diff --git a/src/window.c b/src/window.c
index 46cd372..64edcb9 100644
--- a/src/window.c
+++ b/src/window.c
@@ -3951,8 +3951,19 @@ lowerWindow (CompWindow *w)
 {
     XWindowChanges xwc;
     int		   mask;
+    CompWindow     *sibling;
 
-    mask = addWindowStackChanges (w, &xwc, findLowestSiblingBelow (w));
+    if (w->type & CompWindowTypeDesktopMask)
+    {
+	/* desktop windows should always be under other windows */
+	sibling = NULL;
+    }
+    else
+    {
+	sibling = findLowestSiblingBelow (w);
+    }
+
+    mask = addWindowStackChanges (w, &xwc, sibling);
     if (mask)
 	configureXWindow (w, mask, &xwc);
 }