Along with buying a better mattress and banishing the TV, picking a great paint shade can transform a bedroom into a sanctuary. “The color most often recommended is blue, because of its associations with sky and water,” says Seattle-based Lee Eiseman, executive director of the Pantone Color Institute. But Frank Mahnke, president of the International Association of Color Consultants/ Designers, in San Diego and Geneva, Switzerland, encourages clients to think beyond blue. “Some people might feel relaxed with pastel green as the dominant wall color,” he says. “Others might want to wake up to sunshine — so why not a pastel yellow?” Just be sure to have accent pieces in a contrasting shade. Bride Whelan, an adjunct professor of color theory at the Parsons School of Design, in New York City, emphasizes stimulation—and decries beige. “It’s lacking in stimuli, has no focus, and impedes any enthusiasm for waking up,” she says. “It’s boring.”