My default VS layout is to have two full screens: editor on the left screen where I often have a source file and its tests open side by side and on the right screen - the source tree, the test runner, the output window, team explorer etc.
Wait... how?
If you have 2012 or newer, just grab the item tab and pull it to another screen.[1] You can also rearrange the tabs within a window to have for example, several files open side by side.