By Nora Knoepflmacher
When children leave home, many parents embrace new hobbies, more travel and more entertaining. But the lifestyle shift doesn't mean they're looking for a new house -- many are choosing to stay put.
The move rate among older Americans is low. In 2024, just 5.28% of Americans age 55 and older moved -- less than half the rate for the population overall, according to data from Realtor.com. (News Corp, parent of The Wall Street Journal, operates Realtor.com.)
Reflecting this trend, many are rethinking the homes they already live in. For those who design homes for a living, the empty nest can turn into a full-scale redesign.
Here, three designers offer distinct approaches, each reworking their existing space -- with the help of professional trade discounts -- to accommodate kid-free or grandparent lifestyles. The families embraced luxuries big and small, from adding square footage for an office and gym to installing a sensory-blocking shower and investing in premium linens.
A Top-to-Bottom Renovation
When Ramu and Uma Potarazu purchased a mid-1990s home in Rockville, Md., their main concerns were paying the mortgage and raising their 4 sons. That was 25 years ago. Now they are in their mid-60s and have nine grandchildren (and counting) -- seven of whom live within 2 miles of their home.
Rather than leave the 5-acre property, the couple decided to "right-size." Untouched since the '90s, they also wanted to revitalize a house that felt cramped, dark and dated.
With impromptu grandchild sleepovers, long visits from relatives in India and big plans for entertaining, the Potarazus set out to equip their home. They added a two-story rear addition, renovated existing spaces and redecorated each room.
For the interior design, they turned to a trusted source: their daughter-in-law, Liz Potarazu. "Even though on a day-to-day basis, there might be fewer people at home, the actual amount of people visiting the home actually increases as you get older," said Liz, principal of Potomac, Md.-based LP & Co.
The extension provided a smaller secondary kitchen for Uma, a retired homemaker and vegetarian, to prepare meat separately for her nonvegetarian family.
Knocking down a wall that formerly closed off the dining room opened up the primary kitchen -- ideal for the frequent family gatherings. The kitchen is now reoriented around a large porcelain island lined with stools that anchors activity when grandchildren visit.
Upstairs is Ramu's favorite part of the addition: his office and gym. Liz creatively built custom cabinetry into the roof eaves with pocket doors. Along with a standing desk, the room has his NordicTrack treadmill and Peloton bike. Floor-to-ceiling windows provide a view during work and workouts. "I get sunshine. I look outside. I look at my lawn. I look down to the pool. It's perfect," said Ramu, an engineer.
Right off the office is a multipurpose lounge. By day, it's a sitting area or space to take calls; by night, the custom Murphy bed can be lowered for visiting family or grandchildren.
Their children's bedrooms had remained largely untouched -- filled with sports trophies and posters from years past, Liz said. Those spaces were cleared out and refreshed for their next use.
Central to Liz's approach was honoring her in-law's Indian heritage. She incorporated jewel-toned accents -- deep purples and rich emerald greens -- and opted for brass and gold details throughout.
In the living room, the ceiling is coated in a gold floral wallpaper influenced by traditional Indian architecture. A pair of paintings the couple bought in India, depicting the builder of the Taj Mahal and his muse, hang in their original places.
Design Lessons
1. Don't Compromise
At this life stage, Ramu and Uma have the financial means to hire an expert and tailor the home to their current needs rather than try to find a new house that fits their exact specifications. "There's something about being able to give yourself exactly what you want," said Liz.
2. Grandchild-Proof With Style
In the family room, Liz dedicated two white credenzas for stashing toys. Performance velvets and other durable fabrics are featured throughout.
A Whole-Home Refresh
Last year, designer Christine Markatos Lowe, who is in her 50s, surveyed her 1928 Spanish Colonial she and her husband, Steve Lowe, purchased in 2010. An empty nest was imminent -- her son, Alexander, was already a sophomore at USC and her daughter, Catherine, was a high-school senior. "I looked around and thought, well, now is an opportunity to do a refresh," she said.
Markatos Lowe, founder of Christine Markatos Design, said she "gets hives" at the idea of a forever home but felt strongly it was important to stay put until her children graduated college so they would have a landing pad in between semesters. When they bought the house 16 years ago, it was designed around raising young children. Any aspirations around recovering a couch or replacing old throw pillows piled up alongside the clutter.
