Customizing Google Calendar: Backgrounds, Colors & More

I use Google Calendar almost every day, so why not make it a little prettier?

I wanted my calendar to feel less like a boring productivity tool and more like a little corner of my digital life — cozy, pretty, and completely my aesthetic. Think Pinterest boards, soft colors, and a background you actually enjoy looking at.

With just a few simple changes, I gave my Google Calendar a little makeover without making it complicated or overwhelming.

Here’s how I made mine feel a little more me. ⁠ ⁠1. Add a Custom Background

The first thing I changed was the background.

Google Calendar doesn’t have a built-in option for choosing your own background image, so I used a Chrome extension called Custom Calendar Background.

The extension lets you add your own image to Google Calendar and use it as a full-page background. ⁠ ⁠Choose your picture

For my background, I usually look for something I like on Pinterest. It could be a cute room, a landscape, a soft aesthetic image, or basically anything that matches the vibe I want.

Once you find an image you like:

Copy the image URL.
Open the Custom Calendar Background extension.
Paste the image link into the extension.
Apply the changes.
Open Google Calendar and you should see your new background.

Tip: I recommend choosing a relatively simple image. Your calendar events will be displayed on top of it, so an extremely busy picture can make everything difficult to read.

The extension currently recommends using Google Calendar in Light mode when using a custom background.

2. Change the Calendar Color Palette

Once the background is done, the next thing I changed was the color palette.

Go to:

Google Calendar → Settings → Appearance

Under Color set, choose Classic.

3. Create Another Calendar

Here’s the little trick that makes the color customization much more useful.

You need to have at least two calendars.

For example, you could have:

Personal
Work
Study
Habits
Important Dates

You can create another calendar from the Other calendars section by selecting Create new calendar.

Google also supports having multiple calendars together, which makes it easy to separate different parts of your life visually.

4. Pick Your Own Calendar Colors

Once you have multiple calendars, look at the left-hand side of Google Calendar.

Under My calendars, hover over the calendar you want to customize.

You'll see three dots ⋮ next to it.

Click them and you'll get a color palette.

Now you can choose the color you want for that calendar.

Repeat this for your other calendars until you have a color palette that works with your background.

Google's current Calendar interface also supports an expanded range of custom event colors, so there is more flexibility than the older limited palette.

⁠The Final Result

And that's basically it!

You don't need a complicated setup to make Google Calendar feel much more personal.

Custom background + Classic color set + coordinated calendar colors = a completely different-looking Google Calendar.

I especially like doing this with a Pinterest picture that matches the aesthetic I'm currently obsessed with. It makes opening my calendar feel a little less like opening a productivity tool and a little more like opening something I actually enjoy looking at.

And honestly, if you're going to look at your calendar every day, why not make it cute?