These Zoom backgrounds turn your house into the cover of an Ikea catalog

By Lilly Smith

December 18, 2020

Ikea might have put an end to its catalog, but you can still capture all that CGI magic—through Zoom backgrounds.

The Swedish retailer has released a series of video-conference backgrounds pulled from the covers of Ikea catalogs of yesteryear. The backgrounds will make it look like you live in a house worthy of a catalog, even if it’s decidedly not.

The 10 backgrounds capture a time before millennial pink: the ’80s, ’90s, and early 2000s. A time of rolled-arm couches with cream-colored slipcovers, glass and metal armoires, and aquamarine and tangerine accents. One background from a 2000 cover shows a mom and her son smiling over a Game Boy while sitting on one such cream-colored couch. Another from 2003 suggests you “Go Cubic!” much like the boxy TV featured in the lightly colored living room with a cherry-red and fuchsia abstract rug and green-apple accents.

There are a few options that feel more of the moment. There’s a bed full of fluffed black-and-white floral pillows against a backdrop of a cityscape that beckons you to stay in bed. There’s a large, white kitchen-turned-greenhouse stacked with plant babies and plates full of pancakes that would make you the envy of all your coworkers who are currently stuck in apartments.

If those don’t quite speak to you, Ikea also has backgrounds for all occasions, whether you’re about to hop on a Zoom call with coworkers, celebrate a birthday, or go on a romantic e-date. No matter which you choose, you can install the background like you would other custom backgrounds on Zoom or Microsoft teams. No assembly required.

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