7 Ways to Style Your Home Office for Zoom Meetings

Whether you work from home or have carved out a space for something you love like crafting, reading, or writing, your home office is a place that should inspire the flow of creativity and allow you to get down to business.

Many of us have transitioned either part or full time to working from home, video conferencing throughout the day with colleagues rather than meeting in person. Unless one turns the camera off during these frequent Zoom calls, work spaces in our homes have suddenly become visible to our colleagues. All our clutter, family photos, travel mementos and home decor elements — whether appropriate for video calls or not — have now been placed on display. Many of us have thus chosen to take these elements down, choosing instead to conduct our meetings with a blank wall background rather than show the world our personal, private spaces. However, with eclectic, maximalist and more personal aesthetics shaking up the interior design world, infusing our homes with character, color and fun has become more acceptable — and even encouraged! Follow below for seven ways to style your remote work office for daily Zoom meetings — from organizational tips to ideas for achieving the perfect conference call lighting.

7 Interior Design Tips for Styling Your Home Office for Zoom Meetings

#1 Declutter to Avoid Distractions During Conference Calls

Declutter your home office to improve its aesthetics and lessen stress and discomfort. Consider pretty organizers that can double as home decor. To help yourself get organized, pick up the Interlude Home Faye Dusk Patina / Gold Sculpture or the Interlude Home Vivien White / Clear Shiny Brass And Blush Storage Case from Top Modern for paper clips, sticky notes, wall tacks and other office supplies.

Disorganization Affects Physical and Mental Health

In his article “The Powerful Psychology Behind Cleanliness” for Psychology Today, Dr. Ralph Ryback, M.D. outlines why keeping your office organized is so important. Dr. Ryback writes that not only is keeping your workspace organized better for your reputation during Zoom calls, but it also has mental and physical health benefits. Ryback references a recent study “led by associate professor NiCole R. Keith, Ph.D., research scientist and professor at Indiana University [who] found that people with clean houses are healthier than people with messy houses.” In fact, writes Ryback, “participants who kept their homes clean were healthier and more active than those who didn’t.” Another study examined the emotional effects of a disorganized space. According to Ryback, “a 2010 study published in the scientific journal Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin [found that] women who described their living spaces as ‘cluttered’ or full of ‘unfinished projects’ were more likely to be depressed and fatigued than women who described their homes as ‘restful’ and ‘restorative.’”

Benefits of Getting Your Workspace Organized

In her article “6 Benefits of an Uncluttered Space” for Psychology Today, Alice Boyes outlines why keeping clutter off your desk matters. She writes that “decluttering creates a sense of confidence and self-efficacy (seeing yourself as competent).” It is also “energizing” and has the capacity to reduce anxiety by removing unwanted distractions. Similarly, during a call, both you and your colleagues will be less distracted by clutter on your desk or random bits behind you in the background.

#2 Put Your Personality on Display While Working from Home

Though one might assume they should create a minimalist, wholly professional space without any evidence of their personal life, including elements reflective of one's personality, family and/or character is actually quite appropriate for most work from home spaces. In fact, interior design experts frequently recommend adding one or two personal elements to the background of your Zoom meeting because it removes a sense of sterility from the space and makes both yourself and your colleagues feel more comfortable. Steele Marcoux supports this concept in her article “Zhush Up Your Zoom Backdrop with These Simple Styling Tricks” for Veranda. Quoting LA designer Joe Lucas, Marcoux writes that “‘especially when we have to maintain physical distance between colleagues, friends, and family members, it’s nice to have things behind you or in the camera frame that show who you are.’” Augment your bookcase, your mounted wall shelves or your wall itself with art you love, collectibles you adore and photos of family, friends and your travels!

#3 Create Natural — not Dramatic — Lighting

Natural light is the most flattering and the most healthful for indoor work — whether it be on a computer or otherwise. Consider adding a subtle, naturally textured fixture to your office for diffuse lighting above eye level during Zoom video calls. We also recommend a metallic pendant or one with a frosted glass shade that softly diffuses light. Avoid direct, pointed light that uses fluorescent or other blue-toned bulbs. In her article “Supermodel Secrets to Getting Super-Flattering Lighting at Home” for Vogue, Elizabeth Brownfield offers a few simple to employ tips for creating natural light at home without a window. She first recommends looking for bulbs marked on the box with “a color temperature of around 2700K for clean, soft, warm light that says ‘home.’” Next, she suggests “having different types of [lighting] sources at varying heights and levels of diffusion [which] will give your rooms depth and dimension.”

See more: https://www.topmodern.com/style-studio/7-ways-to-style-your-home-office-for-zoom-meetings