Home buyers told us that walking through rooms to get to adjoining rooms was irksome-especially when normal traffic patterns route you through conversation areas or interrupt views such as constantly walking in front of the TV. Rather than being “wasted space”, hallways serve as important transition areas.

Take Fine Line Homes’ new Abilene house plan. Coming in from the garage, hard surface flooring takes you to either the kitchen/dining area or directly to the tall family room.

Abilene - 4 Bedroom Two Story House Plan - Second Floor If your destination is the powder bath, primary suite or second floor bedrooms, the walk-thru pocket office is designed to double as a passageway connecting with the front entryway which is, again, graced with hard surface flooring. Where hallways have been minimized in order to maximize usable space upstairs.

The kitchen design is another example of smoothing traffic flow. With its passageway into the rear foyer, this kitchen does not “dead-end” as so many layouts do. Not only does the island provide storage and eating bar functions, it too serves to provide dual entrances/exits to the other entertaining areas.

Consider also the primary suite. Long, uninterrupted walls provide numerous bedroom furniture arrangement options. A single door into the bathroom and then the bathroom connection into the closet-prized for quiet when you’re getting ready and your spouse is still sleeping-further evidences this home’s appreciation for traffic flow.