For staining wood furniture, most craftsmen usually choose strong colors such as oak staining or cedar. The most popular colors have recently been Jacobean and Ebony, and they both come in rich variations. The general tip is to use the color that is close to the wood you are working with, or stronger. There are other vibrant colors on the market as well, such as green, yellow, blue, pink. If you are buying one of those, again make sure that the color is darker than the wood, otherwise, you would need to apply many layers.