Home Is Where the Heart Is Local Designer Creates Spaces with Soul

By Samantha Bay

Adrienne Kravchuk Interior Design  — luxury interiors & home styling

Nestled against an upholstered headboard, surrounded by light blue painted walls, and cuddled up with her mom in their weekly perusal of the Sunday funnies, local interior designer Adrienne Kravchuk knew the true meaning of “home” from a very young age - and that it was about so much more than design and aesthetic. “My mom always made such a lovely home wherever we were - but above all she created structure and peace and joy in our household,” says Kravchuk. “I always felt so warm and safe at home with her.”

Kravchuk’s mom, Jamie, is a five-foot-tall powerhouse, who somehow managed to accomplish this feat of motherhood as a single mom, also balancing a successful career as one of the first female Special Agents for U.S. Customs, starting her career in Chicago in the late ‘70s and moving to California shortly after Kravchuk was born. “Looking back as a grown woman now,” says Kravchuk, “I have no idea how she did all that! She never even missed one of my many gymnastics and dance practices. She’s amazing.”

Adrienne and her mom Jamie Ross. c. 1982

One of her mother’s many interests was travel - which Kravchuk loved. “It was just the two of us, traveling the world,” she says. And because of their solid bond, “being together meant that ‘home’ followed us everywhere.”

Kravchuk remembers one Christmas Eve when she and her mom stayed in a small town in the south of France. “It was this beautiful little village filled with twinkling lights and a big cross at the top of a hill. I could hear and see people in the windows of their homes, warm light and laughter spilling out all around them,” she recalls. It was their first Christmas without extended family, so she hadn’t been sure of what to expect. But the host of the bed & breakfast where they were staying invited Kravchuk and her mom to join them for a meal. “I was only 11, having this Christmas dinner in an unfamiliar town, but we felt so welcomed and enveloped by warmth and kindness. It was one of my favorite Christmases, and reminded me that anywhere, even surrounded by strangers, can feel like home.” 

Adrienne's grandparents, the late James "Jimmy" Royal Barnes and

Elizabeth "Betty" Louise Wood-Barnes. c.1945

When Kravchuk was 16, her mom had the opportunity to retire and she took it. The duo moved from Fremont, CA, where they had lived for most of Kravchuk’s childhood, and resettled in Fort Myers, FL to be closer to family. “It was culture shock,” says Kravchuk. “I had come from a really cultured, academic environment in California and moved to a small southern Florida town where sports were a huge deal and girls my age were planning to go to college just for their ‘MRS’ degree,” she laughs. But my mom and I were surrounded by my wonderful grandma and aunts, and soon that started to feel like home, too. I fell in love with the beautiful southern life there.” 

Adrienne's beloved in-laws, Karl A., Kayla, Mary Lou, Karl F. and her husband Nick Kravchuk of Massachusetts.

It was there, during her senior year in high school, that Kravchuk discovered she could make a career out of a passion she had long felt but not always been able to put into words. During career week at her school, her grandma, mom and aunts asked her what she thought she wanted to be. Reflecting on how one of her favorite pastimes as a child was playing with dollhouses and model home shopping with her mom, and how much she cherished spaces that felt welcoming and safe, Kravchuk responded, “I wish I could make houses pretty.” Her supportive family encouraged her then to pursue a future in interior design, and she’s been living her career dream since.

Kravchuk attended an intensive study program at the prestigious Parsons School of Design in New York City in 2003. It was a challenging and rewarding experience wherein she worked closely with architecture students from Columbia University and multiplied her passion for the art. “I was really proud of myself,” she says. 

Just before her studies at Parsons, Kravchuk met another person who would soon feel like home, too. Her now-husband, Nick, had been visiting Fort Myers from Boston where he was from, and the two immediately hit it off. They navigated a long-distance relationship while Kravchuk finished her studies, and she moved to Boston to be with Nick in 2004. She worked at a design firm there until the couple moved to San Diego in 2009. They were married in 2012 and Kravchuk worked in interior design sales for an international textile company for the following decade. Nick, a real estate professional and investor, was an integral partner in introducing Kravchuk to new clients here in San Diego, and, in 2020, she launched her firm, Adrienne Kravchuk Interior Design.

Adrienne's beloved in-laws, Karl A., Kayla, Mary Lou, Karl F. and her husband Nick Kravchuk of Massachusetts.

Her firm designs homes all over San Diego, but now primarily in Coronado. She loves that there are so many design styles here to work with, from new builds to cherished historic homes. One of her favorite aspects of working here is the family ties she sees. “I am constantly being pulled into generational moments on the island — creating new spaces for people who are rebuilding or reimagining their childhood homes — getting to flex my design muscles transitioning a home from one generation to the next is really special.” 

Kravchuk’s personal style is what she would describe as “Ralph Lauren in the Hamptons:  comfortable cognac distressed leathers, deep tones of paint hues like academic greens and navy blues, exposed weathered wooden beams, plaids, stripes, wide plank original flooring, cobblestone accents, walls of family photos, and lanterns everywhere.” She loves the “east coast preppy” vibe but also prides herself on being a chameleon for each project she takes on. “Every space is different,” she says. “I love the science and chemistry behind creating good spaces.” She has designed everything from Tudor Revivals to Mid-Century Modern to Traditional Farmhouse. But no matter the aesthetic, Kravchuk keeps her designs rooted in the principles of what makes a house feel like home: warmth, comfort, and authenticity to what brings the people who live there joy.

Historical home remodel on A Avenue in Coronado

For Kravchuk, that means her grandmother’s hand-knotted cable knit blanket, an antique western European chest from the 1700s she found while traveling, and an antique cow bell her father-in-law discovered in New England. “I get lost in imagining all the history behind these things. They’re all very dear to me because they represent family, history, and special trips - often folded together,” she says. In the homes she designs, Kravchuk loves to blend the old and the new to create a space that’s special and unique to the people that live there. “Maybe that’s a piece of furniture that’s been passed down, a framed picture that invokes special memories, or a found item that simply brings you joy. A harmonious home that is true to you is important to your happiness - and there are so many wonderful ways to create that in your space.”

“Your home is a place to feel held, especially when life gets hard,” says Kravchuk. She and Nick navigated more than a decade of painful loss as they hoped to build a family, but through it all they remained each other’s steadfast foundation. Today, they walk in gratitude for their life together, cherishing time with their beloved European Boxers, Hudson and Georgia, their close friends’ children, and their extended family. “Nick and I adore each other,” says Kravchuk. “How lucky am I,” she says, “that growing up I had a mom who felt like home, and now I have a husband who feels like it, too.” 

“My mom would never wait to use the special silverware on ordinary days. She’d say ‘this is the special time, right now!’ I try to bring that mentality into all my designs — whatever you’re walking through, today is special, our life experiences and the people you share them with are special. I am so grateful to have had people that created spaces for me that reflect that, and the opportunity to create the same for others.”

Samantha Bey is a freelance writer who lives in Coronado with her husband and their four children.