![outlook 2016 color scheme outlook 2016 color scheme](https://www.howto-outlook.com/pictures/outlook-2016-ribbon-colorful.png)
Since the Office Background is not that exciting and the 'white' theme (See Figure 2 below) drove me nuts, this blog will just show you how to change this. While sitting over my five dollar footlong subway sandwich (choice of the weight-conscious consultants), I decided these were about as exciting as their names teased. There are three exciting themes: 'White', 'Light Grey', and 'Dark Grey'. With 'Office Theme', it sightly changes the hue of the top and left hand side of the application.See this well done post for more details: GroovyPost - How to Change the Office 2013 Background Theme. With 'Office Background', it makes small changes to the top of the application.I use the quotes in customize as its not making it unique in any way and is pretty mild in the changes that are actually made. There are two ways to 'customize' the look of the application: 'Office Background' and 'Office Theme'. This 'tweak' (aka new configuration option) will help alleviate this pain, but not fix what I consider to be a big issue.
![outlook 2016 color scheme outlook 2016 color scheme](https://cdn.designrulz.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/yellow-interiors-designrulz-22.jpg)
While there is no way to change the color scheme in Outlook 2013 like you could in previous versions of Windows for the OS, you do have the option to retain your sanity through a small tweak. I'm not a fan boy and just really like it. I do not get compensation for recommendations and referrals. Please don't think that even though I'd like to purchase a Surface. Note: I would like to preface this post by saying that I do recommend upgrading to Office 2013 and I am enjoying the added features.
![outlook 2016 color scheme outlook 2016 color scheme](https://www.codetwo.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/background-2016.png)
I know my sentiments are shown in the general community as well. I am not a fan of the default view as I think it hinders visibility. This post will be about how to change Outlook 2013's default color 'theme' from 'all white all the time' (aka how to save yourself from clawing out your corneas).