
You probably know how strongly we feel about a well-decorated bedroom — it’s hard to sleep when you know your room’s an eye-sore. Well, friends, dorm rooms are no different. Just because you’re living in a tiny space for a few months, doesn’t mean you can’t express your style from floor to ceiling. To help you and your new roomie out, we’re sharing the very best ways to trick out your temporary digs. From savvy storage solutions to cute-as-can-be wall art, here are 17 amazing ways to decorate your dorm.
1. Pillows That Pop: The easiest and fastest way to customize a dorm room futon or bed: Pillows galore! (via Brit + Co)
2. Foot Patrol: Give you stems a stylish place to rest when you’re lounging in your dorm room. Bonus: These cozy foot stools double as seats for when you have company over. (via HGTV)
3. Simple Solution: Store you stuff and add some flair at the very same time. Fill up blank frames with your statement pieces, then just grab and go when you need ’em. (via Brit + Co)
4. Heavenly Headboard: Give your bed a beautiful facelift with a bright, bold — and in this case, blue — headboard. (via Little Bit Funky)
5. Storage Surplus: How could anyone need more storage in this room? Savvy, stylish and custom-made boxes fill up otherwise unused space under these two dorm room beds. (via Terri Puma Design)
6. Pile on the Pillows: Even though dorm rooms usually only feature twin beds, that’s no excuse to skimp on pillows. It’ll give the illusion of a bigger bunk, plus you’ll feel like you’re laying on a cloud. Who can say no to that? (via Evtiel + Abardis)
7. Double Duty: It’s no secret that dorm rooms lack in space. So why not make your storage super functional? This guy has wheels so it can go just about anywhere. Use it as a table, a seat, you name it! We love its rustic chic style, too. (via A Beautiful Mess)
8. Map Out Your Style: Who says you can’t have a statement wall in your small quarters? This map is not only eye-catching, but it’s also super inspiring. Dream big! (via Meredith MCG)
9. Frame Fun: Spruce up wall art with fantastically fun tape frames! Washi tape is the best dorm room decoration you can find because it’s easy to use (and removable) and comes in a variety of colors and prints. You can pick up some of our faves right here in the B+C Shop. (via Pretty Little Lady Designs)
10. Braided Bag: Forget the mass-produced laundry bags that stifle any and all personality — here’s a DIY for a custom-made, personality-filled and super useful laundry tote you can be proud of. (via Blogging Corner Blog)
11. Bright Idea: Light up your room and add a touch of personality at the same time with a large, lit-up initial. This easy DIY tutorial will show ya how. (via Grey Likes Nesting)
12. Dresser Revamp ($149): This totally killer chest of drawers (from IKEA!) is inspiring a DIY moment for your new pad. If your dresser isn’t provided for you, pick up a wooden piece like this one and go at it with spray paint, Sharpies or washi tape. If you’re on a budget, peruse eBay, Craigslist or garage sales for a steal-of-a-deal furniture piece to use as your blank canvas. (via IKEA)
13. Temporary Wall Art: Nothing’s worse than fully decorating a room, just to move out a few months later. That’s why we love this confetti wall so much! It’s easy to put up, take down and bring with you to your next room. (via Wee Birdy)
14. Gorgeous Geometric: These anything-but-basic boxes are just what you need to take your dorm from drab to fab… and they add lots of storage, too. (via Homes)
15. Plants, Please: These sweet succulents will keep you from feeling boxed into your dorm room and add just a touch of the outside world to an otherwise templated space. (via HGTV)
16. Bulletin Basics: We don’t need to tell you (again) how limited space is in a dorm room. Which is why doubling up on functionality is crucial. This bulletin board serves as a headboard and a place to stash notes, jewelry and special mementos. (via HGTV)
17. Shoe Storage: You’ll never go back to dumping your stilettos in your closet after you see this storage idea. If you’re able to nail things to the wall, hang up moldings to show off those pumps. It’s functional and it’s pretty. (via Lowes)
What’s your favorite feature in your bedroom? Let us know your dorm decorating tips in the comments!
Welcome to Selfmade Finance School, our new money series with Block Advisors to help small business owners with their tax, bookkeeping, and payroll needs year-round. This week, we explore the tax implications of bringing family members into your business.
