In this episode of The Uploft Interior Design Podcast, I answer listener design questions and focus on practical ways to improve everyday spaces. I start by helping Priya from Austin rethink her home office Zoom background, explaining how a balanced backdrop with subtle patterns, greenery, and good lighting can look polished without being distracting, and emphasizing that the background should support—not compete with—the person on screen. Then I help Caroline from Tennessee decide on lighting for her dining room, recommending one strong chandelier rather than multiple fixtures… If you have questions for me, make sure to submit them here.
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Design inspiration, real life makeovers, and the latest in pop culture. This is the Uploft Interior Design podcast with Betsy Helmuth. >> Hello there. I love answering your design questions and so many good ones have been coming in flooding the mailbag
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that I am going to immerse myself in interior design this week. all design questions all the time. No pop culture. You know, there’s been a little bit of a reality TV show drought, but also I just want to get back to our roots because I’m designing a lot at my firm. I just
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did a Bridgetgerton one-bedroom apartment and it’s just been inspiring me so much lately. The sun is out, spring is on its way, and I am ready to help you redesign your space. Have you got questions? Do you want to show me the projects you’re working on? Head over to uploft.commpodcast.
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Once again, that’s uplift.commpodcast. I’m excited to see what you’re up to. I’m excited to help you on your journey.
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Priya’s Home Office: Fixing a Boring Zoom Background
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And if you become a premium member for as little as $5.99 a month, not only are you supporting the show, but I will answer your questions first on the show. So, if you have something pressing, if a contractor’s like, “What color are we painting this
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trim?” Don’t worry, I got you. Head over to uploft.com/mpodcast, submit your question, become a premium member, buy my book, enroll in some online classes, and so so much more. All right, let’s check in on Priya all the way from Austin, Texas, and she writes,
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“Hi, Betsy. My home office is functional, but visually depressing. My desk faces a completely blank wall, which means my Zoom background is just emptiness. I have considered wallpaper, built-in shelving, large scale art, and even moving the entire layout, but I get
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stuck in decision paralysis. I want something that looks polished and interesting without feeling busy or distracting. I also do not want to commit to something trendy that I’m going to regret. Built-ins feel like a big investment. Wallpaper feels risky
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and art somehow never looks as impactful in my imagination as it does in photos. For a workspace that needs visual presence but not chaos, what usually creates the best balance? Architectural elements like shelving, surface treatments like wallpaper or layered
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decor. Well, I love these terms that you are using, Pria. The first question that popped into my mind is what is her industry? What’s she doing? Who is she zooming with? Because I think that has a lot to do with your background. I help people with their Zoom walls
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every day. Don’t judge, guys. You know,
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Tips for Styling a Professional Zoom Wall
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I’m in my bathroom because I’ve got a toddler down the way and my cottage is so cold in these freezing temps. But the minute it warms up, I am back out there because yeah, I have several Zoom options and I just have more tranquility. And I don’t have a tub behind me. Okay.
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Anyway, Priya, this is not about me. This is about you. So, what do you do, right, for a living? Because you may, if you’re doing a lot of Zooms for your profession, want to hint at that or it may dictate how serious we need to be versus how playful. So, for instance, if
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you have a pop culture podcast, well, let’s do something big and splashy. Let’s do that wallpaper. Let’s just make a strong, bold visual statement. If you’re an attorney, maybe we need some diplomas back there with like a leafy green plant. It really is contingent on what you do,
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but I always think it’s nice to have like some kind of greenery, ideally alive and not faux. I always think it’s nice to have a little pop of color. Um, so that could be decorative objects on floating shelves. It could be styling bookcases behind you. You don’t have to
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do a built-in, right? You could go to IKEA and get two Billy bookcases, put them side by side, and style them however you want. Uh, that’s the glory of Zoom is that people are only seeing a small window. So, as long as you style that window appropriately, it doesn’t
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really matter what else is going on on the sides of that space. Um, you do want to be careful with books on a bookshelf because people are going to be reading the spines. Heck, it could even be distracting for people when they’re on with you. I also try and
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avoid like personal pictures or family pictures. I feel like that can be distracting as well. And, you know, I do like to incorporate some patterns, but they need to be subtle. The thing about Zoom is you’re
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Lighting and Camera Placement for Better Video Calls
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always the star of your own show. You are in the middle of the screen. You are presenting or talking to someone. And so you really want to show up as the authority no matter what you’re doing. And you don’t want the background to be so catchy or so styled that people are
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looking at the minutia and not paying attention to you. Those are just a few ideas. But the other thing is for me Zooms are all about lighting. You want that beautiful lighting in front of you. Ideally natural lighting. So you had mentioned thinking about placing your
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desk. Make sure that you’re facing your windows. You wouldn’t want your windows to be behind you if there was sun because that sunlight will come streaming in and people won’t be able to see your face. It’ll be in shadow. Um, what else is a good tip? Let’s see. You
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want to think about what you’re personally wearing. You don’t want it to be a strong pattern and then have a heavily patterned wallpaper and be too jarring or even create kind of a screen vibration with all the different colors and patterns. So, I’m always kind of
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mindful that I want to, you know, wear a top that’s maybe more subdued if I have a lot going on in the background. Priya, I need to know a little more to give you more specific direction, but I think that’s given you lots of food for thought. It also sounds like you’re a
