Look around the room that your quilt will live in. Bright dynamic colors will ensure that everyone's eyes are on your masterpiece. While a Scrap quilt fits in with your colonial decor, a Danish Modern may not. Look through quilt books. Everyone has preferences.
Quilts can look either modern or traditional, masculine or feminine.
Find out the names of quilt patterns that you are drawn to. I hope you will find many of the patterns you like in this book. When I started quilting, I wanted to make a Dresden Plate quilt with all pastel colors. I didn't start with that block, but took a class to learn about quilt basics. Once you have tried a variety of patches in a small quilt, you can tackle a large project.