If the glossy minimalism of Windows 11 is not your cup of tea, you don’t have to live with it. With just a few well-selected utilities, you can take the desktop far beyond what macOS’s polished dock-and-top-bar design offers, or construct any West Coast Linux-style layout (one inspired by GNOME, KDE, or Budgie) of your liking—no dual-booting required and without putting system stability at risk.
Why bother? Personal ergonomics matter. Windows 11 could most readily be used to explain, in terms of market share at least: According to StatCounter statistics, Windows 11 and Windows still split the desktop operating system market, except that a significant percentage customizes their interfaces to minimize hassles and streamline workflows. The good news: thanks to modern utilities, such makeovers are much easier — and far safer — than they were with the “skin packs” of a decade ago.
Start here: An all-in-one attitude from Seelen UI
The main one is Seelen UI — a free modular desktop layer for Windows. It brings a configurable dock, top bar, panels, widgets, and theme management out of the box — so you can create a Linux-like or macOS-like layout without hacking system files. The aim of the project (the “vision statement,” if you will) is all about customization and productivity, feeling in practice a lot like a lightweight desktop environment running directly on top of Windows.
Use the Microsoft Store for the easiest time updating. It uses the Microsoft Edge and WebView2 components, which ship with Windows 11 by default; if you’re missing anything, the installer can give it to you. Upon installation, the welcome wizard guides you through enabling modules and selecting a starter theme.
Pro tip: Set a system restore point before the most major UI changes.
It’s something that Microsoft Support recommends as a general practice and something that takes less than 1 minute.
Go macOS-style: dock, top bar, subtle glass
You’ll want to turn on Seelen UI’s dock and top bar to better approximate macOS. Put the dock at the bottom, then center your app icons, and slap some blurred or acrylic effects over everything for a “liquid glass” look. And keep your dock minimal — pinned apps, running indicators, and a single downloads stack — so it feels fast and not full of crud.
On the top bar, include a left-side app menu, a centered clock, and right-side status items (Wi‑Fi, battery, audio). Either hide the native taskbar or set it to auto-hide mode so that your new dock can take over visual responsibilities. Rounded corners and soft shadows are already in Windows 11, so you’re halfway there.
For uniformity’s sake, choose an icon pack that uses high-contrast symbols and leave the system accent colors clean.
A lot of designers will want a light dock with a dark top bar to separate navigation from content — small nudges toward concentration.
Prefer Linux vibes? GNOME, KDE, or Budgie layouts
GNOME-like: put the dock on the left side, with a top panel and clock centered. Place workspace indicators and an app launcher directly to the left of the top bar. Combine with Windows Virtual Desktops and codenaming by project to get how GNOME sets up workspaces this way.
KDE-like: Keep a bottom panel that includes both a start launcher and pinned apps, as well as your system tray that can expand to take up the full right side of your screen.
Throw in a bit of transparency and tight kerning for a productivity-first aesthetic. KDE’s middle name is Control — so turn on more panel widgets and finicky window buttons.
Budgie-like: Top panel for status and a centered clock. Bottom dock for apps. Seelen UI’s modular toolbar and dock themes can actually get quite close to Budgie’s balanced, elegant design.
Add power tools without risking Windows stability
Microsoft PowerToys: FancyZones. Microsoft PowerToys throws in a tiling-like window manager for Windows — highly useful if you’re chasing a Linux tiling workflow. It also includes nifty utilities such as Peek, PowerRename, and Keyboard Manager. As Microsoft’s own tool, compatibility and updates are solid.
Start menu tweaks: If you prefer a more traditional app launcher or a stripped-down grid, quality utilities like Start11 or StartAllBack (paid) and ExplorerPatcher (free) can reshape the Start environment and your taskbar’s behavior. Only have one taskbar modifier enabled to prevent conflict.
Visual polish: Rainmeter has got you covered for desktop widgets displaying system stats, clocks, and media controls — just choose well-maintained skins for fluttery performance. Avoid complete icon-replacement packs that tamper with system files — contemporary overlays like Seelen UI achieve most of the effect, with less danger involved.
Security, performance, and rollback best practices
Install from the Microsoft Store or the developer’s own channels, and scan third-party themes before you install them. Security researchers are notorious for reminding us that bundled installers are an easy way to sneak in malware; if you stick to signed binaries and steer clear of “all-in-one” cosmetic packs that mess with your system DLLs.
On midrange hardware, a dock plus top bar isn’t too terribly heavy. If you notice stutters, cut down on blur, transparency, and animations — again, it’s typically GPU effects. If you want to revert a change, uncheck them in Seelen UI and uninstall using Windows Settings > Apps. Your Windows desktop will switch back instantly and, with a restore point, you get a full safety net.
Build a practical desktop layout in about 10 minutes
For a macOS-like setup: with Seelen UI installed, apply dock and top bar, center icons, enable light blur, and hide the taskbar. For an LXQt-like setup: move the dock to the left; add a top panel that has workspaces; and then use PowerToys FancyZones for tiling. In either case, make the theme cohesive — bordering consistent iconography, muted colors with a take on restrained premium ones, and minimal widget usage.
The result is more like a facelift. A desktop that aligns with your mental model will reduce friction and speed up daily tasks. If the default “vibe” of Windows 11 doesn’t grab you, a little nipping and tucking can make it feel more like home — whether that home looks like Cupertino or your favorite Linux desktop.