HOMEREMAKERS; A MEDITERRANEAN DREAM COURTESY OF 42 DESIGNERS.

Byline: Jenifer Hanrahan Daily News Staff Writer

Frank and Alisa Barbarino saw it as the ultimate adventure in home decorating.

They allowed the imaginations of 42 interior designers to roam through their sprawling 18-room house. The designers painted, plastered and wallpapered. They tore up rugs and removed everything - from the kitchen cabinets to the bathroom sink.

Nine months later, the Barbarinos' house has the elegance of a neoclassical, Mediterranean-style villa, each room with a designer's distinctive touch.

Visitors can tour the 10,000-square-foot Villa Montagna estate on three acres in the North Ranch area of Westlake Village Sunday through Oct. 12.

The '97 Design Showcase House and Garden home tour will benefit the Wellness Community Valley/Ventura, an organization with offices in Westlake Village and Camarillo that provides psychological and social support for cancer patients and their families.

A portion of the money raised will go toward opening a third office in the San Fernando Valley, said Lois Curran-Klein, benefit chairwoman.

Designers donated their time and creativity to the project. The custom-made, one-story house features a grand foyer with 20-foot ceilings, a formal living room and dining room with a view of a waterfall, a pool and spa with a cabana in the back yard, a kitchen, breakfast room and butler's pantry, four bedrooms and a master bedroom suite, an exercise room, a sauna, seven bathrooms and a media room with theater-style seating for 12.

The Barbarinos moved out when the interior designers, led by James Blakeley III of Santa Barbara, went to work. The couple bought the house, which was built in 1989, for $1.55 million four years ago.

``The house looks nothing like it did before,'' Alisa Barbarino said. ``It's really exciting.''

When Kaveri Singh, a Calabasas interior designer, first saw Alisa Barbarino's office, she pictured it as a room where nature would reign.

Singh fashioned a fireplace mantle from a junked mesquite door, wallpaper that mimics old parchment, clay tiles hand-stamped with Indian woodcuts and a series of botanical paintings on linen.

With the help of interior designer Michael Savoia, the look was completed with a distressed wood floor and antique furniture from 19th-century France.

In the guest suite and bath, Wendy Bellissimo, a Canoga Park interior designer, designed a wrought-iron sink base, a weathered copper basin and a ledge of stucco and tumbled marble, which is created by spinning the marble in a vat to give it an unfinished look.

In the bedroom, she used jewel tones - gold, sapphire, bronze and ruby - for the bedspread and tapestries.

``I wanted to build character into the room,'' Bellissimo said. ``It's a retreat, and someone who is coming to stay there can really get away.''

Marcella French of Woodland Hills designed the dual-level terrace that overlooks a waterfall. She incorporated dozens of potted plants and flowers in bright purple and pink.

``I was asked to make it comfortable and relaxing and picturesque,'' French said.

The planning for the home tour got under way in January, when a Wellness Community design committee invited 300 designers to walk through the house. Each of the designers then submitted three ideas, from which the design committee chose.

THE FACTS

The '97 Design Showcase House and Gardens will run from Sunday to Oct. 12. Hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesdays and Thursdays, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Fridays, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturdays, noon to 6 p.m. Sundays. The house is closed Mondays. Open for group tours only on Tuesdays.

Tickets are $18 at the door, $15 if purchased today at the Wellness Community office, 530 Hampshire Road in Westlake Village. Office hours today are 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tickets are also available through Ticketmaster by calling [phone] or [phone]. Parking is in the Ralphs or Pavilions shopping centers on the corner of Kanan Road and Lindero Canyon Road. A free shuttle will take you to the house. For more information, call [phone].

CAPTION(S):

8 Photos

Photo: (1--Cover--Color) On the cover: Kitchen designer Phyllis Offenhauser and artist Alisha Volotzky with his deep-cut sculptured and painted glass table top, which cost $7,000.

(2--Color) Lil Chain designed this bedroom in the Westlake Village home.

(3--Color) Even the exterior of the Barbarino home got a facelift.

(4--Color) Joan Zeedik, left, and Helene Lotto work with Bird Robinson on final preparations at the Wellness Community Valley/Ventura's 1997 design house. After nine months of remodeling, the 10,000-square-foot, 18-room Villa Montagna opens to the public on Sunday.

Bob Halverson/Daily News

(5--Color) Neoclassical touches abound in the theater lounge, designed by Keith Willis.

(6--Color) The seating is plush and the view superb in the dining room, designed by Berni Greene.

(7--Color) Things get a bit more eclectic in designer Rod Sellard's backyard cabana.

(8--Color) Ron Hudson designed the living room.

Phil McCarten/Daily News