diff --git a/DESCRIPTION b/DESCRIPTION
index 9dd15a2..9d5f2d2 100644
--- a/DESCRIPTION
+++ b/DESCRIPTION
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 Package: tablespan
 Type: Package
 Title: Create Satisficing 'Excel', 'HTML', 'LaTeX', and 'RTF' Tables using a Simple Formula
-Version: 0.1.8
+Version: 0.2.0
 Authors@R: c(person(given   = "Jannik H.", family = "Orzek",
                     role    = c("aut", "cre", "cph"),
                     email   = "jannik.orzek@mailbox.org",
diff --git a/NAMESPACE b/NAMESPACE
index 68a1bbb..c6c56c8 100644
--- a/NAMESPACE
+++ b/NAMESPACE
@@ -5,11 +5,13 @@ export(as_excel)
 export(as_gt)
 export(cell_style)
 export(create_data_styles)
+export(style_color)
 export(tablespan)
 export(tbl_styles)
 import(gt)
 import(openxlsx)
 importFrom(dplyr,all_of)
+importFrom(grDevices,col2rgb)
 importFrom(gt,tab_header)
 importFrom(methods,is)
 importFrom(openxlsx,createStyle)
diff --git a/R/as_excel.R b/R/as_excel.R
index 17d83a0..1ca16a5 100644
--- a/R/as_excel.R
+++ b/R/as_excel.R
@@ -92,12 +92,6 @@ as_excel <- function(tbl,
                   locations = locations,
                   styles = styles)
 
-  create_outlines(tbl = tbl,
-                  workbook = workbook,
-                  sheet = sheet,
-                  locations = locations,
-                  styles = styles)
-
   write_title(tbl = tbl,
               workbook = workbook,
               sheet = sheet,
@@ -124,6 +118,13 @@ as_excel <- function(tbl,
                  locations = locations,
                  styles = styles)
 
+  # We create the outlines last as we may have to overwrite some border colors.
+  create_outlines(tbl = tbl,
+                  workbook = workbook,
+                  sheet = sheet,
+                  locations = locations,
+                  styles = styles)
+
   return(workbook)
 }
 
@@ -145,22 +146,67 @@ fill_background <- function(tbl,
                             sheet,
                             locations,
                             styles){
-  # To fill the background, we have to find the dimensions
-  # of the tabel first.
-  min_row <- locations$row |> unlist() |> min()
-  max_row <- locations$row |> unlist() |> max()
-  min_col <- locations$col |> unlist() |> min()
-  max_col <- locations$col |> unlist() |> max()
-
-  max_row <- max_row - is.null(tbl$footnote)
-
+  # Title
+  if(!is.null(tbl$title))
+    openxlsx::addStyle(wb = workbook,
+                       sheet = sheet,
+                       style = styles$bg_title,
+                       rows = locations$row$start_row_title:locations$row$end_row_title,
+                       cols = locations$col$start_col_title:locations$col$end_col_title,
+                       gridExpand = TRUE,
+                       stack = TRUE)
+  # Subtitle
+  if(!is.null(tbl$subtitle))
+    openxlsx::addStyle(wb = workbook,
+                       sheet = sheet,
+                       style = styles$bg_subtitle,
+                       rows = locations$row$start_row_subtitle:locations$row$end_row_subtitle,
+                       cols = locations$col$start_col_subtitle:locations$col$end_col_subtitle,
+                       gridExpand = TRUE,
+                       stack = TRUE)
+  # Header LHS
+  if(!is.null(tbl$header$lhs))
+    openxlsx::addStyle(wb = workbook,
+                       sheet = sheet,
+                       style = styles$bg_header_lhs,
+                       rows = locations$row$start_row_header:locations$row$end_row_header,
+                       cols = locations$col$start_col_header_lhs:locations$col$end_col_header_lhs,
+                       gridExpand = TRUE,
+                       stack = TRUE)
+  # Header RHS
   openxlsx::addStyle(wb = workbook,
                      sheet = sheet,
-                     style = styles$background_style,
-                     rows = min_row:max_row,
-                     cols = min_col:max_col,
+                     style = styles$bg_header_lhs,
+                     rows = locations$row$start_row_header:locations$row$end_row_header,
+                     cols = locations$col$start_col_header_rhs:locations$col$end_col_header_rhs,
                      gridExpand = TRUE,
                      stack = TRUE)
+  # Rownames
+  if(!is.null(tbl$header$lhs))
+    openxlsx::addStyle(wb = workbook,
+                       sheet = sheet,
+                       style = styles$bg_rownames,
+                       rows = locations$row$start_row_data:locations$row$end_row_data,
+                       cols = locations$col$start_col_header_lhs:locations$col$end_col_header_lhs,
+                       gridExpand = TRUE,
+                       stack = TRUE)
+  # Data
+  openxlsx::addStyle(wb = workbook,
+                     sheet = sheet,
+                     style = styles$bg_data,
+                     rows = locations$row$start_row_data:locations$row$end_row_data,
+                     cols = locations$col$start_col_header_rhs:locations$col$end_col_header_rhs,
+                     gridExpand = TRUE,
+                     stack = TRUE)
+  # Footnote
+  if(!is.null(tbl$footnote))
+    openxlsx::addStyle(wb = workbook,
+                       sheet = sheet,
+                       style = styles$bg_data,
+                       rows = locations$row$start_row_footnote:locations$row$end_row_footnote,
+                       cols = locations$col$start_col_footnote:locations$col$end_col_footnote,
+                       gridExpand = TRUE,
+                       stack = TRUE)
 }
 
