You all know her as Mary Kay Andrews, her pen name known to many fans around the world. Her given name is Kathy Trocheck and she is the NY Times best selling author that you have all loved and read for years. I think I heard her say that this is their 3rd home in Avondale Estates, a suburb of Atlanta, outside the city. They’ve lived in Avondale Estates for 30 years and are entrenched in this charming historic community. Last weekend, there was an Avondale Estates Christmas tour of homes and Tom and Kathy’s home was on the tour, so of course I wanted to take it all in. There were 6 homes in all on the tour and I took Mark with me and we thoroughly enjoyed it all. He loves this stuff too, lucky me! It was a beautiful Winter day and we so enjoyed touring these gorgeous historic homes.
Kathy was signing copies of her books at the community center so we got to say hello to her before the tour.
You may remember that I photographed Kathy’s former Avondale Estates bungalow 3 years ago and shortly thereafter, they bought this current house and moved in.  The first house is so charming too, so take a look at it.
Tom and Kathy’s current home is a 1926 English cottage that was renovated by the previous owners in 2008. The Trochecks remodeled the kitchen and screened the back porch in their 2 years in the house and it is just amazing now. Â I can’t wait to show it all to you! Â Y’all know that I always think the more pictures, the better, so settle in for a long post for this one!
To borrow some of the script from the Christmas home tour, here’s a good description of the home.
Opening up what was an original bedroom, the kitchen includes a Wolf range, marble counters and a “mantel” with antique corbels. The newly built Butler’s pantry was inspired by the antique Welsh cupboard in the kitchen. Â Kathy is a lifelong “junker” while Tom is an amazing craftsman, a good combination. Â Some of the best estate sale finds include the barn with wooden animals in the sunroom, the Restoration Hardware seating on the back porch, and the armchairs covered in Ralph Lauren fabric in Tom’s office. Â Kathy’s office where she is Mary Kay Andrews showcases her framed book jackets and bestseller lists. Â The Trochecks’ home is a Christmas Wonderland with an eclectic collection of vintage decorations and greenery from their garden. Â The front door and entrance hall greet each guest. Â The living room tree is decorated with vintage shiny bites while a collection of Santas and pixies are nestled in the TV armoire. Â The dining table is an amazing Christmas tableau with the “Great Wall of China” as a backdrop. Â
I hope you enjoy this wonderful tour of Kathy’s home! Â It’s just beautiful and with her eye and mix of antiques and vintage collectibles, it’s a feast for the eyes. Â I know her grandchildren must love being there! Â I’m not going to chat through the post, just enjoy the beautiful pictures.
Kathy’s office.
Master bedroom
Wasn’t that so much fun to see?! Â A big thank you for Kathy for letting me share her gorgeous home with al of you. I knew that you’d so enjoy seeing it all and she has such beautiful things displayed so well. I love her mix of traditional antiques with blue and white collectibles and lots more! Â Her keen junking eye has served her well!
Another special treat that day was meeting blogger Kelly, with Talk of the House. She lives in South Georgia and she and her husband were there for the tour. Â We ran into each other in the red and white guest room and it was so fun to meet her. Â I just love and admire her gorgeous home too! Â She did multi-posts on the house, so take a look at her pics too. She got things I missed and has lots of details about Kathy’s home.
The whole house is gorgeous and picking only one room is so difficult. There are so many treasures and vignettes that I love myself (plaid picnic wear, Santa mugs, the book “tree”, the kitchen!) I love the bedroom for her grandchildren with the little table and chairs all decorated in front of the old family photos. There is something so sweet and touching about that, especially during the holidays, with holiday traditions and recipes handed down.
I’m a big fan of blue and white decor so I love her decorations and home. Thanks for sharing!
What a treat…meeting Mary Kay and Kelly at the tour. I have been a fan of all of yours for years! I love the book tree, our public library has a huge one. So creative.
Merry Christmas, to you and your sweet family, Cindy
Everything about this home is perfection! I think the kitchen is my favorite though. What a beautiful, divine space to create in. Thanks for a glimpse into this amazing home.
You know me, I love the deer horns and head…. I also love some of her furnishings, coffee table. The Christmas plaid is great too. Thanks for sharing her home!
What a beautiful home! Thanks for sharing. I love the master bedroom with the planked walls and that bed! The various plaid Christmas stockings hanging on the mantle are so cute!
Thank you so much for sharing this! Every room has so many things I love….the blue and white platters on the walls, the beautiful bedding in the master, the red and white bedroom. But the thing that I really need to recreate is the throw made from patchwork plaid blankets used as a tablecloth!
How lovely all the little details in this well loved and cared for home. Enjoyed taking the tour with you. Thank you so much for sharing.
Her home is gorgeous-thanks for sharing-I’m a sucker for a tour of homes, too! I loved the blue & white also and being from Mississippi, my favorite was seeing the magnolia leaves…made my heart smile!
Thank you for sharing! What a delight to see Mary Kay’s house. I love her collections, colors and decorations.
Stunning! Not only is this house beautifully decorated, but it is warm and inviting! Thank you for taking us on the tour!
I enjoyed looking at your home through Southern Hospitality. I enjoyed it so much. Thank you!
I really love the bookshelves and also the outdoor space. Her kitchen is wonderful too. It’s such a beautiful home inside and out!
It’s hard to pick just one thing. I love the blue and white pieces but most of all I love all the warmth it exudes!
Loved seeing all your photos Rhoda! It was nice to take in the whole house in one big post! My favorite by far was the grandchildrens’ bedroom with the cozy quilts and red checked bed skirts. Thank you so much for the shout out. It was a super fun day meeting you and Kathy and seeing that fabulous home!
Love the outside decorations and pretty much everything in the house! How fun to be able to decorate like that! We have two cats who would have a field day with all of that. The outdoor space was amazing. Thanks for sharing this – I have been a fan of Mary Kay Andrews for years!
Love seeing MKA’s home. She looks like a fun lady! It was nice seeing Kelly. I love her blog too!
So Southern! I love a brick wall and the plaid tablecloth was so festive.
I love the kitchen remodel and that’s she stayed true to the style of her beautiful home.
Love Mary Kay Andrew’s home! All of it is gorgeous,so choosing one room is difficult! I have two. I love her breakfast area and the screened porch is beautiful!