Some will view the chance to peer into people’s homes through video conferencing as a positive result of the Covid pandemic – others will consider it an irritant. Here in Zoom work from home backgrounds we check some of the good and bad options and how to get it spot on when you have a work meeting on Zoom.

Even though Zooming here is meant to be a professional tool, it is also the opportunity to see colleagues and friends in an entirely different setting – in their own home surrounded by personal nicnacs.

What is the best background for a video conference

Some people have been less careful with the image they present, others have picked their surroundings with great skill and thought, and sometimes with branding in mind. The best background depends on what kind of conference and business you are in. If you work in the corporate world you’ll want to project a professional environment and image.

In the creative world you’ll also want to look the part and give a strong visual impression. You’ll probably have bookshelves as your background if you work in the literary sphere. And as a gardener you might want to place the laptop outside on a garden table – or indoors showing lots of plants.

Most Common Zoom Video Conference Background

The most popular Zoom background appears to be bookshelves. And unbelievably … another popular choice is the bed. Far too many people chose – inexplicably – to Zoom from their bedroom with duvets and cushions as their background. Some people Zoom from the corner of their sofa, surrounded by cushions or in front of a blank wall. On other Zoom screens just one picture hangs on the wall, or a plant sits on a coffee table artistically visible in the corner of the screen.

Zoom work from home backgrounds: what they reveal about you?

At first, as people started working from home as lockdown came into effect, Zoom was incredibly revealing and fun. Most people struggled with the technical side and hadn’t put too much thought into the rest. We saw colleagues, virtual pub quizzers and TV interviewees as they truly lived. And we saw the kinds of books they read in their spare time which could sometimes be a embarrassingly funny…

Often they’d thrown book horizontally on top of otherwise neatly stacked shelves – busy lives or were they just a little messy? Occasionally, the background looked so odd or fabulous that it overshadowed what the person was saying. But we’re getting a little savvier. We’re used to lockdown and we now think about not just what our home looks like on the screen to colleagues or family and friends. We are now thinking how we WANT people to see us and our homes. We see more colour coded book shelves and blank walls have become beautifully curated gallery walls.

Video Conferencing Background as a Business

Now that many of us are more likely to be working from home in future, entrepreneurs have turned Zoom life into a business. Companies selling “gallery wall” type paintings are springing up everywhere – particularly online.

Others prefer a “virtual” background to their zoom experience – or for others to see them in a more exotic setting. Zoom itself offers a feature allowing an image or video as background during a virtual meeting. With a green screen and controlled lighting, Zoom detects the difference between the person and his or her background.

Work from Home and Home Decor

The fun may have fizzled out of Zoom meetings – from now we expect more of those who work from home. Our meeting background says a lot about us – but it’s an opportunity to get creative and brand ourselves. Zoom work from home backgrounds matter and may be here to stay – even if it more fun and creative to meet in person.

•  Do we hide our home base with a virtual background – what kind of setting?
• Do we have a book case or sheves as our background to signal a serious image?
• Do we show off our new couch and terrific coffee table and lamps?
• Do we appear more casual by Zooming from the kitchen table?
• Do NOT Zoom from the bedroom with your bed in the background – too much information…
• How about in front of the gallery wall? But what do the pictures say?
• Do we create a special space for Zooming – with a desk and office accessories on show?

As we get to grips with working from home and have more meetings online from our living rooms – we’ll be zooming in on home decor and design over the next few years.