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little all over the place with your ideas. So, whenever I have a client who’s just not exactly sure what direction they might want to go in, I say go online, look at other people’s Zoom backgrounds and see which one appeals to you. Literally just Google
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cool zoom backgrounds and Google image
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Caroline’s Dining Room Lighting Dilemma
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search so that you get just a string of pictures and maybe one will resonate with you as something that might align with your profession but might also align with the room that you’re broadcasting out of. Oh wait, I could do something like that. I have those items
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at my house. With Zoom, I find less is typically more. So don’t feel like you have to do something crazy in order to make significant impact. Pria, I was happy to help. If you want to get more specific, if you have other questions, if you want to get started on
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that Zoom background and then let me know how it’s going, reach out. Head over to uploft.com/mpodcast and show me what you’re working with. All right, let’s scroll down because my next question comes from Caroline all the way in Tennessee and she says, “Hi,
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Betsy. My dining room is one of those spaces that should feel dramatic and yet it feels oddly underwhelming. I have a beautiful rectangular wood table and upholstered chairs. Yet, the room is lacking that wow factor. I suspect lighting is the culprit. I’m debating
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between choosing one large chandelier or two smaller pendants. A single fixture feels classic and bold, but two pendants feel architectural. I can’t visualize which would elevate the space versus making it feel fragmented. In rooms like this, how do you decide between one
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dominant lighting statement versus multiple smaller ones? Easy question. Caroline just threw me a softball. I’ve got you. First things first, I very rarely above a dining table put multiple fixtures. Usually, it’s just one fixture. Now, it could have multiple arms, right? It could
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certainly have multiple bulbs, but in terms of two fixtures or three fixtures, for me, that’s something I’d be more
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Choosing the Right Chandelier & Using Texture in Design
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inclined to do above a kitchen island or even a peninsula. But a freestanding dining table really just calls for one chandelier. I have been seeing more like two large pendants above the table, but for me it’s a little bit of a trendy look. Also, you’re going to need two junction
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boxes, which can be harder to actually do if you’re dealing with a pre-existing space because most of them just have one box centered in the room, ideally above the table. Okay. So, it’s really contingent on how long your table is. For a table that’s over 72 in long, I do
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like something linear in terms of a chandelier. Now, linear means elongated versus round or versus like elliptical. I like that elongated shape because it emphasizes how elongated the table is because anything over 72 is a really beautiful big table. And we also want to
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illuminate more of that surface area. That’s why I like those linear chandeliers. But for something 72 inches and smaller, I think a regular round chandelier or even that oval shape could be really beautiful. Now, the other thing we want to think about when
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selecting a chandelier is texture. It’s an opportunity not only to illuminate the space to but to bring a different element into the space. Now, typically your table’s going to be wood, which is what you mentioned here. And your chairs are upholstered, and they probably have
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wooden legs. Nothing about that is too exciting or unexpected. But we can bring in an absolutely new texture with a chandelier. So, what is something we haven’t used yet? We’ve used fabric. So, I typically avoid shades on my chandeliers. Instead, I love to see glass, whether
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it’s crystals or glass bulbs. I like to see cape. I think of it as an opportunity to bring in a texture that’s unexpected in a dining area that’s hard to bring in in a different way. So, for instance, if my dining table was a glass top, I absolutely would not bring in a
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crystal chandelier or that glass element because it’s redundant. That’s the same texture that we see below the chandelier. If I had a marble top table, I absolutely would not want to include any stone in my chandelier because again, I’ve already used that texture in
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proximity to the chandelier. These are all things to think about when you’re selecting your light fixture, not only in a dining area, but also in other rooms of your home. When I’m selecting a table lamp, I make sure that the texture of the lamp, whether it’s ceramic,
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glass, metal, stone, is different or contrasts with the con with the um surface of the in table that it’s resting upon. That’s a lot to take in, guys. Wow. But I love answering your questions. Hey, it’s what I do. If you’re thinking to yourself, Betsy, I
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want you to look at my dining room. I have questions. Head over to uploft.com/mpodcast. And if you can’t get enough content, if you’re like, Betsy, that episode was a little short. You burned through those questions and I need more. Head over to our new Tik Tok channel. Yes, I have
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been Tik Tocking for three months now, and I am having an absolute blast. Go over to Tik Tok and check out Uploft Interior Design. You’ll see me at HomeGoods. You’ll see me in my own house. You’ll see me boopping around. You’ll see me holding my cat. Yes, my
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cat also loves to give it design advice. So, you will not want to miss my most recent Tik Toks where I was evaluating Kylie Jenner’s house. I had a lot to say and people were clapping back. Check it out and I’ll talk to you next week. Bye. A big thanks to our producer Jeremy
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Young and to Eton and the Embassy for our theme music. And shout out to our parent company, Uploft Interior Design, your trusted source for expert interior design. Visit uploft.com to explore our services and book a consultation with one of our talented designers. If you’re
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enjoying the Uplift Interior Design podcast, please support us by sharing the show with friends and leaving a five-star review on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen. It’s the best way to help new listeners find us. Thanks for tuning in and we’ll see you next
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week with more pro tips and pop culture dish.
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