It was here Patricia Giddings’ talent as an interior designer came into full
focus. Before she met Ed Giddings, she had established a background in art, fabric, furniture and antiques. True, she had already met the challenge of finding the ways and means of decorating Edward Giddings’ wide-open villas, of acquiring materials in far-off places in Mexico, of originating handmade work, of locating antiques. But in Southern California, she faced the formidable task of satisfying the tastes of some of the most discriminating clients imaginable.

“Soon after we arrived in California’s Newport Beach, I met Claire Robinson. This was an exciting event in my life, for she is a talented, gifted designer having designed homes for some of the most discerning of clients in California and throughout the world,” Patricia says today. “She joined me in creating interior design for much of Ed’s work. We worked closely together on Casa Buena Vida on Linda Isle, traveling to Mexico to buy antiques and art objects. Together, at one time, Claire and I established a design business and showroom in our office building."

For more on this topic please refer to our book, “Edward Paul Giddings Art and Architecture of Passion”

Interior Design

Two of the most noteworthy houses built and decorated by Ed and Patricia Giddings in Newport Beach are Casa Buena Vida and the house built for Jack and Violet McNaughton. Both are located on Newport’s Linda Isle, and both were featured in Architectural Digest. Casa Buena Vida also appeared in Home Magazine.

As a result, interest in Giddings’ houses widened. Ed continued to design and build outstanding residences in La Jolla, Laguna Beach, San Juan Capistrano, Malibu and in other Southern California communities.