I have had my choice of colour on several of my bicycles.
I selected the bicycle to meet whatever need/desire I had, in the correct size for me of course, and once that was settled, I could choose my colour.
My Marinoni Ciclo was the first ... it's a custom-built bicycle I selected to ride long distances. For it, I chose two-tone blue. Dark blue front and back, and a light silvery blue in the middle. Practical because I mount my bicycles over the top tube, and have been known to chip top tubes. So I wanted a colour sort of similar to the steel so that the chips wouldn't show too badly.
Next was my titanium. I chose it for long distance riding after my Marinoni Ciclo was stolen (happily he was recovered 3 years later). I could have painted the titanium, but I liked it as it is. However, I wanted green accents so my fork, saddle, and bar tape are British Racing Green. Rowan painted the fork.
Then we got Thorn touring bicycles. I had a choice of blue or green ... so I went with blue. Rowan went with green.
Most recently were our custom-built Bike Fridays. And again, the colour choice was all ours. I have green, I have blue ... so I went with purple! Rowan went with orange. I think they both look good.
Rowan has built up a mtn bike for me from a tip shop frame and we're talking about painting it. It is currently white and a gorgeous light blue. If it has to be painted, I'd like to match that blue and go with white accents.