Create a peaceful nook with right fabric, colors

We want our home to be a retreat, serene even, at least in a few rooms. A note about a chair designed for that master of serenity, the Dalai Lama, inspired us to seek ideas on how to accomplish this.

Throughout this month, Toms-Price is displaying a copy of the chair that Stickley, known from early in the 20th century for its simply styled Mission oak furniture, designed when the world's most famous Buddhist leader visited Colgate University in New York.

Scott Price, owner of Toms-Price, says you can stop in and mediate a bit in the chair and for $10,000 take it home with you. Not only is it twice as wide as a regular chair because the Dalai Lama sits in a lotus or cross-legged style, but it is also a signed, numbered collector's piece — only 100 were made.

That's terrific, but looking for more affordable ideas, we also sought serenity with other design gurus.

Color makes a great starting point for creating a serene space. You will not be surprised to learn water tones — blues, greens and turquoise — are often suggested. These lead to related neutrals like grays or any earthy tones.

But you can use any colors as long as you keep them soft, according to HGTV.com.

“Create a feminine atmosphere with peaches and pinks. Go for a fresh look by using a lemony yellow. Surround your space with lavender tones, then take the theme a step further with a little aromatherapy in the form of lavender-scented candles,” says an article on the popular trendsetting site about creating serene baths.

Edyta Czajkowska of EDYTA & CO in Park Ridge used water tones along with creams and grays to create a calm office in the middle of a client's busy St. Charles home.

And she even included a water feature — call it a small, enclosed fountain — on the wall.

“It's another element that adds to the tranquillity,” said the designer. “It's a pretty effect and the sounds help create a beautiful environment. The homeowner doesn't have to have it on all the time. There are sconces on each side, and it is like a piece of art in the middle.”

The visitors' chairs are not only turquoise but also “comfy in really yummy luxurious velvet.”

Linen sheers in a neutral shade hang at the windows that provide a relaxing view of the outdoors.

“You don't want to feel like everything is blue,” said the designer, who used clean lines in the room and eschewed pattern as part of her desire to avoid clutter.

“You don't want too much pattern,” said Czajkowska. “It's easy for a room to start feeling busy. The eyes need a rest.”

But the woman who CBS Chicago named one of the area's best designers made sure to install some curves and other interesting elements, and mixing textures is important, she reminds us. The cream rug provides more plushness, but the desk is polished, and the wall fountain and Lucite sconces offer sparkle.

“You want it to be interesting without being overpowering or ornate.”

She can be found at edytaandco.com.

The request to Emma Gardner Design for rug patterns that help create serene rooms brought suggestions with names like Stream, Swirl and Flowers on Water in colors called Quiet and Fog. The California designer sells fair trade rugs made in Nepal and inspired by nature and Asian motifs. They start at $55 a square foot for wool rugs and go as high as $189 for 100 percent silk with 100 knots per inch. emmagardnerdesign.com.

And if there is one room where even those preferring bold, daring looks might choose serenity, it is the bedroom.

Ethan Allen, with design centers in Lombard, Naperville, Schaumburg and Skokie, uses subtle blues and warm whites to create such a chamber. The Alison bed starts at $1,678, and the painted Adelaide chest, available in many finishes including the delicate robin's egg blue, is just under $2,000. The Wynsome duvet cover starts at $279 in a white, mineral and taupe paisley. More information is available at Ethanallen.com

And yes, several of the replica oak and leather Dalai Lama chairs have sold, says Price, but only in Texas.

“It's expensive, and you need the right house for it, the right place,” he said. And he assures homeowners they can find Stickley's famous Arts & Crafts designs at much lower prices in Toms-Price stores in Bloomingdale, Lincolnshire, South Barrington, Wheaton and Skokie, tomsprice.com.