I’m so excited to share Benjamin Moore 2024 Color of the Year & Color Trends 2024 with all of you. I’m excited to reveal the much-needed makeover of my master bathroom water closet, thanks to Benjamin Moore and featuring the beautiful Color of the Year 2024, Blue Nova 825. As soon as I saw it, I knew it was the perfect color for our water closet.

In this makeover, I will show you the entire process of transforming this water closet.

Paint was provided by Benjamin Moore, all opinions are my own.

This post may contain affiliate links, which means we may receive a small commission at no extra cost to you.

Let's Dive Into Benjamin Moore Color of the Year & Color Trends 2024

Before The Transformation

I didn’t really put much thought into this space when we moved in the house. As you can see in the before picture, we had only one piece of art, and I hadn’t even bothered to remove the price tag. So when Benjamin Moore reached out to me to partner with them to showcase the Color of the year 2024, I thought the water closet was the perfect space to give a makeover.

The Vision: Painting, Wood Accents, and Modern Touches

I decided on painting the top half of the wall Blue Nova by Benjamin Moore, creating a bold statement. The bottom half is painted White Dove by Benjamin Moore, also part of the Color Trends 2024 palette.

To tie everything together, I opted for a more modern wood slat wall design and a contemporary light fixture, as well as swapping out the toilet paper holder.

The Transformation

Preparation

I began by prepping the wall, filling obvious holes and imperfections with spackling. Once that is dry it’s important to prime before you start painting.

Baseboard Replacement

I began by removing the baseboards, allowing me to paint both the wall and baseboards simultaneously.

Once I started removing the baseboards I realized that I needed to remove the toilet tank first. It was actually a lot easier than I thought it would be.

As you can see bellow I found out that our builder did not even paint behind the toilet….

I went with these more modern baseboards. I plan on eventually swapping out all the baseboards in my house to these baseboards.

Here’s a tip when installing baseboards: find the studs in the wall using a stud finder so can just nail the studs that way you won’t have any extra unnecessary nail holes you need to fill up

I really love this stud finder from Kreg Tools , it has magnet that will find the nail in the wall and a level as well as a laser so you can know exactly where the studs are.

Painting

The top half of the wall was painted in this beautiful Color of the Year 2024 by Benjamin Moore Blue Nova 825. The bottom half was painted White Dove CO-17, also by Benjamin Moore. I went with the Aura Bath & Spa paint in the Matte Finish

Floating Shelves Installation

I built these floating shelves using 1/2 inch maple plywood that I white washed and stained them, using the same technique I did in this blog post “How to make pine look like oak” ( I will be posting the detailed instructions on how to make these shelves soon).

To mount them, I used 2x4s, cutting them to the appropriate width to create brackets for the shelves.

To ensure your shelves are secure always mount the brackets to studs, this is my favorite stud finder. If you can’t find stud where you want to place your shelf be sure to use anchors like these.

Wood Slats

Selecting wood for slat wall

First, I decided on the style I was going for with the slats and how far apart I wanted to space them. I knew I wanted the slats to be the natural wood tone and not painted so because of that I chose a nicer wood. If you plan on painting your slats you can even can go with cheaper option like primed wood or with MDF (although I would not recommend in a high humidity environment).

For the spacing, I decided on 3/4 inch (which is the width of a 1×2).

For the wood slats I used 1×2 select pine that I ripped in half, I also stained these using the same staining method that I used for my pantry shelves.

You can see in the picture below how I cut (ripped) the pine in half.

In the picture below you can see the 1×2 that I purchase at my local hardware store.

NOTE: For some reason this specific 1×2 select pine is not available to purchase online and pick up at the store, I’ve been buying it for the last 3 years and so far it has always been in stock at the store.

I use my table saw with this push guard to rip to 1×2 in half. You don’t have to do this, but by doing this step you use half the amount of wood and save money. So it ends up costing you half the price.

Wood Slat Staining

I chose to stain them before cutting them to the length I needed, I used this stain combination that I talked about in my detailed step by step blog post “How to Make Pine Look Like Oak.”

Once I stained it I applied 2 coats of Polycrylic protective finish in Satin https://urlgeni.us/amzn/TXe3_ I let the final coat dry for 24 hours before handling it.

Wood Slat Installation

I decided to install the wood slats on the top half of the wall directly behind the toilet.

I installed the horizontal slat pieces in the entire space first before installing the vertical ones.

I installed the floating shelf first then cut the wood slats to fit the top and the bottom separately. I used a scrap piece of 1×2 to make sure all the pieces were spaced evenly.

I ended up using my flooring saw to cut the slats because it was much more convenient to bring upstairs than my miter saw.

You can see in the picture below how I made sure each piece was evenly spaced using a scarp piece of 1×2

Lighting Upgrade

The old light fixture was swapped for a contemporary piece, as you all know I LOVE black so I had to use a black light fixture.

The Transformation

I absolutely LOVE how this turned out! The water closet transformed from a sad look to a fabulous one, all brought to life by Benjamin Moore’s Color of the Year 2024, Blue Nova 825.

This simple water closet makeover truly showcases the power of color and simple design elements in transforming a space. I hope this inspires you to embrace the DIY spirit and infuse your living spaces with creativity.

Stay tuned for more exciting home makeovers, DIY projects, and color inspirations as I continue my mission to empower you to turn your Pinterest boards into reality!

Is there a specific space in your home you’d like to transform? Share your thoughts and ideas with me in the comments below!

Water Closet Makeover- Benjamin Moore Color of the Year 2024

Let's Dive Into Benjamin Moore Color of the Year & Color Trends 2024

Before The Transformation

The Vision: Painting, Wood Accents, and Modern Touches

The Transformation

Preparation

Baseboard Replacement

Painting

Floating Shelves Installation