I've been quilting more than 40 years and give most of my quilts away. I look at the person's home, furniture, colorways, and style, and I choose colors based on that.
The most difficult quilt I ever made was my daughter's wedding quilt. I wanted to please both of them, and they have very disparate tastes.
Her husband is a psychology professor, loves jazz, is very conservative and tailored in his furniture -- big leather sofas, classic wood, and and his wardrobe-- gorgeous muted color sweaters and button down shirts.
My daughter is an artist. Color is her passion. It was quite a difficult quilt to design. But they love it and it has been on their bed for 5 years, so I guess I got it right. They just asked if I could make them another one.