Good design is forever.
Control, edit and distill.
Remember, color is not just color, but mood, temperature and structure.
In design, Mother Nature is our best teacher.
The easiest approach to any strong color is to use a lot of it, thus unifying a room. However, beware of too many strong colors unless you happen to like living on a battlefield.
Go to the source for ideas, go to the Metropolitan Museum, find your inspiration in nature, go to the Museum of Natural History, but never rely on something that someone else has done.