 #' create_outlines
@@ -190,23 +236,15 @@ create_outlines <- function(tbl,
   # top line
   openxlsx::addStyle(wb = workbook,
                      sheet = sheet,
-                     style = styles$hline_style,
+                     style = styles$hline,
                      rows = locations$row$start_row_header,
                      cols = left_most:locations$col$end_col_header_rhs,
                      stack = TRUE)
 
-  # line between header and data
-  openxlsx::addStyle(wb = workbook,
-                     sheet = sheet,
-                     style = styles$hline_style,
-                     rows = locations$row$end_row_header + 1,
-                     cols = left_most:locations$col$end_col_header_rhs,
-                     stack = TRUE)
-
   # bottom line
   openxlsx::addStyle(wb = workbook,
                      sheet = sheet,
-                     style = styles$hline_style,
+                     style = styles$hline,
                      rows = locations$row$end_row_data + 1,
                      cols = left_most:locations$col$end_col_header_rhs,
                      stack = TRUE)
@@ -214,7 +252,7 @@ create_outlines <- function(tbl,
   # left line
   openxlsx::addStyle(wb = workbook,
                      sheet = sheet,
-                     style = styles$vline_style,
+                     style = styles$vline,
                      rows = locations$row$start_row_header:locations$row$end_row_data,
                      cols = left_most,
                      stack = TRUE)
@@ -222,7 +260,7 @@ create_outlines <- function(tbl,
   # right line
   openxlsx::addStyle(wb = workbook,
                      sheet = sheet,
-                     style = styles$vline_style,
+                     style = styles$vline,
                      rows = locations$row$start_row_header:locations$row$end_row_data,
                      cols = locations$col$end_col_header_rhs + 1,
                      stack = TRUE)
@@ -230,7 +268,7 @@ create_outlines <- function(tbl,
   # row name separator
   openxlsx::addStyle(wb = workbook,
                      sheet = sheet,
-                     style = styles$vline_style,
+                     style = styles$vline,
                      rows = locations$row$start_row_header:locations$row$end_row_data,
                      cols = locations$col$start_col_header_rhs,
                      stack = TRUE)
@@ -265,7 +303,7 @@ write_title <- function(tbl,
                         rowNames = FALSE)
     openxlsx::addStyle(wb = workbook,
                        sheet = sheet,
-                       style = styles$title_style,
+                       style = styles$cell_title,
                        rows = locations$row$start_row_title,
                        cols = locations$col$start_col_title,
                        stack = TRUE)
@@ -285,7 +323,7 @@ write_title <- function(tbl,
                         rowNames = FALSE)
     openxlsx::addStyle(wb = workbook,
                        sheet = sheet,
-                       style = styles$subtitle_style,
+                       style = styles$cell_subtitle,
                        rows = locations$row$start_row_subtitle,
                        cols = locations$col$start_col_subtitle,
                        stack = TRUE)
@@ -327,8 +365,8 @@ write_header <- function(workbook,
                        max_level = max_level,
                        start_row = locations$row$start_row_header,
                        start_col = locations$col$start_col_header_lhs,
-                       header_style = styles$header_style,
-                       vline_style = styles$vline_style)
+                       header_style = styles$cell_header_lhs,
+                       vline = styles$vline)
 
   }else{
     max_level <- header$rhs$level
@@ -340,8 +378,8 @@ write_header <- function(workbook,
                      max_level = max_level,
                      start_row = locations$row$start_row_header,
                      start_col = locations$col$start_col_header_rhs,
-                     header_style = styles$header_style,
-                     vline_style = styles$vline_style)
+                     header_style = styles$cell_header_rhs,
+                     vline = styles$vline)
 
 }
 
@@ -357,7 +395,7 @@ write_header <- function(workbook,
 #' @param start_row integer specifying row to write to
 #' @param start_col integer specifying column to write to
 #' @param header_style openxlsx style for the header
-#' @param vline_style openxlsx style for the vertical lines in the header
+#' @param vline openxlsx style for the vertical lines in the header
 #' @import openxlsx
 #' @noRd
 write_header_entry <- function(workbook,
@@ -367,7 +405,7 @@ write_header_entry <- function(workbook,
                                start_row,
                                start_col,
                                header_style,
-                               vline_style){
+                               vline){
 
