Can’t let your idea for an aquarium center island go, even though your architect’s told you it would take six months and six figures to fabricate? Are your frugal tendencies keeping you in front of your computer sourcing house parts for beyond super-cheap? Oregon Home asked two architects and two designers for a blueprint for better homeowner-design pro relations.

Have you left white sheets hanging in your living room’s picture windows because you can’t decide whether you should spring for custom shades, buy some off-the-shelf curtain panels or hire a home couture pro to whip up some luxe drapery? Oregon Home asked four draperymakers and a window coverings expert to detail what a well-dressed window looks like.

There’s a lot more to ending up with a quality roof than shopping for shingles and selecting the finish of your gutters. Oregon Home talked with four roofers about how to go from “Honey, I think we have a leaky roof!” to “Those new architectural shingles really bump up the house’s curb appeal!” and about why you should leave the nail-gunning to the pros.

If the islands of your dreams harbor cooktops and prep sinks rather than ships, you may be primed for words of wisdom about kitchen center islands. Oregon Home talked with three kitchen designers and an architect about how to navigate through the choices you need to make – height? width? shape? in-island appliances – to end up with a kitchen icon that cooks.

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.