Follow the path to new Windows themes

Introducing 10 new themes for Windows, including Footpaths, the Milky Way, the Forest Floor, Liquid Jewels 2, Beauty of Britain 2, and many more.

I think we all spend too much time on roads we’re not very excited about following. For example, the daily commute to and from work through heavy traffic… that’s not exactly an adventure. But there are some paths that make us eager to explore and see what’s around the bend. So for this first theme, I gathered together eleven of the most intriguing, enticing footpaths I could find, winding through gorgeous scenery that I hope will take you away from the daily grind.

Or, maybe you’d like to follow a different kind of path, one that traverses the sky along the Milky Way? From the Latin via lactea, or “milky road,” it’s a starry trail people have marveled at for thousands of years, looking up into dark skies around the world. Now it can trace its luminous way across your desktop.

The rest of our new themes feature the works of contributors to our Open Call. The first one brings us back down to earth – way down! – to explore the quiet world of the forest floor. Photographer Bojan Šeguljev gives us a peek into a secret realm of delicate mosses, mushrooms, and other fungi.

Photographer Akshay Patil also focuses on botanical details, but his theme showcases colorful garden flowers from his Mumbai farm.

We have not just one, but two new themes from our next contributor, Claudio Marinangeli. In his first theme, he highlights the simple but unexpectedly lovely details to be found in everyday life.

His other new theme presents landscapes and architecture of Italy in dramatic tones of sepia and black and white.

Photographer Shilpa S. Rao is back with a sequel to her Liquid Jewels theme. While her first was a festival of brilliant amethyst and ruby colors, Liquid Jewels 2 turns water drops into delicate pearls and crystals in a softly toned collection.

Our next new theme is also a sequel. Photographer Sean Byrne’s follow-up to his Beauty of Britain theme is a virtual UK tour through Devon, Surrey, North Yorkshire, Norfolk, Northamptonshire, Wales, and (of course) London.

The last theme in today’s roundup is a sequel, too. Rebecca Heigel shares fresh floral photography in a follow-up to her first theme, Spring Blooms.

If you have an older version of Windows that can’t use themes, or if you prefer to use a single image, we have new desktop décor for you, too. Here are just a few of our new wallpapers.

I’ve mentioned this before, but it bears repeating: You can also customize your Windows 8 or 8.1 lock screen – or your Windows Phone – with wallpapers from the Personalization Gallery. I explained how in this blog post.

That wraps up today’s overview of new themes and wallpapers. I hope you’ll keep checking back on the Personalization Gallery for more new imagery to keep your Windows PC or Windows Phone looking great, no matter where your path takes you.