Going throught the latest issue I was struck by the vignette illustrating "purge with a purpose" (page 148).  Nevermind that I love, love, love to donate some old clothing and junk (and will intervene on friends who need to do so); I kept thinking that the image was a great lesson in deceptively simple decorating.  I see a little flea market French chair, quirky old chest and cute lamp (Jonathan Adler or West Elm? You tell me).  The key here is how it's all pulled together:  a shiny dark wood floor, lots of white trim, and a color palette that's almost monochrome.  To me, the yellow chest looks more green next to the sage-y chair, which looks more khaki in front of the two shades of wall.  Matchy-matchy is just too easy: if you want to stick to one color, try to fool the eye with at least one near-miss and unify it all with a very dark or very pale floor.  For a similar chair, I've always liked this corner one from Wisteria:
Its scale and carvings are nicer than most budget options ($629), but I think you could do just as well at a flea market or auction.  Plus I'd recover it and use white piping like the one in the pic.