Creating Your Zoom-Perfect Setting

Paul-Miller-published-interior-designer-virginia

By Paul Miller

Interior Designer

Read Time: 8 Minutes

This year, there has been a lot to learn about how to live during a global pandemic. For many of us, getting used to virtual meetings and events has been near the top of that list, though admittedly below adjusting to mask-wearing and remembering just how often we need to wash our hands. I’m not a doctor or a scientist, so this blog will speak to what I do know - design and presentation - and show you how to make sure the setting for your video meetings is putting you in your best possible light.

Since the early days of the pandemic shutdown, I have learned a lot of lessons about how to choose and refine the setting for my virtual meetings as well as how to optimize my video quality. I have worked from a makeshift home office in the attic and from my dining room table. The advantage of the latter was that I had plenty of room to spread out, although this would likely be less ideal in a house with a lot of activity. As long as you have a door to shut out random distractions, you will be on the right path from the jump. This advice may seem obvious, but likely all of us have attended at least one Zoom meeting that was temporarily derailed by rogue photo-bombers.

First, know that you should schedule your own preproduction meeting with your video conferencing platform. I use Zoom, but whatever your provider, start a meeting and turn on your camera so that you can see yourself and your setting as others will see it. Reference this frequently as you set about tweaking the details and trying out my recommendations.

Zoom_meeting_lighting_design.jpg

Turn Up The Light

Before all else, get the lighting right. This means volume of light and also placement of it. For daytime meetings, consider rearranging the room or working from the other side of a floating desk to put your windows in front of you. This will allow natural light to bathe your face evenly. The very last thing you want is a distracting source of light just over your shoulder, be it a window or lamp. Backlighting causes your camera to make adjustments that dramatically darken the foreground, throwing your face in shadow and making it harder for you to effectively communicate. After all, a steady gaze or smile at the camera to reassure a client or colleague means very little if they cannot make out your features.

Meetings on overcast days or in rooms with poor natural light will always need additional lighting. As a design firm, we have good light kits for photoshoots, which I use regularly. These are lightweight and flexible solutions, easy to set up and breakdown once you get the hang of them. If this is not an option, remove the shade from a table lamp, place it just out of frame of your device, and allow it to cast its light on your face. You may need to use a brighter bulb than you might normally. When your image no longer looks grainy and pixilated on your own device, you have enough light.

Play with the location of the light source. Too high above and it may cast deep hollows under your eyes. Too far below your face and you will get what is called ghoul lighting - a fun way to scare the kids, but not a good idea for a meeting with your colleagues. Typically if the light source is about level with your temples, you will be lit in a flattering way. Adjust the closeness of the light if it is washing out your features. Play with the warmth or coolness of the bulb type if the light is causing warm, yellowy pools to appear on the highlights of your face, such as your cheeks and brow. You may also need to adjust cosmetics or lotions to reduce the sheen level on your face to solve this problem.

Find Your Angles

By now most of us probably know that the camera on your desktop or laptop needs to be level with your face, but I attend just enough meetings where I am looking at someone’s forehead and ceiling to know that this memo has not yet been widely circulated. One challenge, particularly with a laptop, is that in putting the device at the right height for a good angle on your face, the keyboard can wind up being at a less than comfortable height for typing. The solution is to either take notes on paper and transfer them later or to use a remote keyboard or mouse to enable you to stay in control of the meeting and presentation without sacrificing the best placement of the camera.


Psychologically, your viewer should feel they are viewing you from the same height.

In full honesty, my go-to problem solvers for camera height are either a tall stack of coffee table books at the office or an old wooden box when I video conference from home. Whatever your solution, it does not need to be fancy per se, so long as it provides a stable placement for your computer. The one advantage of the stack of books approach is that it lets you make adjustments inch by inch until your camera is aligned perfectly with your features. Psychologically, your viewer should feel they are viewing you from the same height. When you are peering into your camera from above you are literally looking down on your meeting mates.

Scrub The Little Uglies

Even a beautifully decorated room will likely need some tweaks to help your video meeting look its best. Perhaps the fly in the ointment is a print under glass that is reflecting your lighting in a distracting way - or that older piece of furniture your’ve been meaning to paint for years. You can either finally get to fixing the problem or simply remove it from the sightline. Editing is crucial to making sure your setting is polished and pleasing. Look for the kinds of messy details you no longer notice. Kind of like the beep of a smoke detector with a low battery that you stopped hearing a long time ago, there are always things we stop noticing visually, as well, such as messy cords or wall art that has gone a bit crooked.

