---
title: "How to Customize Your Mac Desktop: Aesthetic Setup Guide"
description: "Customize your Mac desktop: live wallpapers, desktop widgets, hidden icons, a cleaner Dock and menu bar, accent colors, custom app and folder icons."
canonical: "https://macwall.app/blog/how-to-customize-mac-desktop"
published: "2026-09-28"
updated: "2026-09-28"
keywords:
  - "how to customize mac desktop"
  - "macbook customization"
  - "aesthetic mac setup"
  - "how to add widgets to mac desktop"
  - "how to hide desktop icons on mac"
  - "how to change mac icons"
  - "desktop customization mac"
category: "Guides"
readMinutes: "7"
---

# How to Customize Your Mac Desktop

Customize your Mac desktop: live wallpapers, desktop widgets, hidden icons, a cleaner Dock and menu bar, accent colors, custom app and folder icons.

**To customize a Mac desktop, start with the wallpaper (System Settings > Wallpaper), add widgets by right-clicking the desktop and choosing Edit Widgets, then tidy the Dock, menu bar, and icons.** A live wallpaper app such as MacWall adds motion, which is the biggest single change you can make to how a Mac feels.

## 1. Pick a wallpaper that sets the mood

Everything else takes its color from the wallpaper, especially on macOS Tahoe's translucent Liquid Glass. Choose a still in System Settings > Wallpaper ([full guide](https://macwall.app/blog/how-to-change-wallpaper-on-mac)) or a moving one with [MacWall](https://macwall.app/download). Popular aesthetic picks: [lofi](https://macwall.app/wallpapers/collections/lofi), [purple](https://macwall.app/wallpapers/collections/purple), [rain](https://macwall.app/wallpapers/collections/rain), and [anime](https://macwall.app/wallpapers/anime).

## 2. Add widgets to the desktop

1. Right-click (or Control-click) an empty part of the desktop.
2. Choose **Edit Widgets**.
3. Drag widgets such as Calendar, Weather, Reminders, or Clock onto the desktop. Widgets from iPhone apps work too when your iPhone is nearby or on the same network.

## 3. Hide desktop icons

- Finder > Settings > General: uncheck hard disks, external disks, and connected servers under **Show these items on the desktop**.
- Move files into folders, or turn on **Use Stacks** (right-click the desktop) to group them automatically.
- To hide every icon, run `defaults write com.apple.finder CreateDesktop false; killall Finder` in Terminal. Replace `false` with `true` to bring them back.

## 4. Clean up the Dock

- System Settings > Desktop & Dock: turn on **Automatically hide and show the Dock**.
- Turn off **Show suggested and recent apps in Dock**.
- Drag apps you rarely use out of the Dock until you see Remove.

## 5. Tidy the menu bar

Hold Command and drag menu bar icons to reorder or remove them. In System Settings > Control Center you choose which system icons appear. Set the menu bar to hide automatically for a cleaner full-screen desktop.

## 6. Change the accent and highlight color

System Settings > Appearance lets you choose Light, Dark, or Auto, plus an accent color and highlight color. Matching the accent to your wallpaper, for example purple with a purple loop, makes the whole system feel designed.

## 7. Custom app and folder icons

1. Copy an image (PNG works best) to the clipboard.
2. Select the app or folder in Finder and press Command-I to open Get Info.
3. Click the small icon at the top left of the Get Info window and press Command-V.

On macOS 26 (Tahoe), folders can also take a color and a symbol or emoji directly from the Finder.

## 8. Use Stage Manager or Spaces

Stage Manager (Control Center) keeps one app in focus and parks the rest at the side, leaving the wallpaper visible. Spaces in Mission Control give each workspace its own wallpaper.

## 9. Add motion to the Lock Screen

On macOS 26 and later, MacWall Pro plays your wallpaper on the Lock Screen and as the Screen Saver, so the setup starts the moment you open the lid. See [how to change the screen saver on Mac](https://macwall.app/blog/how-to-change-screen-saver-mac).

## 10. Keep it fast

Aesthetic should not cost battery. Native apps decode video in hardware and pause when you are on battery or in full screen; browser-based wallpaper tools do not. More in [live wallpaper battery drain on Mac](https://macwall.app/blog/live-wallpaper-battery-drain-mac).

## Frequently asked questions

### How do I make my Mac desktop aesthetic?

Choose a cohesive wallpaper (a live one adds the most), match the accent color in System Settings > Appearance, add a few widgets, hide desktop icons, and auto-hide the Dock.

### How do I add widgets to the Mac desktop?

Right-click the desktop, choose Edit Widgets, and drag widgets from the gallery onto the desktop. This works on macOS Sonoma and later.

### How do I hide desktop icons on a Mac?

Uncheck the items in Finder > Settings > General, use Stacks, or run defaults write com.apple.finder CreateDesktop false; killall Finder in Terminal.

---

Source: https://macwall.app/blog/how-to-customize-mac-desktop