Color and ergonomics.
Here's a couple of links that may prove interesting/useful.
The first is an entry into
http://www.the5k.org from 2000, by IDEO. It's a handy website color visualizer that gives you hex numbers for backgrounds, text, etc... Incidentally, IDEO designed the first mouse for Apple.
http://entries.the5k.org/171/visualizer.html
Secondly, for a site that is plenty colorful, check out
http://www.colourstudio.com
My fiancé and I designed the above site, it features colorcoded navigation and information architecture.
In general, color is extremely subjective and renders differently on every screen. So, test, test, test... And then be prepared to hear plenty of positive and negative criticism either way.
One thing I would suggest is the simple use of complimentary colors. Your eye craves the complement of every color. That's why you have aftervision. For example, stare at something red, and then look at a white wall, and you'll see green. So, to balance it out using complements is a good technique.
Here's a good Color Theory 101 link:
http://www.webdesignclinic.com/ezine/v1i1/color/