Nicoletti. (Continued From Page B-9) garden shelter with aluminum patio roof, carrying out the same gentle arch. A patio table and metal lounge chairs invited even dripping swimmers to get out of the water long enough for a snack. I sat there for awhile admiring the grill-block pattern of the concrete wall - screen, which the architect, William Cody, designed and had made for his exclusive .use. Beyond, where it could greet visitors just entering the court- yard, an adorable poodle-statue was tucked into a garden corner. I was already convinced that Mrs. Nicoletti was as poodle- happy as a few of my friends, because Gay and Gigi, two de- lightful little charmers W ith jeweled collars, had already been introduced to me. The large painting commanding the end of the living room showed Mrs. Nic- oletti with still another poodle, while in her bedroom hung a gilded shadow-boxed study of more poodles. In a conversation with her later, referring to the carved stone poodle, she declared: “It was a gift to me from a friend returning from Italy. And it was the nicest thing I ever got out of Europe!” AT THE OPPOSITE end of the pool the deck swept down broad steps to a patio flooring of ter- razzo, polished for dancing and entertaining. Twenty feet of ,4 at front entrance, where ' shelter. Here John Garzo marble insets fronted the sofa. Along the patio length stood sliding glass doors led from there another long sota, WhiCh Poodle into the living room. The most fanciful and decorative feature of the whole entertaining setup was the indoor-outdoor bar, 12 feet long, faced with the same choco- late-bronze tile of the entrance wall. _ The bar could be divided in half by one of the 10 by 11-foot glass partitions, and was titted out with fluorescent lighting over the work area and a stainless steel sink. The bar top was wood - grained Formica. On the inside wall “‘hun a large and fanciful light ?xture of antique copper set with what looked like stones of polished jasper. Gay considered her personal lounge. In front of this sofa ranged a beautiful glass-topped coffee table. ., THE WINDOWS, with the same distinctive arch at the top, went up to the ceiling. To preserve the spacious openness of the room, there were no ordinary drapes. Instead the windows were hung with what I can only describe as an intriguing system of horizontai scallops of metallic. cords (it had been imported from Italy) which could be drawn up to disciose the whole breath-tak- ing vista. ' In a corner near bar and kitch- en entrance was grouped a low, The 40 BY 20-FOOT living room broad octagonal table of walnut, was almost all view. A glass front along one length looked out over the trout deck area to the desert and hazy mountains be- yond. The opposite side was glass, too, with a view of pool and courtyard. , The long so?a at one end was in a champagne damask th at blended with the warm, neutral shade of the custom-made, Portu- guese carpet. Black walnut side tables supported huge and decora- tive custom-made lamps. An elongated walnut coffee table with with comfortable chairs in muted aqua, for either card playing or dining. Over the table hung a paint- ing of a beautiful girl in ski clothes, her skis over her shoula der and poles stuck in the snow: “That’s my daughter Dorothy,” said Mrs. Nicoletti later. Doro- thy is now Mrs. Federico de Silva of San Marino. (A painting of another pretty woman in an ter bedroom. I couldn’t decide Whether it was of Dorothy or her WEEDER—An'; ancient and 'mother, pain-ted when she was Dorothy’s age.) ' THE DECORATING of the en- tire house was smoothly unified, distinctive, restful — just right. Exotic and ornate touches high- lighted the prevailing simplicity of design, and the color coordina: tiOn was outstanding. The dec— orator, who I learned from Mrs. Nicoletti was Maxine Overbeck of West Los Angeles, had shown ad- .miralble taste and talent in weav- ing the owner’s furnishings from her former home in Flint, Michigan, into the more casual mood of the Palm Springs desert setting. ’ The study beyond the living room, for instance, was also a study in color, employing both royal blue and a shade of wildly bright blue accented with bril- liant green. Here walnut cup- boards housed the hi—fi system' and books. An Oriental ivory carved chest was topped with a carved ivory elephant. The card ’ table was white, with ’c’or'nfortable chairs upholstered "in green.” * BEYOND THE STUDY was the master bedroom -— large, rest- ful, luxurious, with sevenai clos- ets off a dressing room which open-ed through glass doors to a evening gown hung in the mass- private sunning patio, landscaped (Turn to NICOLETTI HOME, Page B-12) gnarled grape stump, graces base of large boulder window is protected from sun by arched alumlnum glia, gardener,- Weeds new lawn. POOL TERRACE—Roof curve of garden shelter car- ries out same gentle are featured in pool shape and in design throughout house. Broad steps lead from pool terrace to outdoor entertainment patio, where PreSS-Enterprise Sunday, May 14, l96] r-B-ll '\ floor is of polished terrazzo for dancing. With a scenic hill for a background, Nicoletti home so far is highest house in Thunderbird Heights. . - o . resignation r