
It’s not very often that you get to see a real-life dream house. Sure, you can ooh and ahh over all those celebrity homes and epic Airbnbs, but seeing them IRL is a whole other experience. Sunset Magazine totally understands this and is here to satisfy all us home-decor nuts with their latest idea house, where some of the greatest minds in design have come together to create the ultimate living space. We were able to tour the 2016 Bay Area Sunset Idea House in the sunny Oakland Hills, and you’d better believe that it was ah-mazing! This four-story home is nestled high in the Claremont Hills with gorgeous views of Downtown Oakland and the San Francisco Bay. Chock-full of decks — seven to be exact — this house was made for outdoor entertaining and weekend lounging. The interior, curated by local design legend Lauren Geremia, is a mix of eclectic, modern and Berkeley-inspired, craftsman styles and is perfectly adorned with locally made art. Scroll on to get the tour, and if you’re in the Bay Area, get your discounted ticket ($20 with the promo code BRITCO5) here.
If any home were to give you major #deckenvy, this would be it. The two larger lounge decks have party-ready seating areas and glass railings to really show off that view. Imagine having your morning coffee on the bottom-level couches or cozying up by the fire pit with a glass of wine on the entry-level deck. Anywhere you hang, you will be seriously stunned by the epic San Francisco Bay views.
The first floor opens to one large living, kitchen and dining area, all with huge west-facing windows and plenty of natural light. The use of layered rugs — here and throughout the house — makes for a cozy and texture-filled space.
Speaking of texture, how gorgeous is this woodland-esque wallpaper? Geremia and her crew covered the wallpaper with glass to avoid any water damage or splatter stains. Now that’s a hack worth pinning!
To give a nod to the artistic and eclectic Berkely culture, Geremia added an art room to bring a more creative and local vibe to the main floor. Filled with sketches and prints from one of the featured local artists, Lena Wolff, this art room is sure to inspire.
Did we mention the bathrooms in this house are totally swoon-worthy? This sparkly gem is made better with hand-painted wallpaper from Sarkos. To keep the space from feeling too dark, Geremia incorporated lots of gilded accents and dark hardware for a surprisingly bright and warm room.
The local art and flea market finds were the real stars of the show in this house. Combined with more modern and minimalist furniture, textiles and palettes, these graphic beauties made every room tell a unique story.
And that’s a wrap! Check out more photos online and on Instagram with the hashtag #SunsetIdeaHouse. You can view the full list of designers, products and artists here. To see this space IRL, buy discounted tour tickets ($20 with the promo code BRITCO5) and get ready to start planning your very own dream home.
Are you ready to dream up your own idea house? Head to the Brit + Co Pinterest page for all kinds of home decor inspo.
(Photos via Sunset)
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