{Giveaway is Closed}
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. I can’t wait to show it all to you! Y’all know that I always think the more pictures, the better, so settle in for a long post for this one! If you make it to the bottom, there’s a fun book giveaway!
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. Kathy is a lifelong “junker” while Tom is an amazing craftsman, a good combination. 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. Kathy’s office where she is Mary Kay Andrews showcases her framed book jackets and bestseller lists. The Trochecks’ home is a Christmas Wonderland with an eclectic collection of vintage decorations and greenery from their garden. The front door and entrance hall greet each guest. The living room tree is decorated with vintage shiny bites while a collection of Santas and pixies are nestled in the TV armoire. The dining table is an amazing Christmas tableau with the “Great Wall of China” as a backdrop.
I hope you enjoy this wonderful tour of Kathy’s home! It’s just beautiful and with her eye and mix of antiques and vintage collectibles, it’s a feast for the eyes. I know her grandchildren must love being there! 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?! 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! 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. We ran into each other in the red and white guest room and it was so fun to meet her. I just love and admire her gorgeous home too! 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.
And last but not least, Kathy is giving away 2 of her books to one of my readers, so all you have to do is leave a comment and tell me what your favorite thing about Kathy’s house might be?!
Leave a comment and I’ll choose a winner who will receive both books. Kathy (Mary Kay’s) books are so fun to read!
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And the winner is Laura Ingalls Gunn, who has been emailed!
Love her books and love her house! Great article!
Enjoyed the tour of Mary Kay’s home through your eyes. I have been reading her books since I first read her female Atlanta detective series she wrote under her real name. However, I would love to win these two books, especially since I have not read them yet! Merry Christmas!
I love how she surrounds herself with books. Thanks for sharing this lovely home. Merry Christmas!
Oh My ,,The whole place is Amazing !!! The kitchen shelves with all the greenery & tags posted along them is so nice…Thanks…
Thank you for the wonderful photos! My favorites were the snowmen shelf and the bookshelves full of books!
Love her books so it was fun to see her home. I love blue and she used it so beautifully throughout the house. My favorite has to be the blue and white pottery that appeared in several locations. I also loved the wonderful white built ins.
What was so over the top for me was the christmas tree made from books. How cute is that?
Thank you so much for the beautiful pictures Rhoda. Love love love her home. Best of the Tour.
Love the blue and white with Christmas colors. Love MKA books also. Merry Christmas.
So beautiful and interesting which makes it hard to choose one room or thing. She is a great collector and I really like how the home reflects that. Enjoy her books tremendously!
That blue front door, I loved! Can anyone tell me what color that paint it? I need to paint my exterior doors that blue. I also loved the deer in the wreath on the kitchen window. So cute. I loved her book tree designed with all her books. So wonderful to see this beautiful home, Rhoda, thank you.
Jeanne, I saw on her Instagram that she just painted it Delft from Fine Paints of Europe. It looks like a lacquer paint, so shiny. I loved it too!
I love anything blue and white so needless to say, I loved everything about her house.
Such a beautiful home! One could feel the warmth just looking at the pictures! Love the use of color throughout her home, beginning with that beautiful blue door! Beautiful antiques and traditional pieces of furniture, which I love! Thanks for sharing her beautiful home!
So beautiful. My favorite picture was the one of all of Mary Kay Andrews books stacked up to form a Christmas Tree….how fitting for her home!
Love how she brings nature inside. Did anyone notice the squirrel on top of the Christmas tree?! Also loved the bedroom with the gingham bed skirt.
I love the whole house. It is hard to pick my favorite, so I would have to say the front door, and its décor, sets the stage for the whole place!
I absolutely love all of this beautiful home. My favorite part and the one I cannot get off my mind is the door color and beautiful arrangement at the entrance. Thank you so much for sharing!
What a cozy home. I love her books!! I also love her homes on Tybee Island, GA.
I love the kids spare bedroom with the red/white bedspreads and the cute Mistletoe Kisses pillows. Very sweet.
Rhoda
This feature on Kathys house is one of your best. This is My kind of house – everything and her flair for decorating equals her flair and writing style. My favorite in the house is the living room fireplace with the blue and white porcelain wall hangings and mantle piece arrangements. Hard to choose because her house speaks to me.
Lovely warm and welcoming home! Loved the details, the Kisses and Mistletoe pillows and little arrangement of antique ornaments that reminded me my house when I grew up.