How to Style Your Zoom Background
It should come to you as no surprise that I am surrounded by a militia of multi-talented women, and I have always wanted to join forces with some of my girls to create some great collaborative concepts. Today, this dream comes true with the ULTIMATE partnership with one of my best girls, Elise. This bitch…LET. ME. TELL. YOU. We met in the corporate world, and maintained our personal passion projects while dominating in the Denver tech scene. The fruitful soil that was the COVID lockdown supercharged her innate interest in interior design, and quickly grew into the booming biz that is known as Elevated by Elise. With every project, Elise transforms spaces through styling, lighting, color, and textiles to reinvent the most familiar corners in your life.
Naturally, we were a match made in heaven both personally and creatively. We joined forces to help you with what has been a work-from-home inevitability, the Zoom background. After two years of the work-from-home life, many of us are just now accepting the fact that our daily work will be on camera in some capacity going forward.
Elise loves to transform home office spaces, and is here to share her tips! Take it away my girl <3
Let’s Style your background
We’re all too familiar now with the Zoom background, the tiny square of space surrounding your head that you and your coworkers stare at all day long. Even if you don’t have a million dollar budget to renovate the office of your dreams, why not make that little square count? Why not make it something you’re proud of, something interesting, something that makes you feel good amidst the stress of a global pandemic and chaos of life in general? Here are a few tips to maximize your backdrop and help elevate your square!
Declutter: Take out items in your Zoom frame that you don’t love or that could be distracting. Especially if you have shelves behind you, it can be easy to fill them with “stuff.” If you have shelves, start by taking everything off and start with a blank canvas. Add about half the items back on and the bigger, the better (nothing smaller than a cantaloupe!) Use plants to bring life into your frame and books to help give objects height.
Keep your backdrop simple: Unless you have a killer wallpaper that you DIY’d during quarantine, go for a solid color background with art that is not to hectic with patterns. If you can, try to find a room in your house with a blank wall and avoid having your back to the door. We all know there’s a chance someone can come into your ‘office’ at any time of day, so make sure there isn’t a door behind you where your partner, roommate, or furry friend can come distract during a meeting. If you can see into the room you’re in, try to keep it clean and tidy.
Add light: Lighting can make you look 10X better, healthier, more awake. And let’s be honest, we all look at ourselves in the camera, so having a healthy glow you will help you feel better, be more productive and even encourage you to speak up in meetings. A couple options for lighting:
Add a ring light directly to your computer (you can find these on Amazon or Wayfair for as low as $20)
Add a table lamp on your desk, or a floor lamp in the corner near your desk. (Pro tip: 4000-5000K produces a bright white light that’s ideal in offices and won’t make you look too yellow).
Add a plant (or three): Plants make your zoom background look happy and alive, and also make you feel better by adding oxygen to the room.
Splurge: a 4-5 ft. plant on the floor from Bloomscape.
Save: go to any local plant shop and get a few smaller ones to add to shelves or on your desk. If you are more of a black thumb than a green thumb, go for artificial plants or dried stems. There’s nothing easier and more chic than throwing some pampas grass in a nice vase.
Hang wall art: If you’re creative, you can make large inexpensive art by framing a cool fabric sample or wrapping paper. Or even try your hand at painting something abstract (all it takes is a few black brush strokes on a white canvas and voila!) If you’d rather purchase, check out sites like Minted, Society6 or Poster Store that have a wide selection of options. This can help show your personality on Zoom – just make sure it’s appropriate, no phrases, and always, always frame it.
Show your personality: The little square around your face is a glimpse into your home. And without personal work interaction, this is all people get to know about you. So have fun adding things that are ‘you.’ Whether that’s through art, books you love, a family heirloom, etc. Just remember not to go overboard. You want to let each object ‘breathe’ and have it’s own space. If you have too many, nothing will stand out.
