Why do DEs have to look modern and slick? In the end you can work the most efficient if your work environment is fast and configurable. All the rest should be up to you. I am running the same DE configuration with Xfce for many years and I never changed it. Its pretty much Windows95 workflow. No need to adapt to some shiny new features, ads or stuff that gets in your way but still up to date. If you were a carpenter, you would arrange/configure your workshop the way you can use it most efficient, easy to clean, tools at the right place,... and you wouldn't probably every 2 years just to get a more modern feeling.