Her own dream house today continues as a work in progress, four years after she found exactly what she sought - an atypical Palm Beach house that simply rambles, a batten board 1930s cottage from a former lakefront estate.  With peaked ceilings and a breezy porch draped by bougainvillea and flowering trees, the style is Palm Beach planter.  It beckons with toile and trophies (safari relics of old Africa from her ex-husband's grandfather), antique Venetian glass lamps, and shell studded mirrors she made herself.  Her personal signature is a splash of leopard, whether her favorite Levitating Leopard painting by Nancy Jolly or faux fabrics.  "It's my touch of exoticism," she says.  "A touch of leopard always looks right wherever it is."

19th-century planter's chairs flank Nancy Jolly's "Levitating Leopard."

Her interest in exotic cultures embraces the metaphysical.  "There is so much to learn from those cultures in terms of enriching the soul," says Garrigues, who has studied the Chinese art of Feng Shui as a means of creating a home of peace and harmony.  "There are a lot of things you do automatically that feel good to you; the Chinese have a name for it," she says.   She has oriented Shanti Vietra for the free-flowing of cosmic energy, or chi as it is called. According to Feng Shui, moving water is also a great source of energy, and hence the gentle gurgle of a fountain welcomes guests at the front door.  The next focal point is a red Chinese screen inside the morning room.  "Red is the color of power.  It's very conductive to energy and is the first thing that you see inside the house," she says. "Books reflect what you read and what you are, another source of energy."

In the living room, a cobalt blue Venetian glass mirror found in Paris reflects the pool terrace.   Potted palms and green painted walls echo the tropical landscape that evolves the house.