professional painters to draw on their work with clients to give you a formula for successfully picking colors that work.