I recently paid a reputable design firm to design and code me a innovative vBulletin 4 custom style. Check out my site and tell me what you think of it. (CLICK HERE TO VISIT SITE)
The design in my opinion isn't bad, but I would think a reputable design firm would of done much better. Was this the color scheme and style you wanted? I've never been a fan of gray backgrounds like that; maybe use a tiled image for the background?
In response to premierwebstrategies, perhaps you could strike some sort of advertising deal with a game company and offer your "background" as ad space.
I am actually very familiar with this website ... I used to be into hacking and I lurked around it a couple of times. But I really like it.. its a way better then the one before in my personal opinion