Carole Eichen Interior designer Carole Eichen died...

Carole Eichen

Interior designer Carole Eichen died March 31 at her Newport Beach

home.

Mrs. Eichen, who was dubbed the “goddess of model homes,” died of

cancer. She was 70.

A Southern California native, Mrs. Eichen in 1966 founded Carole

Eichen Interiors, a Santa Ana design firm. By the 1980s, she had more

than 100 employees. She introduced the “California concept” -- a

comfortable style that emphasized tile and patterned rugs -- to

Europe and Asia. She collected an impressive client list that

included KB Home, Warmington Homes and Newport Beach-based William

Lyon Homes.

Mrs. Eichen is survived by husband Robert Passovoy; daughter Cheri

Steinkellner; son Jeff Eichen; and three grandchildren. Services were

held Thursday.