   # write current entry name into table
   if(header_entry$name != "_BASE_LEVEL_"){
@@ -389,23 +427,6 @@ write_header_entry <- function(workbook,
                        cols = start_col:(start_col + header_entry$width - 1),
                        gridExpand = TRUE,
                        stack = TRUE)
-
-    # add vertical line to the left
-    openxlsx::addStyle(wb = workbook,
-                       sheet = sheet,
-                       style = vline_style,
-                       rows = (start_row + (max_level - header_entry$level) - 1):(start_row + max_level - 2),
-                       cols = start_col,
-                       gridExpand = TRUE,
-                       stack = TRUE)
-    # add vertical line to the right
-    openxlsx::addStyle(wb = workbook,
-                       sheet = sheet,
-                       style = vline_style,
-                       rows = (start_row + (max_level - header_entry$level) - 1):(start_row + max_level - 2),
-                       cols = (start_col + header_entry$width),
-                       gridExpand = TRUE,
-                       stack = TRUE)
   }
 
   # entries may have sub-entries, that also have to be written down
@@ -418,7 +439,7 @@ write_header_entry <- function(workbook,
                        start_row = start_row,
                        start_col = start_col_entry,
                        header_style = header_style,
-                       vline_style = vline_style)
+                       vline = vline)
     start_col_entry <- start_col_entry + entry$width
   }
 }
@@ -453,6 +474,13 @@ write_data <- function(workbook,
                         startRow = locations$row$end_row_header + 1,
                         rowNames = FALSE,
                         colNames = FALSE)
+    openxlsx::addStyle(wb = workbook,
+                       sheet = sheet,
+                       style = styles$cell_rownames,
+                       rows = locations$row$start_row_data : (locations$row$end_row_data),
+                       cols = locations$col$start_col_header_lhs : locations$col$end_col_header_lhs,
+                       stack = TRUE,
+                       gridExpand = TRUE)
 
     for(sty in styles$data_styles){
       for(j in seq_len(ncol(table_data$row_data))){
@@ -483,6 +511,13 @@ write_data <- function(workbook,
                       startRow = locations$row$end_row_header + 1,
                       rowNames = FALSE,
                       colNames = FALSE)
+  openxlsx::addStyle(wb = workbook,
+                     sheet = sheet,
+                     style = styles$cell_data,
+                     rows = locations$row$start_row_data : locations$row$end_row_data,
+                     cols = locations$col$start_col_header_rhs : locations$col$end_col_header_rhs,
+                     stack = TRUE,
+                     gridExpand = TRUE)
 
   for(sty in styles$data_styles){
     for(j in seq_len(ncol(table_data$col_data))){
@@ -549,7 +584,7 @@ write_footnote <- function(tbl,
                       rowNames = FALSE)
   openxlsx::addStyle(wb = workbook,
                      sheet = sheet,
-                     style = styles$footnote_style,
+                     style = styles$cell_footnote,
                      rows = locations$row$start_row_footnote,
                      cols = locations$col$start_col_footnote,
                      stack = TRUE)
diff --git a/R/create_test_files.R b/R/create_test_files.R
index baa8d02..af0946c 100644
--- a/R/create_test_files.R
+++ b/R/create_test_files.R
@@ -29,21 +29,34 @@ create_test_files_cars <- function(){
                          file = paste0(target_dir, "cars.xlsx"),
                          overwrite = TRUE)
 
+  # Different colors
+  wb <- as_excel(tbl = tbl, styles = style_color(primary_color = "#987349"))
+
+  openxlsx::saveWorkbook(wb,
+                         file = paste0(target_dir, "cars_987349.xlsx"),
+                         overwrite = TRUE)
+
+  wb <- as_excel(tbl = tbl, styles = style_color(primary_color = "#893485"))
+
+  openxlsx::saveWorkbook(wb,
+                         file = paste0(target_dir, "cars_893485.xlsx"),
+                         overwrite = TRUE)
+
   # Complex merging of rownames
   summarized_table_merge <- summarized_table
   summarized_table_merge[ ,"vs"] <- 1
   summarized_table_merge[1,"vs"] <- 0
   summarized_table_merge[ , "N"] <- 1
 
-  tbl <- tablespan(data = summarized_table_merge,
-                   formula = Cylinder:cyl + Engine:vs + N ~
-                     (`Horse Power` = Mean:mean_hp + SD:sd_hp) +
-                     (`Weight` = Mean:mean_wt + SD:sd_wt),
-                   title = "Motor Trend Car Road Tests",
-                   subtitle = "A table created with tablespan",
-                   footnote = "Data from the infamous mtcars data set.")
+  tbl_merge <- tablespan(data = summarized_table_merge,
+                         formula = Cylinder:cyl + Engine:vs + N ~
+                           (`Horse Power` = Mean:mean_hp + SD:sd_hp) +
+                           (`Weight` = Mean:mean_wt + SD:sd_wt),
+                         title = "Motor Trend Car Road Tests",
+                         subtitle = "A table created with tablespan",
+                         footnote = "Data from the infamous mtcars data set.")
 
