Decor8 Editor's Review

Customize the look and feel of your Windows 8 device with this awesome new app.

One of the things that most new Windows 8 users won't like is the lack of interface customization options it has. The OS is almost completely new, and most users don't know which end is up as far as putting a personal spin on it is concerned. This is why Decor8 is so important. It’s a Windows 8 customization tool.

Microsoft Windows 8 currently limits your start screen customization options to only a few provided background images and a few pre-defined color schemes. While this isn't earth shatteringly disappointing, Windows 8 doesn't really provide a lot of customization options, either.  This is where Decor8 comes in. It removes these limitations and provides the freedom to personalize your start screen with your own images and colors.

With Decor8, you can choose from more background images to personalize your start screen.  You can add your own photos and images, select multiple images to create a custom slideshow, randomize background images in timed intervals, and apply effects to scroll, fade, blur, recolor and add contrast to your background images.  You can also choose an image for your lock screen background.

Decor8 will automatically create a color scheme to match each of your background images. You can also customize the color scheme, if you prefer. Custom color schemes can also be applied to your charms bar. You can also control how many rows of tiles are available on your start screen.

App Pro’s: Customize the look & feel of Windows 8

App Con’s: Very simple, doesn't provide much more than a way to select colors, doesn't customize Desktop mode

Conclusion: Decor8 is a decent app; and it's one of the very few customization apps out there right now for Windows 8. The app follows the same look and feel as Start8, also from Stardock.  The one thing that I would do at the time of this writing is to hold off on any purchase of Decor8 until after the release of Windows Blue. The update is supposed to add to Windows 8's customization options, and that will likely cause a rev in Decor8 as well.