Where the Colour Comes From on a Themed Desk

Work outwards from the largest coloured surface you can afford. A desk mat covers more visual area than every peripheral put together, costs a fraction of any of them, and can be swapped when the shade stops appealing. Keyboards, mice, headsets and cable covers come next; the desk, monitor and chair usually stay neutral, because neutral is what they are sold in.

Lighting is the other half, and it is the half most setups get wrong. The bulbs already in the room decide what shade the eye reads, so a warm ceiling fitting drags pink towards orange while a cool one pushes it purple. Settle the room light first, then tune anything addressable to sit with it.