There is always an alternative in Linux. Xfce is one of the best alternatives for low-spec computers. Unlike other desktop environments like Unity, KDE and GNOME, Xfce is designed to run in the minimum resources so it’s a great choice if you want to install Linux in your old machines.

Just like other desktop environments, in Xfce you can also customize the look of your Xfce desktop to match your taste. You can install as many themes as you want to give you more options during customizing your desktop.

In case you are new to Xfce and haven’t known how to install new themes in Xfce, this article will help you how. In Xfce there are a number of different themes you can adjust. Including the window decorations, the GTK+ interfaces, the cursors, and the icons. You can choose whether want to install the themes for the entire users in your system or for you only (specific user). There some websites you can refer to for downloading Xfce themes. Xfce-Look is one of the most famous ones.

Install window decorations (xfwm) theme in Xfce

• Extract the theme you want to install in ~/.local/share/themes if you want to install theme for a specific user or in /local/share/themes if you want to install theme for the entire users.
• Be sure the directory layout looks like ~/.local/share/themes/<theme_name>/xfwm4/
• Go to the Settings Manager and select Window Manager to apply the new theme.

Install GTK+ interfaces theme in Xfce

• Extract the theme you want to install in ~/.local/share/themes if you want to install theme for a specific user or in /local/share/themes if you want to install theme for the entire users.
• Be sure the directory layout looks like ~/.local/share/themes/<theme_name>/gtk-2.0/gtkrc
• Go to the Settings Manager and select Appearance –> Style to apply the new theme.

Install cursors theme in Xfce

• Extract the theme you want to install in ~/.icons if you want to install theme for a specific user or in /local/share/icons if you want to install theme for the entire users.
• Be sure the directory layout looks like ~/.icons/<theme_name>/cursors
• Go to the Settings Manager and select Mouse and Touchpad –> Theme to apply the new theme.

Install icons theme in Xfce

• Extract the theme you want to install in ~/.icons if you want to install theme for a specific user or in /local/share/icons if you want to install theme for the entire users.
• If the theme contains scalable icons (~/.icons/<theme_name>/scalable) make sure you have librsvg installed
• Go to the Settings Manager and select Appearance –> Icons to apply the new theme.