Need suggestions for a minimalist desktop

I'm using this as my current desktop, and right now all I have is that simple clock in the top right. I'm trying to keep it minimalist but I'm brand new to Rainmeter and I need a bit of help with different skins and such. I'd like to be able to add little shortcuts for Steam, Chrome, and some applications, but looking around here and on Google isn't helping much. I'm currently using Rocketdock for these things but I would like to get rid of it soon and have it all on my desktop. What do you guys think r/rainmeter?