Building a new home is a big step, and one for which you should prepare. These four big steps will smooth out the process.

A completely open floor plan is not the only way to achieve a clear line of sight — and in an older home with lots of small rooms, it may not be practical to completely transform the layout.

2. Give Employees A Way To Set Boundaries At Their Desk. Open-plan offices are not for everyone. You're not going to keep everyone happy, so the owner/entrepreneur is going to have to make that call.

Only floor plans have given my memories of movement a tangible form, a shape for the routine motions that made up my days. Maybe it sounds cold to replace depth and specificity with a diagram ...

Proposed floor plan for Seagram's Building, 12th-15th floors. Printed text, upper right: 375 / PARK AVENUE / Easterly blockfront, 52nd to 53rd streets / MIES VAN DER ROHE / PHILIP JOHNSON / Architects ...