Family-owned LI garden center finds roots in home décor and design 

Nicolette’s For The Home, an interior design studio in Southold that specializes in kitchens and bathrooms, has unusual roots — in the live plants and flowers business.

The company, which also has a retail store in Massapequa, was started in 1974 as a garden center opened by the current owner’s father, Frank Nicoletti, and his brother, Lou; then a changing business landscape, led to a reinvention of its operations two decades later.

"For the first 20 years, we were strictly a garden center," explains current owner, John Nicoletti, 48, of Aquebogue. "We sold plants, shrubs, fertilizers, power equipment … when the big box stores like Home Depot and Lowe’s started to arrive on Long Island my father made the decision to eliminate many of the hard-good items we sold and transition the store into more of a gift shop." The store still carried plants and flowers but instead of power equipment and fertilizers, it offered collectibles from brands such as Precious Moments and Hummels as well as other general gift items.

In the mid-2000s John Nicoletti’s sister, Elizabeth Walsh, 46, of North Massapequa, joined the Nicolette’s team and more of a focus was placed on home décor and design. Walsh is the company’s creative director.

"She has a natural knack for design," John Nicoletti says of his sister. "In 2017, we crossed paths with Amanda Giuliano, a super talented kitchen and bath designer, and when she agreed to come on board that part of the business was born." The Southold store, which John Nicoletti calls "the hub of our kitchen and bath design headquarters," opened in 2018 and is run by Giuliano. The Southold location has many of the retail items sold in the Massapequa store but in Southold there are also kitchen and cabinetry displays, countertop samples and cabinetry and hardware.

Virtual as well as in-person design services are available and products range from $2.95 for a small box sign to furniture pieces that can go up to $6,000.

"Plants are still our bread and butter in the Massapequa location," John Nicoletti notes. In addition to house plants and flowers, the offerings include vegetable plants. Nicoletti adds, "Almost all of our nursery material is grown right here on Long Island by small family greenhouses." And he says that with the mix of plants and indoor décor at their stores, Nicolette’s has something for the customer who wants a beautiful home from the inside out.

The Massapequa store, located at 1040 N. Broadway (516-694-3591), is open seven days a week 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Hours for the Southold store, located at 53245 NY-25 (631-407-5417) are Thursday through Sunday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.