We're making the big jump from apartment to house... we have 2 darling little furbaby boys, Chuy and Pablo... Chuy is about 1 1/2 and he's pretty chill, I'm not really worried about him as much.  He's been the golden angel kitty from day one. 

Then there's the little black sheep of the family, Pablo, who's a year.  He's a finicky, high-maintenance cat who currently has issues peeing in front of the litter box and in the bathtub it sits next to.  Well, I'm worried giving him free reign in a 2000 sq foot home.

Both kitties have been in our apartment since they were 6 weeks old, so it's all they know.  We've been packing for about a week now, letting them sniff around and play in moving boxes in our apartment.

Is there anything I can or should do to make the transition to our house seamless for them?  Do we keep them in one area for the first few days or just let them explore the whole thing right away?  Advice?

I would maybe put them in one room for a day or two, get them used to that and then open the door and let them explore :)

It's funny - we have two dogs, one has been a saint since we got him and the other has been a handful...we call him the red-headed stepchild lol

A few months age we moved from a 900 sq ft apt to DH's 3000 sq ft house and the kitty was about 4 months old at that point. The first day we kept him in the bathroom while we moved so he didn't get loose and so he wasn't overwhelmed. When we were done with the move, around 5/6pm we carried him out to the living room and sat on the floor with him and just let him go. The first 10 min or so he just sniffed around in that room but then he took off to explore the whole house and he was completely ok. I kept a close eye on him because initially he had that wide-eyed "what's going on" look on his face. For the first 2 or 3 nights we had him sleep in our room and put his litter box in our bathroom at night. After that he had free reign.
I will say though that we lucked out with this kitty. He is pretty fearless, very affectionate and not picky about anything.
I would say for you maybe keep them in a room while you move and then let Chuy out first since he is more chill and likely to adapt quickly and THEN let Pablo out to explore. He might take Chuy's lead and feel reassured if Chuy is calm. Keep them in your master bedroom at night and only let them explore during the day when you are around for a day or two.
hth, let us know how it goes!

I have two cats as well. When we moved I had a "safe room" for them. It had their cat scratcher, their beds, litter box, and food and water in it. Everything in there was a familiar smell for them so it made it easier. I kept the door open so they could come out and explore when they were ready. One of my cats checked out the whole house in about 10 minutes and was okay...but the other one is a scaredy cat and it took him a couple days before he was willing to check out his surroundings. I didn't put any pressure on him...when he wanted to come out, he did. It probably took him a good week or two to be completely comfortable around the house...but that room is still his "safe room" when the doorbell rings :)

Are you having the cats stay somewhere during your move?  My kitten stayed with my mom when I moved from a tiny 1 bedroom to a spacious 2 floor 2 bedroom apartment.  When I brought Ferdinand home I left him in his travel crate and I didn't open it until I was sitting on the ground next to his litter box.  He came out on his own and hid in the box. In a half hour he was scoping the place out.  Now he owns the place! One of my mom's cats pees in front of the litter box.  She placed a plastic boot mat with newspapers in front of the litter box.  Cat pees in the newspaper then hops in the box and does her other business. 

We have two cats that we had to move from my fiance's parents house to our house about two years ago.  It took them almost a week to get use to things.  At first they were terrified, but we did not do the one room thing.  They were a lot older (4 & 7).  They are perfectly fine now, but that first week was really hard. They were def not themselves.  I really suggest keeping them confined to one room for a day then letting them slowly explore on their own.