Some of the best things about IKEA products are their versatility and endless storage capabilities. Sure, you can hack the RAST and the KALLAX, which make great storage units on their own, but that doesn’t mean you can’t put them — and dozens of other IKEA items — to work in other creative or beautiful ways with a little hack action. To keep it all contained (and stylish!), check out the IKEA storage hacks below to add a little extra storage to every room in the house. After all, no apartment makeover is truly complete until it involves a good IKEA hack, right?
Bar Cart Nightstand
Bar cart, shmar cart — that IKEA classic goes from the kitchen to the bedroom without skipping a beat. It’s small enough that it can fit in the tiniest space, but the three tiers mean you get plenty of storage for your never-ending reading list. (via The Everygirl)
DIY Retro Storage Makeover
Give those wooden pullout drawers a trendy makeover by flipping them around and drilling circular holes. For a more classic look, add hardware instead. (via Curbly)
Craft Storage
Use the RIBBA picture ledges in your office or craft space to display favorite books, prints, ribbons and spools of washi tape. The casual display is both pretty and practical and you can easily move things around as inspiration strikes. (via Decor8)
Media Console
Go long and low by purchasing multiple IKEA kitchen cabinets, setting them on the floor and adding a surface. You can create a media stand that perfectly fits across your living room wall, whether it’s two or ten units long. (via Villa Luova)
TRONES Hallway Storage
Just because the TRONES units were designed to store shoes doesn’t mean they can’t be super useful in other rooms. Since they come in sets of threes, you can put them together like LEGOs to fit your space. The units are only seven inches deep, which makes them perfect for narrow spaces like hallways. (via Apartment Therapy)
DIY Faux Brass Drawer Fronts
Those plain white drawer fronts were practically made to be covered in gold foil. This is definitely the quickest way to take your IKEA desk from serious to seriously gorgeous. (via Sugar and Cloth)
DIY Mudroom Bench
The STUVA benches offer plenty of space to store shoes. You can also make the bench more durable by screwing it right to the wall and adding a seat of wood planks. (via The Mombot)
DIY Picture Frame Tray
When it comes to organizing your closet, trays are a lifesaver for corraling accessories and jewelry. Hack a basic picture frame into a tray and use it on your dressing table, bathroom countertop or your coffee table to hold remotes and other clutter. (via Melodrama)
Topped With Marble
If you like the basic structure of your IKEA dresser, but you want it to look a bit more expensive, dress it up with a marble top. You can also hack the legs by adding new ones or dipping the existing legs in gold. (via Design Love Fest)
DIY Floating Credenza
In a small homes and apartments, floating cabinets are great storage solutions that combine side table surface space and storage. They’re also a great DIY for a nursery or kids’ room since they’re the perfect height for little ones to easily open and close the doors. (via Sugar and Cloth)
IKEA Changing Table Makeover
Use cute nursery wallpaper to update the plain IKEA HEINSVIK changing table. This is a great alternative to painting since the paper is easy to remove and you can play with patterns. (via Poppinette)
DIY Retro Sideboard
It’s not exactly a hack, but this DIY sideboard was too pretty not to include. A pair of oversized knobs — or in this case, door handles — can really make that IKEA storage look like a million bucks. (via Sugar and Cloth)
DIY Bathroom Organizer
Transform an IKEA towel holder into a leaning ladder where you can store towels, bottles of pretty shampoo and a few spa-night necessities. (via Thistlewood Farms)
Spice Rack Bookshelf
Paint the IKEA spice racks in bright and bold colors and use them in a nursery for a colorful book display. It’s way easier for little ones to find their favorite reads when the covers are facing them and they don’t need to dig through a traditional bookshelf. (via Misspfui)
DIY Wardrobe Hack
DIY your own custom closet using two RAST dressers and a chest of drawers. Paint the entire unit the same color to make it look like it’s one piece, then add a few extra bells and whistles for even more storage, like hooks for scarves and jewelry. (via Homemade by Carmona)
Bathroom Storage
Pedestal sinks are pretty, but nothing’s more frustrating than a sink without any storage. This narrow IKEA shelf fits above your sink so you can add space to keep soap, candles and toothpaste. (via Yasam Stil)
DIY Modern Vanity
Pair the EKBY ALEX shelf with stained and tapered wood legs and mount it right to the wall to make a little vanity. Add a tall bench with a comfy cushion and you’ve got yourself the perfect place to put your face on. (via A New Bloom)
Plate Display
Use IKEA ledges to display collections like decorative plates. This is a fun option if you like switching out your art display and don’t want a constellation of nail holes to remind you of every change. (via Yvestown)
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