Downsizing the Upper Arlington Home, Moving Downtown

Why We Never Thought We’d Leave Upper Arlington, Ohio.

Every home tells a story. A home is never just about the house itself; it’s about the life lived inside it. It’s about your firstborn taking their first steps, school plays, cold and wet lacrosse games, warm neighborhood cookouts with the “fun” neighbors next door, and holiday traditions that somehow become family traditions. Others are about realizing life has changed, your children have grown up, and finding yourself asking questions you never expected to ask, like “what comes next?”

At Kitchen Kraft, we have lived in the same type of neighborhoods and worked with homeowners throughout Central Ohio for decades. While every family is different, many eventually find themselves standing at a similar crossroads. The home that once fit their lives perfectly may no longer support the lifestyle they see for the future. This story reflects many of the talks we have with homeowners today; the decisions they face are very real. Like many Upper Arlington families, maybe they never imagined they would leave, or at least that the time would come when it made more sense to.

Meet David and Susan. More than thirty years ago, David and Susan purchased a home in Upper Arlington. At the time, they were not thinking about retirement, downsizing, or what life might look like decades later. They were working hard and focusing on the important things, like helping their child learn to ride a bike so they could pass the “safety town” bike test and ride down the street to school.

Upper Arlington checked almost every box (other than the mortgage). There were evenings spent walking the neighborhood sidewalks we all love and weekends that seemed to revolve around parks, school activities, and community events. There were school concerts at Greensview Elementary School, lacrosse practice up at Hastings, and many other traditions that connected families across generations. There were neighbors who became lifelong friends and a community that always felt connected.

Like so many families in UA, David and Susan weren’t simply living in a house. They were part of something larger.

The Home That Served Them Well

When people talk about their favorite homes, they rarely start talking about square footage or their custom-built mudroom. Instead, they remember all these special moments.

For David and Susan, those moments seemed tied to every room in the house. There was the custom kitchen where homework was being completed while dinner was being made, or at least where homework was supposed to be completed. There were debates over why math changed from when they were kids, finishing the dreaded science fair board, and whatever project was due the next day that somehow nobody remembered to mention until the night before. There was the family room where Friday movie nights became a tradition after UA football Friday night, even if choosing the movie sometimes took longer than actually watching it. There was the dining room where Thanksgiving dinners stretched into the evening and doing the dishes somehow turned into karaoke night.

Outside, the gray Ohio sky and bare November trees reminded everyone winter was coming. Inside, the house was warm, crowded, and filled with laughter, second helpings, and plenty of places where everyone could talk, laugh, and enjoy time together. There was the backyard where graduation parties, summer cookouts, and countless home run derby games unfolded and might have even broken a garage door window or two.

Like many homeowners, they took pride in continually investing in the home. Every year brought another project, another improvement, another chapter in the story of the house. One year it was updating windows. Another year it was removing a load bearing wall to open up the kitchen to the living room. One of their favorite improvements was the addition of a beautiful architectural bronze bay window overlooking the backyard. It made the family room feel so much larger.

Over the years, the bronze developed a rich patina that seemed to change with the seasons and the light throughout the day. It became one of Susan’s favorite places in the home. From that bay window, she could watch her boys play and yes, sometimes fight in the backyard. Some of the things she watched included her boys shooting baskets on the backyard court whenever there wasn’t ice or snow on it. Neighborhood friends stopping by unannounced because that’s what we did before cell phones. Parents gathered on the patio during summer evenings while lightning bugs danced in the trees.

The best home improvements weren’t simply about increasing property value. They were about improving the way the family lived.

As the years passed, the house evolved right alongside their family. The garage somehow always contained smelly sports equipment, folding chairs, holiday decorations, and at least one mysterious item nobody could identify but nobody wanted to throw away just in case. The bedrooms remained full of life. One room might have been covered in sports posters while another was packed with school projects, trophies, and clothes that somehow never quite made it into the closet. The sounds and routines changed from year to year, but the house always seemed to adapt to whatever season of life the family was in.

What We Loved About Upper Arlington

They loved Upper Arlington. They loved how connected the community felt. They loved that children could ride bikes down to the elementary school and walk down the street to play with friends. There were elementary school events and concerts. There were evenings spent cheering from the sidelines even if it was raining one second and then snowing the next. There were countless weekends built around activities, commitments, and family time. There were trips to Northam Park and afternoons spent outdoors. And every Fourth of July, there was the parade. Long before the parade began, families would arrive with folding chairs, blankets, and coolers. Children in red, white and blue sat along the curb waiting for the first floats to appear while neighbors caught up with one another. Of course, every family seemed convinced they had discovered the best spot on Northwest Boulevard, despite half the city making the exact same claim.

Why Many Empty Nesters Stay Longer Than They Planned

One of the most common conversations we have with homeowners isn’t about remodeling. It’s about attachment. Many families reach a point where children have gone off to college, routines have changed, and entire portions of the home go unused or become a catch-all for boxes and unused workout equipment. Yet they stay. Not because the home is still the perfect fit. But because leaving feels difficult. The emotional side of homeownership rarely gets discussed.

We talk about: Market values, interest rates, square footage, but we rarely talk about the fact that homes become intertwined with our identity, and rightfully so. For many homeowners, the question isn’t whether they could move. It’s whether they’re ready to leave behind a chapter of life they loved.

The Question That Changed Everything

The realization didn’t happen all at once. It arrived slowly. A guest room sat empty most of the year. A dining room that once hosted countless family gatherings was now used only a handful of times annually. Bedrooms that once felt essential had slowly taken on new purposes. Weekends that were once spent attending games, school events, and family activities increasingly became weekends spent maintaining a home that no longer needed quite as much space.

They talked more about traveling, spending time downtown, trying new restaurants, and pursuing hobbies that had taken a back seat for years. The freedom to spend more time visiting Briarwood Trout Club and actually using the flies tied in what was once one of the boys’ rooms started sounding pretty appealing. The changes were subtle. But they added up. Eventually, a question emerged. Not because they disliked their home. Not because they disliked Upper Arlington. But because life had changed. They had changed.

Does the home that served us so well still fit the life we want moving forward? Do we want to continue paying the higher mortgage and taxes in UA? At first, it felt like a simple question. In reality, it was the beginning of an entirely new chapter.

Moving Downtown, Creating the New Home

Selling the family home in Upper Arlington and moving dowtown was difficult, but the correct, choice. What made it feasible is having award winning kitchen and bath designers from Kitchen Kraft able to turn any space into our dream space. No matter how big or small the space is, Kitchen Kraft listens then designs the home that fits our family size now, our lifestyle, our dreams, and our goals.

Renovating Downtown Columbus Apartments and Condos

Now that big home in the Columbus suburbs is no longer necessary, and your goals are to travel, to eat out at restaurants, and to not cut grass every Saturday, downsizing and purchasing an apartment or condo in downtown Columbus is an exciting new adventure for many Ohians. Kitchen Kraft makes it not only feasible, but also painless. The downsizing decision feels easy when you speak to the apartment and condo renovators at Kitchen Kraft.