When you choose to stream, you are bringing your audience into your life. Most streamers broadcast from their home and unless they use a green screen, their viewers can see behind them either to a blank wall or to the rest of their home.
Taking the time to decorate your stream area to keep it visually interesting is a great way to make your viewers feel welcomed and at home. It will also show stream sponsors that you value your production quality.
This post will go over several ideas on how you can add character to your background to keep your viewers engaged and entertained.
How to Decorate Your Stream Background
Here is our list of things you should consider when decorating the background your audience sees while your stream:
- Arrange Your Furniture
- Add Background Lighting for Effect
- Bring Life to Your Stream
- Celebrate Your Stream’s Community with Swag
- Decorate the Walls
- Replace Your Background with a Green Screen
Arrange Your Furniture
The first thing you will need to do is arrange any furniture that will show up in your background. Using side-tables and shelving in your background will allow you to place items on it that are fun or visually interesting.
You will want items that are tall enough to be seen in the frame (or hold things that will be seen) or that can be attached to the wall. The items should either also be visually interesting or be a “blank canvas” for the things it will display.
Hexagon
- Three shelves
- Hexagon Shape
- 19.1″ x 5.1″ x 16.7″
Industrial
- Industrial/Steampunk look
- Flat wall or corner
- 45.65″ x 24.4″
White
- Simple design
- 3 shelves
- 23.6″ x 5.9″ x 23.6″
You can also be creative with tall items that are not “furniture” but will add some interest to your channel, such as a manikin that you dress as your character in your game, an instrument you play, a grandfather’s clock, a cat tree, or a bunch of balloons that contain challenges that you pop on stream when someone subscribes. As long as it fits into ToS, use your imagination to fill your background with something that will spark conversation.
Dartboard
- Throw darts for subs
- Pin notes to the board
- Close when not in use
Mannequin
- 6-foot male
- Flexible arms and legs
- Dress it like your avatar
Helium Tank
- 14.9 Cubic feet of air
- Disposable tank
- 50 Balloons and ribbon
Add Background Lighting for Effect
Lighting for your stream is very essential to its visual quality. While your main focus should be to ensure that you, as the main subject, is well lit, you can also use decorative lights to create interest in your background. Here are a few of our favorite options:
Nanoleaf Panels
- Syncs to Music
- Custom Colors
- Remote Control
Aputure LED Lights
- Compact
- Color Customization
- Lighting Effects
Philips Hue Light
- 2m Strip
- Color Customization
- Indoor/Outdoor
Try different angles on the walls or toward other items to get interesting visual effects. If you go with the nano-leaf patterns, consider setting them up to change when your viewers use Twitch channel points or use a specific command. The more you can get your viewers to engage, the stronger your community will become over time.
Bring Life to Your Stream
Many people love to see living things in the background of your stream, even if it is subconsciously. Not only are pet cams an extremely popular asset on Twitch, placing a few plants in the background can make people feel more relaxed.
If you have pets (whether it is a cat, dog, bird, snake, or guinea pig), situate a camera to look directly at a place where they rest or play. Cat trees are very popular because you can typically set them in your background as well as focus a second webcam onto them.
Cat Tree
- 40.5″ tall
- Several perches
- Scratchpad
Dog Bed
- Warming bed
- Soft fleece
- Two sizes
Bird Cage
- Rolling cage
- Easy cleaning
- Aesthetically pleasing
Even if you choose to use fake (but realistic) plants, adding a few on your shelves will make people feel more at home. This will typically help them engage a little more. You can also add some creativity by adding a chia pet and allowing your viewers to save up channel points to give it a haircut periodically.
Swiss Cheese Plant
- Unique leaf patterns
- 4″ pot
- Live Plant
Chia Pet
- Fun and unique
- Create haircut incentives
- Emote inspiration
Plant Collection
- Three different plants
- Planters included
- Clean Air
Celebrate Your Stream’s Community with Swag
If you frequently play popular games, you can often find products and figurines related to those games. Adding 2-3 game-related items will give you something to show off whenever someone comments on them. They also show that you want to have fun and enjoy yourself.
LoL Taric
- One of several figures
- Custom designed box
- 6.8″ x 5.85″ x 5.55″
Minecraft Tools
- Diamond sword
- Diamon pickaxe
- Made of Foam
Fortnite Llama
- 8″ x 14″
- Stuffed with loot
- Officially licensed
You can also do an “art stream” where you paint or draw with your community. You don’t have to be an amazing artist, but just have fun and frame some of your images to show off in the future. Have your viewers show off their masterpieces in your Discord and consider printing a couple to frame as well. You can even turn it into a competition.
Decorate the Walls
You don’t have to settle for leaving all your decor on shelves or furniture, you can also showcase it on the walls. Whether it is a map where you can pin your viewer’s locations, a digital chalkboard, or a digital frame that showcases your fan art and special moments from your stream, having something interactive in the background.
Digital Frame
- 13″ screen
- Showcase fan art
- Can play clips
Digital Board
- Lights up
- Write in any color
- Remote controlled
Zelda Poster
- 5 Panels
- 3 sizes available
- Canvas Art
You can also decorate your walls with artwork or posters that you enjoy. Choose some that will be good talking points – remember, you should always find more ways to get your viewers to engage with you.
Replace Your Background with a Green Screen
If your space is limited or you don’t want to clean the area behind you, you can replace your background (or remove it altogether) with a green screen. When using a green screen, your webcam background options for Twitch are endless and you can create many different scenes for your image to pop in and out of throughout your stream.
Webaround
- Attaches to Chair
- 56″ Diameter Screen
- Folds for Storage
Fotodiox
- Two different colors
- Can be mounted on a stand
- Perfect for small spaces
Elgato
- Premium Screen
- Collapses for Storage
- Full Coverage Chroma
Conclusion
Decorating your background is important to keep your webcam view visually aesthetic as well as find “real life” ways to engage with your viewers through your personal taste. You can also frequently switch things up to keep it interesting.
Luci
Luci is a novelist, freelance writer, and active blogger. A journalist at heart, she loves nothing more than interviewing the outliers of the gaming community who are blazing a trail with entertaining original content. When she’s not penning an article, coffee in hand, she can be found gearing her shieldmaiden or playing with her son at the beach.
