Favored chess set colors?

I haven't played much chess in years, but after having found Chess.com recently, I'm looking to revive the chess player in me.

I dug around the house for old chess books and sets, but I realized what sets I have left are incomplete or not really suitable for play. 

So I need a new set, and I'm thinking of the standard tournament style plastic chess pieces and vinyl board for the immediate future.

What colors do your folks recommend for boards and pieces? I know seeing the green/black/navy blue/etc. on the screen doesn't compare to seeing it in person.

I like the brown and tan board with the black and ivory pieces.

Green and white vinyl with black and white pieces seems to be what I see the most in scholastic and tourney chess.

This is very easy to play on (wooden pieces, but plastic black/natural would be great too).

I like the brown/tan and green/white combinations. There should not be too much contrast between the squares, IMO. Thus, black/white combination is sometimes hard on the eyes.

As far as pieces go, I guess I'm a traditionalist in that I like standard black/white or light wood/dark wood.  When it comes to the board, nothing beats a nice light/dark wooden board.

I've seen white pieces before back at my high school chess club, and white white comes off hard on the eyes [imo]. It's almost like seeing albino chess pieces.  When you guys say white, do you mean ivory or cream or really just pure white?

Similar for black, much of the "black" pieces I see aren't jet black at all. 

Maybe ivory is better than pure white.