Property Tour: Embrey Mill

One of my favorite things to do is tour new model homes. I get so much design and organization inspiration for my own house from visiting. I love to see what new trends are being used and also find ways to enhance my home. I've actually loved visiting model homes for quite some time, even before I was a homeowner myself. The newness is peaceful to me.

Earlier this year, I had the incredible opportunity to visit Embrey Mill in Stafford, VA. Being a former Northern Virginia resident, I was very excited to return to check out this new-home community. Embrey Mill is simply put: a home owners dream! The property is huge; featuring single family home and townhome floor plans. From the moment we entered Embrey Mill, I couldn't stop saying "look at that." Everywhere I looked I saw beautiful homes and scenery. 

The Property

Embrey Mill is an 819 acre community located very close to the Quantico Marine Corps Base, with easy access to Washington, D.C. The property includes so many amenities for its residents:
-walking trails (10 miles of paths and wooded trails to be exact)
-15 parks and playgrounds
-fitness center
-285 acres of open space
-a community garden
-doggy stations
-a racetrack park for scooters and tricycles
-a full-service café (that is DELCIOUS)
-luxury pools featuring beach entry shallow ends, lap lanes, water slides and splash zones

The Model Home

I had the opportunity to tour the newest model home at Cascades at Embrey Mill. The gorgeous home was built by Miller & Smith; I was blown away by the design and layout from the moment I set foot inside.

To see a video tour of the model home, click here.

The Cascades at Embrey Mill home features three levels: main level with a 2 car garage, upper level and lower level. I loved so much about the model home, every design element was perfectly curated. The tour allowed me the opportunity to discover plenty of features I want to add into our home (or even a future home!).

1.) Wallpaper accent in tray ceiling
I've never seen this done before, but what a beautiful statement it made. I am still looking for the perfect wallpaper to add to our tray ceiling. This project will be happening very soon in our house.

2.) Flooring used on the ceiling
The Great Room in the Cascades at Embrey Mill model home had a vaulted ceiling. The designer made a decision to use the same flooring on the ceiling and it made such a statement. The extra texture on the ceiling really made the space look high end.

3.) Built in seating with storage
Of course a common complaint I hear from all of my friends who are homeowners is that they wish they had more storage. In the lower level, this model home had bench seating with tons of storage underneath and next to it. Adding in bench seating is the perfect way to add additional storage to any home.

4.) HUGE linen closet
Again, storage is something a lot of people want and need in their home. Included in the upper level of the model home was a huge, double door linen closet. This is genius if I do say so myself. In our home we have a pretty good sized linen closet, but we could still use some more storage space. Having a double door linen closet gives a homeowner plenty of storage space. Yes, it is easier to add a closet when building a house, but this is something that can certainly be added later as well.

5.) Slide out spice cabinet
To make really good use of the space in your kitchen, I love the idea to have a slide out spice cabinet. This narrow cabinet can be really long, allowing you plenty of space to store all of your spices and herbs. Plus by having it included in your lower cabinet section, you can easily see everything you have at one glance.

To see all of these designs features in video form, check out the following three posts:
Design Elements for Your Home
Favorite Views while Touring Embrey Mill
Kitchen Features to Add In Your Next Kitchen

(Here come a lot of pictures of this beautiful model home, but keep scrolling at the end for even more good stuff!)

The Events

Embrey Mill hosts several events throughout the year to bring their residents together. They certainly have a focus on health and wellness, which is terrific.
Previous events include:
-Halloween 5K and Monster Mile
-Christmas in Stafford
-Embrey Mill Cornhole Tournament
-Star Party
-Summer Blowout
-and so much more!

For the this holiday season, Embrey Mill will host their Frosty 3 Miler and Reindeer Run. The event will be held Saturday, December 10. Participants can run the race in person or virtually - allowing anyone who wants to participate an opportunity. And costumes are encouraged! That just sounds so fun: to be running alongside Santa and perhaps his reindeer?!?! So neat.
Options to run the race include the Frosty 3 Miler, the 1 mile kids Reindeer Run and the Virtual 3 Miler.

If you want to sign up to run in person or virtually, you can do so by clicking this link.

My visit to Embrey Mill was phenomenal and left me wishing that we had a reason to move back to the Northern Virginia area. The property is beautiful, the houses are stunning and I love their commitment to bringing the residents together.