"As they say, the shoemaker's children never have any shoes. It isn't that different with the decorator," she said. Methodical and unsparing, she went through the house room-by-room, making a list of pieces that looked worn, spaces she was tired of and items that needed replacing. As she would for any client, she pared down the list, set a budget, and devised a detailed plan of attack. She declined to disclose how much she spent.
Unlike projects for her clients, this one was personal. "It was exhausting emotionally," she said. "It's very easy to edit people's homes but it's very different when it's your own home, you have attachments," she said.
High on the list was purging two decades of clutter. "The soccer balls, backpacks, 6,000 pairs of different sneakers that they outgrew, it's all gone," she said. Tackling her children's artwork was more sentimental. Narrowing it down to three folders of pieces, she plans to sort through it and select a handful to frame.
For now, she's kept her children's bedrooms but she updated them to reflect their next stage of life. She worked with her daughter to transform hers from a preteen space into one suited to an adult. They repainted and reupholstered furniture and added more mature accessories and lighting. She says the process was collaborative and meaningful, balancing nostalgia with change.
In the breakfast room, Markatos Lowe honed in on repurposing what she already owned rather than buying new pieces. She kept the round table, embracing its "lovely patina from years and years of use and abuse" but now likes to dress it with fancy linens and tablecloths.
To revitalize the breakfast chairs, she reupholstered them in a bright green fabric from Lake August and painted the legs and backrests white. "If things work and you love them, there are so many ways to make them feel new without having to buy a new piece of furniture," she said.
Another piece that got a refresh: the dining room's 1920s chandelier. She had the ebonized wood painted and gilded and added fun lamp shades with silk from Mood Fabrics in Los Angeles. Two jade-colored 1940s chinoiserie lamps found on online vintage marketplace Chairish were the big-ticket items for the room and added a pop of color. She also incorporated two vintage rattan chairs from William Layman to add variety.
When Alexander came home for the first time, he said: "Wow, Mom, it looks like we have a new house."
"Any thought of 'Do we need a new house?' or 'Do we need to do something different?' really went away. It was just like 'No, this is our house but now it's in its next phase,' " Markatos Lowe said.
Design Lessons
1. Go Big for Small SpacesMarkatos Lowe recommends overscale items, like the
4-foot-tall burlwood mirror from London-based company Trove she hung in
the petite mudroom. "You don't get to fit a lot of pieces in, so going
larger is really impactful," she said.
2. Vintage is Worth It"When you find something really special, buy it," she
said of secondhand pieces. The designer sourced some of her favorite
refresh items from antique shops and online vintage retailer Chairish.
A Hotel-Inspired Suite
Anne McDonald has a soft spot for well-planned floor plans and old houses. That's why the designer and her family of four settled into a compact 1920s craftsman bungalow six years ago. "I look to European living," said McDonald, who is fond of working on bungalows because of their petite 1.5-story structure. "They are so smart and efficient about their use of space."
The small upper story was key in McDonald's plans to "future-proof" her home for the next 10-year stage that they're entering. McDonald, 47, and her husband, Josh Zuehlke, 52, are staring down the barrel of an empty nest -- -- one son goes off to college next year and the other will follow soon after.
"We know that with the ups and downs of the economy and life in 2026, we can afford this house so we wanted to make it exactly what we want. We can put in these really high-end finishes and feel like we're living a little bit more luxuriously than you might think when you see the outside of this kind of humble home," she said.
Resisting the common urge to add square-footage and instead embracing the challenge of maintaining the space's original footprint, McDonald gutted the upstairs "down to the studs" and turned it into a "dreamy primary suite," giving her and Zuehlke a private retreat as they ease into empty nesting.
Drawing design inspiration from high-end boutique hotels like Manhattan's Greenwich Hotel, she went all in. "Ten years ago I would have been a little scared to use a really beautiful unlacquered brass or marble because it needs to be family friendly," she said. "I don't think I would have allowed myself that level of luxury."
Other indulgences include a custom Heir Looms mohair rug, sconces from Urban Electric Company and space-saving built-ins by Isla Porter.
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