If you'd like a change of the way the forum looks, please experiment with one of the other looks of the website. It will only change the way the forums look, but you may prefer one of the other looks. You do this by selecting a new theme. I've made some changes to a number of the theme files, so that all Full Member functionality is now available in all themes.
To change the look and feel, log in first, then go to the Profile tab, then go to Look and Layout preferences, and for Current Theme press the change link.
Then choose one of the themes. The sMOOth-lt116v1 theme uses the least graphics and will be quickest over a dial-up line. The Scribbles-2 theme is quite fun. The classic SMF themes may be familiar to you from other websites. Have a look at some of the settings you can control for your theme.
You can always and easily revert back to the default board theme, so don't be afraid to experiment. If many people start changing their theme, I may even change the front page of the site to match the most popular theme!
Peter