Polish Up Your Book Shelves

A question that many people have is about what to do when a bookshelf is in the background. Since the pandemic began, there has been lively debate online about what politicians and celebrities read. My advice is to consider three things: content, clutter, and style. You may have books on the shelf that are just poor messaging for what you do professionally. A book called ‘How To Climb The Corporate Ladder Without Lifting A Finger’ might not sit well with your colleagues or your boss. This is where culling the content can be useful. Resolving clutter starts with grouping objects together in an array of heights, placing the tallest objects at the outside ends, with smaller items moving inward. Be willing to have some blank spaces in your bookshelves; this provides visual relief and is calming on the eye. Style really does matter in all aspects of life, whether it is overt or just below the radar. Consider how your accents compliment the colors in your space and look for accessories that truly reflect your interests, rather than simply providing filler. Be willing to borrow items from other rooms to make sure the bookshelves have real interest. Most importantly, be mindful of where they wind up behind you so that you do not appear to have a vase sprouting from the top of your head.

Create Distinctive Backdrops

Striking paint color is a great way to add style to your meeting backdrop, but be mindful of how the color you choose impacts the visceral responses of viewers. A deep blue wall conveys trustworthiness and is calming, while a fiery red hue can raise blood pressure and heighten tension. If nothing else, it may reflect a red glow on your face, making you appear flustered when you are feeling perfectly calm. A subtle adjustment to the dials on your color wheel, going a bit raspberry or coral for instance, can resolve the issue.

A striking wallpaper has the benefit of obviating the need for a lot of wall art, but there is a fine line between a backdrop that is attractive and one that is distracting. While art under glass and mirrors can be problematic because of what they reflect in them, oils and acrylics as well as sculptural wall hangings can be ideal for decorating the walls behind you. Plants can ground empty corners and look great in real time and on camera.

Acrylic paintings like this one from our Winchester Oral Surgery Center Project typically are less reflective than art under glass, making good choices for video meeting backdrops.

Acrylic paintings like this one from our Winchester Oral Surgery Center Project typically are less reflective than art under glass, making good choices for video meeting backdrops.

A geometric accent paper in soothing hues like this selection from our Howe Hall Project could easily translate into a home office setting, creating a modern and stylish backdrop.

A geometric accent paper in soothing hues like this selection from our Howe Hall Project could easily translate into a home office setting, creating a modern and stylish backdrop.

Tell Your Story

Make design choices for your setting that align with the way in which you market yourself to clients and colleagues. Wallpaper patterns such as mid-scale geometrics or trellis designs might be good choices for someone in finance or planning, conveying a reassuring sense of order. By contrast, a person in a creative field, such as a graphic illustrator, might be best framed by a wall filled with interesting art. But, while keeping your brand in mind, avoid making choices that cause your home office to look like a perfectly seamless extension of your work office.

People know many of us are working from home and while they will at least passively appreciate a backdrop that is consistent with your professional image, they will also appreciate that your home space feels a bit more like you than corporate HQ . Just like a photo at work of your family kayaking can be a conversation starter, the right personal details left visible can be humanizing and comforting to other people in your meeting. Most importantly, there are many hours of the day when you are not in a Zoom meeting and the space in your home needs to feel like yours when the camera is off.


The truth is that we are all in this together, trying to figure out new norms and learning to do new things, often on our own and from home.

The one role in your professional life that you may not have been prepared to take on is that of video producer, but those skills are important now as we navigate changes we could not have imagined a year ago. The truth is that we are all in this together, trying to figure out new norms and learning to do new things, often on our own and from home. Meetings used to start with everybody rolling into the conference room, looking for the coffee urn and the box of doughnuts. Now many of us are sitting down in front of our computer wearing a blazer and button up over pajama bottoms and slippers, hoping our pet doesn’t tear through at any minute, and trying to ignore that the house still smells like breakfast. When you get the production end of your video meeting right and create a bright, polished, and comfortable-looking setting for yourself, people will feel a little more present with you and the strangeness of this moment will feel a bit less that - strange.

If you think your home office needs a holistic, Zoom-friendly transformation and you simply don’t have the time, vision, or resources to go it alone, we would love to have a conversation with you about how our design services can help. Fill out the design survey below to start the process.