I just made a 16" mariner's compass with a cream background and Moda marbles in purples, teals and green (but you could substitute a yellow or red). I hung it on my design wall so I could live with it for a while before quilting it, and my husband really liked it. If you paper-piece, take a look at Carol Doak's Mariner's Compass book. It has 24 different blocks. You could choose one for your center medallion and make some of the others to place around it.
Depending on what their decor is, red, white and black always makes a striking quilt.