Why Ree Drummond Says She and Ladd Downsized to a Smaller Home

When Ree Drummond's kids left home, her house felt a little too big. So the Pioneer Woman did what many empty nesters before her have done, she downsized. Unlike most people though, Drummond moved right next door.

Drummond and her husband, Ladd, packed up and moved from their long-time home—the same one Ladd grew up in—to brand new digs on their property in Pawhuska, Oklahoma.

It wasn't just an empty nest that inspired the move, though. "It wasn't a charming 50-year-old house," Drummond told People. "We loved raising our kids in the house, but it had foundation problems and had developed a few problems that were going to be pretty overwhelming to fix."

Faced with a lot of empty bedrooms and impending repairs, the Drummonds moved to a new, smaller home on their ranch, which they had built right next door to the old one over the course of the last year. They are apparently quite happy in their new smaller home. "It's very comfortable," Drummond told People.

While their 18-year old son Todd is the only one currently living at home, when Alex, 24, Paige, 22, Bryce, 19, or foster son Jamar, 18, need a place to crash or come to visit for the holidays, they have a plan—eventually. The Drummonds plan to build a new "main house" and turn the smaller digs into a guest house where the kids can stay.