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.
I loved the tree that had the old picnic pails around it. I love the red plaid.
So many little details everywhere. I’m borrowing the idea of M & Ms in little bowls as part of the place settings on the dining room table. More fun than a fancy dessert and it will encourage folks to sit and chat after dinner is over.
I love the warmth of the home but especially the natural greenery as decoration. And those deer antlers are wonderful and I hope to incorporate that same look into my home. Thanks for sharing.
I went on the tour with a friend and LOVED her home!! All the homes on the tour were just beautiful and the people from the neighborhood were warm and welcoming to everyone. I love Kathy’s ability to infuse priceless antiques with Goodwill finds and Home Goods new items-absolutely stunning! I loved the idea of the cabinets in the kitchen that held the pull out dog crates-one of those why didn’t I think of that ideas! LOL! Thanks for the pics-enjoyed touring through again.
Loved all the blue and white with pops of red! It is definitely a well loved home. Please don’t give me the books…I already own all of them!!!
I love the spare bedroom with the two twin beds with kisses and I think the other pillow was mistletoe. I love that small dresser with mirror between the two beds. How perfect!
The use of the stadium blankets really caught my eye! Also the fireplace in the room with the wood paneling! Love her home(s) and her books!!
A real house, with real living, a real treat. Thank you so much for sharing this, Rhoda. One thing I must remark on (since I pinned it) is the cookbook storage at the end of the island in kitchen. We’re getting ready for some updates, and I think I would like something like that added to my island. Above and beyond that, I love all the vintage and antique infused in Kathy’s home. It’s what makes it real for me. Too hard to choose just one or two things I loved!
Rhoda, I really enjoyed seeing this home that is so warm and inviting. I love her style, especially her use of blue and white. The guest bedroom with the red and white was a favorite of mine!
What a pretty home! My favorite things were the blue/gray walls, blue and white porcelain and the use of plaid, particularly under the tree. Oh, and shiny brites.?
I was excited when I found out Kathy’s home was going to be on the tour. It is a beautiful home and she had done an amazing job decorating it. So many beautiful things to see. She is my favorite author. I have been reading her books since she first started writing. An excellent author and decorator too! Kathy
My favorite room is the “Dreamy” master bedroom. I also love the office. What a great area to get work done. It’s casual and practical but beautiful! Thanks so much for sharing photos of the home of one of my favorite southern authors!
Beautiful home. I love how cozy and warm it is. So inviting. Thank you Rhoda for taking us along.
I love that blue front door. It’s a lovely modern touch in this gorgeous 20’s home. Thanks for sharing these pics.
All the blue and white pieces and especially the Welsh dresser!
Love this house and use of COLOR!!! The ‘collected over time’ décor is wonderful, and my favorite is the display of antique Christmas items under the dark wood table.
Yes, yes, I could easily move right in and be home. Such a lovely, warm welcoming home! Loved all the blue and white accessories eith touches of red. My favorite has to be the red guest room. I am a quilter, and I loved the red and white quilts on the twin beds as well as the embroidered shams. Love to embroider as well. Mary Kay Andrews’ home touched my heart the same her books affect me. I’ve read many of her books and continue looking for ones I haven’t read as yet! Merry Christmas, Rhoda, I loved this post!
The entire house is so lovely and inviting. It is so hard to pick just one thing that I love, but if I had to pick it would be her use of blue and white dishes, with the pops of red for Christmas!!! I could absolutely move right in today. Merry Christmas Rhoda!!!
Love everything–but my favorite would be what I think might her kitchen table with the vintage tablecloth and the Santa!! I just love it so much–reminds me of my childhood–sweet memories!!
I loved the bedroom. I also have sloped ceilings in my bedroom and never thought of a canopy bed! What a beautiful home. I have never read any of her books but I checked out her website and now I want to read them all. I will add them to my list!