The question for today is this: Does hiring your family members make sense for your business? Let me be clear. This is not a piece about whether hiring your family members makes sense for your relationships with those family members. As someone who is part of a family business, I could fill up a lot more than 600 words on my opinions about that. For today's purposes, we focus on whether it makes sense from an overall "good business and tax implication" perspective. As it turns out, there is a decent amount of tax nuance when it comes to employing your family. Let's break it down based on relationship to the employee:
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Spouses Who Are In Business Together
Personally, if I had to be in business with my husband, it would not go well. However, many couples build viable, strong businesses together and I say, good for them! Depending on how you have your business entity structured, it will make a big difference on the tax treatment of you and your spouse working as partners. Because a business jointly owned and operated by a married couple is generally treated as a partnership for Federal tax purposes, the spouses must comply with filing and record keeping requirements imposed on partnerships and their partners. The election to file two Schedule C (Form 1040) forms, (one for each spouse) permits certain married co-owners to avoid filing partnership returns, provided that each spouse separately reports a share of all the businesses' items of income, gain, loss, deduction, and credit. Under the election, both spouses will be subject to self-employment tax and on net earnings from self-employment and receive credit for Social Security earnings.
One Spouse Employs Another
If you have a dynamic where your spouse is an employee of your business, then your spouse's wages are subject to income tax withholding, Social Security and Medicare taxes. If you are self-employed (not a corporation or a partnership), your spouse's pay does not have to be included in your federal unemployment tax account (FUTA) contributions and payments. However, if your business is a corporation or a partnership you must include that spouse's pay in your unemployment tax contribution calculation.
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You Employ Your Child
First, let's be clear. I work in my family business, but I am an adult, so I am treated just like a normal employee. However, if you, for example, run a family restaurant and want to hire your children under 18 to work for you, there are some tax benefits. But first, you should check with your state for rules on how many hours minors can work (in non-agricultural jobs) and reference the Fair Labor Standards Act for information on limitations on the kinds of work children can perform.
"This is an often overlooked or under-utilized strategy. Paying your children for true services they provide in your business can be a powerful tax-saving tool," says Cathi Reed, Block Advisors Regional Director. "If you are a sole-proprietorship or single member LLC, and the child is less than 18 years of age, the business is not required to withhold FICA or payroll taxes. The child can use his or her standard deduction against income you pay."
You Hire Your Parent
Oh dear. If you are brave enough to do this, know that you will need to pay Social Security and Medicare taxes on your parent's wages and make the appropriate withholdings, but you don't have to pay unemployment taxes. Now all you have to do is convince your parent that you are the boss. Have fun with that!
Is Hiring Family Members Worth It For The Tax Benefits?
"There are some positive tax advantages to hiring family members. It's important to treat a family member like any other employee. Hiring your children can result in substantial savings for businesses. Make sure your child has real, age-appropriate work to do and a reasonable pay rate, comparable to other employees. Consult with a Block Advisors small business certified tax pro to ensure that you are complying with all requirements," advises Reed. "Block Advisors, a team within H&R Block, is dedicated to meeting the tax, bookkeeping and payroll needs of small business owners year-round. To start working with the tax experts at Block Advisors, visit blockadvisors.com."
In my opinion, you should not hire a family member solely because of the tax benefits. You should always hire based on whether that person is right for the job and keep in mind how this hire could materially impact your relationship with that person and others in your family. Finally, as I mentioned, make sure you have a tax professional on your team when making these determinations. As you can see, things can get a little tricky!
*All details were sourced from IRS.gov and blockadvisors.com
The opinions expressed in this commentary are those of the author and may not necessarily reflect those held by Kestra Investment Services, LLC or Kestra Advisory Services, LLC. This is for general information only and is not intended to provide specific investment advice or recommendations for any individual. It is suggested that you consult your financial professional, attorney, or tax advisor with regards to your individual situation. Comments concerning the past performance are not intended to be forward looking and should not be viewed as an indication of future results. Securities offered through Kestra Investment Services, LLC (Kestra IS), member FINRA/SIPC. Investment advisory services offered through Kestra Advisory Services, LLC (Kestra AS), an affiliate of Kestra IS. O'Keeffe Financial Partners and any other entity listed herein is not affiliated with Kestra IS or Kestra AS Investor Disclosures: https://bit.ly/KF-Disclosures