Barbara Fleming has owned and lived in seven houses in 20 years; she and her husband, Jonathan, built two of them. But it is their five-bedroom home at 9417 Macklin Court — custom-constructed by builder Steve Morris for his own family — that she calls “the favorite home we have ever lived in.”

Barbara, who works in HR recruitment, and her husband, Jonathan, who is in the security business, moved to Northern Virginia from Southern California in 2007 to accommodate Jonathan’s business needs. “We weren’t even looking for a home like this. We were looking for a smaller home near the water, maybe in Old Town,” Barbara said. “But Lee [Braun, our agent] saw the house and told us we had to see it, that it had everything we liked.”

The Flemings decided to check out the house and were impressed even before they got there. “Driving down the [GW] Parkway toward Mount Vernon...it was so beautiful,” Barbara recalled. “Then we saw the great, quiet neighborhood, the fact the cul-de-sac had all custom homes… it wasn’t like a tract development.”

The 6,425 square-foot home was custom built by the builder, Steve Morris, for his own family until circumstances led him to sell it instead of moving in. The Flemings quickly “fell in love with the floor plan, and how great it is for entertaining.”

“One thing that really attracted us was that there is both a full master suite and a second full guest suite on the main level. That was unusual,” said Barbara, noting both suites include a full closet, vanity and bathroom. “Having the kitchen, bedroom, and living room on the same level gives us ease and accessibility to where we spend most of our time.”

She added, “We bought hoping that we would retire here, and having two full, main level bedroom suites would let us do that, as well as have the ability for an elderly parent to move in.” The three-level home also has a third full bedroom suite on the second floor, along with two other bedrooms, and a total of 5.5 bathrooms.

Barbara noted that, “Some of the custom features the builder included were smart….Having two decks off the master bedroom and the kitchen was one….Plumbing off the kitchen to have a gas grill was another.”

As the couple ticked off the features the house offered, they took note of a chiller refrigerator and a custom built wine rack in the kitchen. They are wine aficionados who belong to a wine club and often enjoy wine tours and festivals. “We were very happy to see a place for the wine,” Barbara noted. “That’s not something we’ve had in our other homes, and it’s really convenient.”

After moving in, the Flemings made only a few cosmetic changes to give the home the eclectic, “Hollywood Regency” character they like. They changed the ceiling light fixtures, including adding lights with cream colored fabric shades and crystal finials in the kitchen area, and removing a wrought iron dining chandelier to install one that is crystal. They added silk shantung draperies, and changed the paint color from butter cream to pale gray. “That color lent itself better to decorating more eclectically,” Barbara said.

The couple’s favorite spot in the house became the lower-level theater room, which has a coffered ceiling built to enhance acoustics. The room has a movie projection television with a large screen and surround sound, along with air hockey and foosball, making it a favorite hang out for their teenage son and his friends. “Being able to know where your 14 or 15 year-old is on a Friday night is really nice,” Barbara said, laughing.

“That room just lends itself to getting a teenager out of his bedroom and spending time with family,” Barbara added. “We are a very close family, and that room has enabled us to stay close to him. There have been some days when we never left the house, where we just stayed in our pajamas and spent all day Sunday watching football there.”

The Flemings’ plan to retire in their Macklin Street house has changed, and they will be relocating for Jonathan’s job. The home is for sale through Long and Foster for $1,495,000