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.