1) a Dresden. I used contrasting scrappy with a consistant white background and the same dark brown inner circle. Came out magnificent.
2) big squares and little squares. This is a free manufacturer pattern called Honeybell.(I think) key for this would be a controlled color palette and consistent sashing
3) 16" stars. The centers are all 8.5. Keep consistent colors on the 4.5 star points and you can do whatever you want on those insides. 16 2.5 squares. Or larger fabric with bigger pattern. Diamond in square? Strips? Maybe even fussy cut. Sashing is 4.5 and I also used 4 patch cornerstones because this was for my mother.
I hope this helps!