I think the rule is that if it makes you happy, it's OK. I want my quilts to stand out in my house too. I do have a couple of table toppers that match my kitchen (my walls are a lovely green-blue called "mountain stream") so you can see that I'm not a "beige" kind of person. I would be tempted to make something really off-the-wall and serve your SIL coffee on it, but that's just the rebel in me!!!