LocalSend for quick local network file sharing from my phone that just werks. I prefer it over kde connect because the latter uses lots of random ports that kinda bloat my firewall whitelist. I know there is an alternative called warpinator, but I don’t see a reason to change my preferences for now.
If you want to get into customizing UIs hard, something the likes of this
You could get started with window managers (very opiniated topic, its really up to you to decide on which you should use) and UI toolkits like
Also I know X11 is slowly dying but AwesomeWM fits your bill really nicely.
TL,DR: You want a cool UI? look at unixporn’s top posts of all time, research an option you find good enough and go bananas on everything you need to make yourself at home.
ALSO consider posting at !unixporn@lemmy.ml so we can marvel at your fine grained setup, good luck!