Flight and Hotel: country music

Sunday, August 7, 2011

Kenny Rogers’ Italian-Style Mansion in Atlanta

by HOOKEDONHOUSES on MAY 28, 2008

KennyRogersPic

Country crooner Kenny Rogers is selling his 9,000 square-foot mansion in Atlanta, Georgia, for $7.95 million. Rogers told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, “Every wall, every ceiling, every floor is different” from when he bought the house in 2006. “I touched every inch of this house.” He purchased the home in 2006 for $2.8 million and spent $3 million on the renovation.

He’s moving to a 150-acre ranch near Athens, where a new home is under construction. Take a look at the place he’s leaving behind:

According to the MLS listing for this 6 BR, 6.5 BA home in the Buckhead neighborhood:

Absolutely spectacular home has been painstakingly renovated from top to bottom by owner Kenny Rogers. Wonderful layout, splendid finishes and materials throughout. Comfortable yet so elegant, this home is being offered complete with furnishings. Unbelievable landscape front to back. Elevator, pool.

His “high-end eclectic style” is heavily influenced by his world travels. “I love Chinese. I love Italian. And in almost every house I’ve had, I have an African room,” Rogers said.This home has an African-themed guest room with a zebra-skin rug and framed photos of Africa that Rogers, who is also a photographer, took himself.

This is the 10th house the singer has remodeled and put back on the market. “It’s a hobby with me,” he told the Wall Street Journal. “Once I get finished, owning it doesn’t mean anything to me.”

Rogers, 69, has been married 5 times. He and his current wife Wanda (shown below) have twin 4-year old boys named Justin and Jordan.

KennyRogers-Wanda

There’s been a lot of talk about his plastic surgery misadventures. I think this “before and after” (below) is a compelling argument for letting your face age naturally. Kinda scary. Even he has complained about the job the doctor did on him and has said that having his eyes pulled so tight is uncomfortable for him:

He gave Oprah and her viewers a tour of this house in Atlanta that he’s selling when it was all decked out for Christmas. All the decorations were giant and totally over the top, so it was highly entertaining.

Here’s a still shot from that house tour. Kenny and his boys Justin and Jordan were in his study (go here to read more about Oprah’s interview):

Rogers told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that they plan to move into their new estate this fall, and he’s looking forward to spending less time on the road and more time with his family at home.

“When it was just Wanda and me, we didn’t care where we were,” Rogers said. “Now that the boys are here, she has to stay here and I have to go on the road by myself. And it’s a totally different feeling out there without her. You can’t pull the boys around the world…. You have to prioritize and I’d much rather be with my family.”

Visit my Celebrity Houses pages to see more!

Dolly Parton’s Childhood Home in Tennessee

by HOOKEDONHOUSES on MARCH 28, 2008

“I still close my eyes and go home–I can always draw from that.”

-Dolly Parton

I just got home from my trip to Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, and thought you’d like to see the souvenir I brought back for you. You didn’t think I’d come back empty handed, did you?

We went to Dollywood yesterday, and one of my favorite things in the park was the replica ofDolly Parton’s childhood home constructed by her mother and brother. I was amazed to see how Dolly and her 10 brothers and sisters lived in this tiny, one-room cabin in the Smoky Mountains. She has always described her family as “dirt poor,” and that’s no exaggeration. It’s all the more remarkable when you think about how far she’s come since then.-

The humble hearth (the interiors were protected by a glass wall, but my camera did its best to capture them clearly):

I was fascinated by the small details, like the tin of tobacco and Johnson’s Baby Powder on the shelves:

This was the only bed in the place. I was stumped as to where the 11 children slept. There wasn’t even enough floor space for them all! I mean, it was even smaller than the Spite House.

The walls were wallpapered with pages from old newspapers and magazines. Here is the “kitchen corner” with the stove:

This was part of the “kitchen corner” and appeared to be a sort of pantry:

The kitchen table with seating for 6. Where did the other 7 family members sit? Did they have to eat in shifts?

The front porch (maybe this is where some of them slept?):

One of my favorite Dolly quotes: “I’m not going to limit myself just because people won’t accept the fact that I can do something else.”

Five Fun Facts About Dolly Parton:

She’s Miley Cyrus’s godmother and plays “Aunt Dolly” on the popular Disney show “Hannah Montana.” (My 13-year old told me this!)
Parton’s investment in Pigeon Forge, with enterprises like Dollywood and Dixie Stampede has revitalized the area and employs thousands.
She’s known as the Iron Butterfly. She uses butterflies as her logos, which represent beauty and freedom to her.
Twenty-six of Parton’s songs have hit #1 on the Billboard country charts, a record for a female artist.
Imagination Library is her literacy program that mails a book a month to children from the time they’re born until they turn 5. Although it began in her hometown of Sevier County, it now reaches children across the U.S. We talked to one Dollywood employee who told us that every time her daughter gets a book in the mail, she says, “Aunt Dolly loves me!”

Dolly Parton’s first mainstream country album in 18 years is now in stores (Backwoods Barbie). You can learn more about what she’s up to at the popular fan site DollyOnline.

9/10 UPDATE: These photos were featured on “The Nate Berkus Show” when Dolly made an appearance on it. You can read all about it here.

Photo of Dolly Parton via AOL Music. The rest are mine.

Visit my Celebrity Houses page to see more, from Kenny Chesney’s to Reese Witherspoon’s.