Most Popular Featured Desktops Of 2016

Every week, we feature customised desktops submitted by readers that show off beautiful wallpapers, great customisation, and UI tweaks. Sometimes they’re fun, sometimes they’re functional, and sometimes they’re both, but 2016 was a great year for them. Here’s a look at your favourites.

The Simply Ubuntu Desktop

Over on Flickr, fosco_ submitted this simple Ubuntu desktop, with just a few things tweaked for a cleaner experience. Like we’ve said, sometimes less is more, and this desktop makes good use of a few widgets to make a great UI even better.

The Simple Monitor Desktop

Flickr user d.chasenelson‘s desktop is simple, only has a few widgets, and a simple gradient wallpaper that’s not at all distracting. It’s ideal for a second screen when you’re working in the first, or just as a quick monitor view you can minimise other things to check out. Here’s how to set it up.

The Temple Morning Desktop

This desktop may not look like much, but that’s precisely why it’s so great. It is actually customised, but just in the right ways, and in the ways that work best for shadownight, who submitted it to our desktop showcase. Here’s how it works.

The Winter Cottage Desktop

Reader Alec used a little Übersicht magic to make his mac a little more welcoming when he sits down to work, and informative when he gets up to leave it. Here’s how he set everything up.

The Shrouded World Desktop

Reader Alec submitted this desktop to our Desktop Showcase, and aside from a stunning wallpaper, it’s a neatly customised Mac. Here’s how he set everything up.

The Stormy Sea Desktop

This desktop is simple enough, and Flickr user jsmorley explained that they wanted something just personalised a bit, but nothing over the top. The end result is this dramatic desktop that’s also easy for anyone to duplicate. Here’s how.

The Mountaintop Desktop

Frequent desktop contributor JonRedcorn2 usually uses Windows, but this time he has a Mac — and that isn’t stopping him from customising it the way he likes. Here’s how he set up this beautifully clean desktop.

The TRON Desktop

Reader thdoan submitted this highly customised second screen using Rainmeter to our Flickr desktop show and tell pool. Best of all there’s even a video showing you how it all works. If you like the look, here’s what you’ll need to make your own.

The Edge of the World Desktop

This OS X desktop is simple, elegant, and combines a few simple widgets with a gorgeous wallpaper to great effect. If you like what you see, here’s how you can set it up, customise your own menubar, and give your Mac the same look.

The Dual Monitor Bokeh Desktop

We don’t get nearly enough dual monitor desktops in our desktop showcase, so when we see one — especially one as good looking as this — we have to highlight it. Best of all, there isn’t much to it, and it’s easy to set up if you have two displays of your own. Here’s how.

The NXT Nebula Desktop

Reader ravenclawwit stumbled on the NXT theme for Rainmeter, and put it to great use in this beautiful, functional desktop. That circle in the upper left? It’s actually a dock, packed with shortcuts. Here’s how it all works, and how to set it up.

The Dark Planet Desktop

Reader tatersneggs put together this Rainmeter-powered desktop that’s flashy enough, but actually doesn’t use a lot of widgets to get a neat, personal look. Here’s how he set it up.

The Desktop Desktop

I have a bit of a soft spot for desktops that actually look like desktops. Alec’s desktop fits the bill nicely, and actually looks like a desk surface, with items in the corners, while there’s still plenty of room to actually work, and a little customisation to make it personal.

The Arch Terminal Desktop

This linux desktop is an homage to one of our favourite distributions, Arch Linux — and reader KunalGadgil shared it with us in our desktop show and tell pool. Here’s how you can get a similar look.

The Sunset Firewatch Desktop

We’ve featured a Firewatch Desktop before, but now that the game is out, we’re seeing more than a few — and who can blame you, the game’s atmosphere is a huge draw, and the landscapes are gorgeous. Reader jadita put this one together.

That’s a lot of desktops! Remember, if you have your own desktoip to show off, you can either Post it to your personal Kinja blog using the tag Desktop Showcase or add it to our Lifehacker Desktop Show and Tell Flickr Pool. You never know, yours might make next year’s roundup!

Want more awesomely customised desktops? Check out our most popular featured desktops and home screens of 2015.