I'm replying to my own post because since posting my comment here, I returned my new Dell computer because of a mark on the touch screen that wouldn't come off. I got a similar Toshiba to replace it. When I installed Office Home & Student 2013 last night
(3/18/13), EXACTLY the same way I had on the Dell on 2/24/13, it installed differently. There is now something called Office Backgrounds, which was not available on 2/24/13. You can have all sorts of things up in the title bar now, such as creatures under
the sea, stars, stripes, food, and other "doodles". Although I don't use them, it inherently made that part of the screen and the edges darker. Even though there are still only the three color themes, the screen is much easier to see, especially on a high-glare
surface like a touch screen.
So, either Office installs differently on different manufacturer's computers, or maybe they listened to us? It's not as much as we want, but at least it's a little better.
BTW, Office Backgrounds can be found by clicking on the main screen's menu line: File, Options, General.