Transform Your Windows 11 Desktop into a Clean, Professional Workspace

Are you tired of your cluttered Windows 11 desktop and want to give it a sleek, professional look? With a few free and open-source tools, you can achieve a clean and polished workspace that not only enhances your productivity but also looks fantastic. Here’s a step-by-step guide to elevate your desktop with minimal effort.

Clean animated background

1. Install Lively Wallpaper for Animated Backgrounds

First up, let’s tackle the wallpaper. Lively Wallpaper is a fantastic free and open-source program that brings animated wallpapers to life on your desktop. You can download it directly from the Microsoft Store or from the official website.

For this tutorial, I recommend choosing the “Rain” wallpaper for a clean and serene look. It’s both calming and professional. However, Lively Wallpaper offers a variety of animated backgrounds, and you can even add your own custom wallpapers if you prefer.

To configure your background, open Lively Wallpaper and select “Rain.” You can adjust settings such as Brightness, Zoom, Speed, and Intensity to suit your taste. Additionally, you can choose a custom background for the rain effect. For a nature-inspired look, I suggest using a free background from Unsplash.

2. Customize Your Taskbar with RoundedTB

Next, let’s refine your taskbar to complement the clean look of your desktop. RoundedTB is a free and open-source tool that allows you to customize the appearance of your taskbar, giving it a sleek, rounded edge. Download it from the RoundedTB GitHub page.

1. Setup RoundedTB: Create a folder on your C drive named “Windows Tweaks” (or any name you prefer) and unzip the RoundedTB file into this folder. Run RoundedTB.exe from the folder.
2. Configure Settings: Click on “Advanced” and set the top and bottom margins to 3, and the left and right margins to 550 (adjust these values based on your screen size). Enable “Dynamic mode” to ensure the taskbar scales with the number of applications you have open. Click “Apply” to see the changes.
3. Troubleshoot: If you encounter any bugs, right-click on the taskbar, go to “Taskbar settings,” then “Taskbar behaviors.” Set the alignment to left, then center it again. This should resolve any issues.
4. Uninstall: If you decide RoundedTB isn’t for you, press CTRL+ALT+DELETE, end the RoundedTB process, and delete the folder. There are other rounded taskbar apps available online, but open-source ones from GitHub are generally the safest.

3. Enhance Your Desktop with Rainmeter

Finally, let’s add some functional and stylish widgets to your desktop using Rainmeter. Rainmeter allows you to display useful information like the clock, date, and day of the week right on your screen. Download Rainmeter from their website and then get the Mond template.

1. Install Rainmeter: Run the installer and follow the on-screen instructions.
2. Apply the Template: Double-click the Mond template file to install it. You’ll see a new set of widgets on your desktop.
3. Customize Widgets: Right-click on any widget you don’t need and select “Unload skin” to remove it. For a clean look, I recommend removing any widgets that are not essential, such as the play bar and trash can.

With these three tools — Lively Wallpaper, RoundedTB, and Rainmeter — you can transform your Windows 11 desktop into a clean, professional workspace that’s not only visually appealing but also functional. Enjoy your revamped desktop and the boost in productivity it brings!

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