meet the designerS
kitchy crouse
owner and design principal
Award winning designer Kitchy Crouse is one of the leading home renovation experts in southern California, with years of experience in ground up and remodeling homes, kitchens, baths, ranches, coastal houses and businesses of successful professionals in and around Cardiff by the sea, Encinitas, Solana Beach, Olivenhain, La Jolla and others across California and the world.
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Kitchy was born and raised in Brazil where she worked in the ecotourism and hospitality industry, gaining deep knowledge and respect of the surrounding nature, how to efficiently do project management, and the power of customer service. Since then she move to California, got married and changed careers to follow her passion in Interior Designer - a unique background for a designer in this region.
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Inspiration comes from her husband's wood work, and from nature. "I believe design is a reflection of who you are. As a global designer, I prefer quality over quantity and handcrafted over mass production." She has a creative and unique way of approaching design and believe that each home and each client deserves unique and full attention to create an ideal space, aesthetic and functionality.
Kitchy is knowledgeable about and involved in every aspect of the remodel/construction: from plans to material selection to working with contractors at overseeing the implementation of design and furnishings. She is a residential design specialist known for her attention to detail and her outstanding customer service. She is fully involved with and accountable for each of the companies projects including participating in client meetings and furniture selection.
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KC Interior Design is backed by some of the regions most prominent contractors, has won a wide variety of design service awards and has been featured in numerous publications. Kitchy's work first appeared in the press in a striking 10 page editorial and cover of San Diego Home and Garden 2018, an acclaimed magazine in the southern California. She also has been featured on HGTV's Home Tour, Houzz, San Diego Voyager, and is a contributor on magazine articles Like "Design by sign" and "designers favorite objects". In June 2019 she won San Diego Home & Garden's Kitchen of the Year award, being selected from over 90 other applicants.
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Kitchy, who is an active participant in the National Kitchen and Bath Association, attended San Diego Mesa College where she graduated with a degree in Interior Design. Her previous work experience in Design includes a partnership at a Residential and Commercial Interior Design Business in Encinitas, where she successfully managed full projects from drawings to installation.
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Kitchy likes to explore the aspects of virtual designs and how to help her clients visualize the end results. She has proficiency in 3 different computer programs to successfully communicate with contractors, clients and all trades of the business.
Becca grew up in Southern California and has been influenced primarily by the ease of outdoor living and the forms and living art found in nature. She started traveling at a young age, which educated her in the ways cultural expression, individual needs, and functionality inform the spaces people live and work in.
Becca’s formal education began at the University of California, San Diego where she participated in their Honors Program and graduated magna cum laude with a degree in Literature & Creative Writing. After graduation, she spent some time in Europe working on organic farms, where she developed a love of old world culture and architecture, as well as an appreciation for the slower pace of living where people’s needs, challenges, and surroundings are intimately connected to the earth.
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Becca returned to school to complete San Diego Mesa College’s highly-regarded Interior Design program, where she took on a leadership role as Co-President of the Mesa Interior Design Club, exercising skills of initiative and mentorship, and the goal of developing connections between the educational and professional realms. During that time, Becca also was nominated to represent Mesa in the 2019 IIDA Student Design Charrette, where she was on the winning team and was invited to compete in the regional competition in San Francisco.
becca williamson
interior designer
In 2018, Becca went with her husband and three daughters on a pilgrimage in Spain, where they walked over 250 miles in a span of a month, staying in a different host town each night. They slept in people’s homes, village churches, monastery dorms, and mountain refuges. Each place had a story to tell, and the voices were full, expressive, and patient to tell their story to those who listened. These travels continue to be instrumental in her connection to architecture and interior spaces, and has developed her motivation to tell the stories that people and places hold.
Born and raised in San Diego, California.
Melissa had a love of art since she was a little girl drawing and painting whatever she sees around her. Changing the orientation and color of her room every other month seemed to be the first indication she was set to be a future Interior Designer.
After traveling across Europe she grew a love for architecture and design and how these places made her feel a part of history. You can say this opened up a new world for her and helped ignite her to study Interior Design and wanting to be apart of that culture.
She believes everything translates to art and she draws her inspiration through nature, music, photography, fashion, food, books and people. She uses these elements to see through the different perspectives and how to implement them in everyday life and into the work of Design. With a real passion for helping people. Melissa really enjoys helping people see different concepts and discover the creative door they didn't even know was there. “It’s like being part of something bigger. That may be the best part of being a Designer when we help clients achieve spaces that reflect the best part of them into their homes and everyday life.”
In Melissa's free time you can find her Dancing with her partner and friends to vinyls and enjoying music. Or enjoying the outdoors in some hiking or cycling form. Melissa continues to dream about her next travel destinations to continue growing her Design palette with the different art and cultures around her.
MELISSA LARRAGA
interior designer
Born and raised in San Diego, California, Chloe fell in love with the beauty that surrounded her outdoors. She spent most of her free time in the Carlsbad and Encinitas area as well as traveling to beaches along the coast. This passion for the outdoors quickly transpired into a passion for design as she experienced the art that surrounded her in coffee shops, bakeries and homes along the coast.
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Growing up, Chloe’s family traveled to Europe quite often. After traveling to Lake Como. Italy, one summer, Chloe found a passion for the elegance and fine detail of architecture and design. In fact, Chloe spent most of her childhood and young adult years designing and re-arranging her room as well as her friends' rooms to match the aesthetics that would inspire her. Chloe learned to adapt to the ever-changing styles and trends, learning to incorporate what inspired her into the small projects she would do in her free time.
Although she loved the coast, Chloe moved to Phoenix, Arizona after high school, where she attended Grand Canyon University. Chloe earned her bachelor’s degree in communications, where she hoped to pursue a future in marketing. However, after finding a position at an architectural interior design firm upon graduation, Chloe’s passions took a turn. She took it upon herself to learn the world of Interior Design by attending the Interior Design Institute online where she earned her license.
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Chloe had no doubt that she wanted to immerse herself in the world of design in the Encinitas area where she could incorporate her passion for communications, marketing, and design in one of the most desirable places to live. Here at KC Interior Design, she can not only experience the design process, but embrace her skills for social media marketing and communications as well!
Chloe ryaN oFFICE MANAGER