-  wb <- as_excel(tbl = tbl)
+  wb <- as_excel(tbl = tbl_merge)
   openxlsx::saveWorkbook(wb,
                          file = paste0(target_dir, "cars_complex_merge.xlsx"),
                          overwrite = TRUE)
diff --git a/R/tab_styles.R b/R/tab_styles.R
index b37dedf..17311d3 100644
--- a/R/tab_styles.R
+++ b/R/tab_styles.R
@@ -2,73 +2,93 @@
 #'
 #' Define styles for different elements of the table.
 #'
-#' @param background_style color etc. for the entire background of the table
-#' @param hline_style style for the horizontal lines used in the table. Note:
-#' the style for the lines under spanners is defined in the title_style.
-#' @param vline_style style for the vertical lines used in the table. Note:
-#' the style for the lines under spanners is defined in the title_style.
-#' @param title_style style applied to the table title
-#' @param subtitle_style style applied to the table subtitle
-#' @param header_style style applied to the table header (column names)
 #' @param merge_rownames boolean: Should adjacent rows with identical names be merged?
 #' @param merged_rownames_style style applied to the merged rownames
 #' @param footnote_style style applied to the table footnote
 #' @param data_styles styles applied to the columns in the data set based on their
 #' classes (e.g., numeric, character, etc.). data_styles must be a list of lists.
 #' Each inner list must have two elements: a "test" that is used to determine the
-#' class of a data colum (e.g., is.double) and a style that is then applied to
+#' class of a data column (e.g., is.double) and a style that is then applied to
 #' the columns where the test returns TRUE. Note that styles will be applied in the
 #' order of the list, meaning that a later style may overwrite an earlier style.
 #' @param cell_styles an optional list with styles for selected cells in the
-#' data frame.
+#' data frame. See ?cell_style.
+#' @param bg_default default color for the background of the table
+#' @param bg_title background color for the title
+#' @param bg_subtitle background color for the subtitle
+#' @param bg_header_lhs background color for the left hand side of the table header
+#' @param bg_header_rhs background color for the right hand side of the table header
+#' @param bg_rownames background color for the row names
+#' @param bg_data background color for the data
+#' @param bg_footnote background color for the footnote
+#' @param vline styling for all vertical lines added to the table
+#' @param hline styling for all horizontal lines added to the table
+#' @param cell_default default style added to cells in the table
+#' @param cell_title style added to title cells in the table
+#' @param cell_subtitle style added to subtitle cells in the table
+#' @param cell_header_lhs style added to the left hand side of the header cells in the table
+#' @param cell_header_rhs style added to the right hand side of the header cells in the table
+#' @param cell_rownames style added to row name cells in the table
+#' @param cell_data style added to data cells in the table
+#' @param cell_footnote style added to footnote cells in the table
 #' @importFrom openxlsx createStyle
 #' @returns a list with styles for different elements of the table
 #' @export
 #' @examples
 #' tbl_styles()
 tbl_styles <- function(
-    background_style = openxlsx::createStyle(fgFill = "#ffffff"),
-    hline_style = openxlsx::createStyle(border = "Top",
-                                        borderColour = openxlsx::openxlsx_getOp("borderColour", "black"),
-                                        borderStyle = openxlsx::openxlsx_getOp("borderStyle", "double")),
-    vline_style = openxlsx::createStyle(border = "Left",
-                                        borderColour = openxlsx::openxlsx_getOp("borderColour", "black"),
-                                        borderStyle = openxlsx::openxlsx_getOp("borderStyle", "double")),
-    title_style = openxlsx::createStyle(fontSize = 14,
-                                        halign = "left",
-                                        textDecoration = "bold"),
-    subtitle_style = openxlsx::createStyle(fontSize = 11,
-                                           halign = "left",
-                                           textDecoration = "bold"),
-    header_style = openxlsx::createStyle(fontSize = 11,
-                                         halign = "center",
-                                         border = "BottomLeftRight",
-                                         borderColour = openxlsx::openxlsx_getOp("borderColour", "black"),
-                                         borderStyle = openxlsx::openxlsx_getOp("borderStyle", "double"),
-                                         textDecoration = "bold"),
+    bg_default = openxlsx::createStyle(fgFill = "#ffffff"),
+    bg_title = bg_default,
+    bg_subtitle = bg_default,
+    bg_header_lhs = bg_default,
+    bg_header_rhs = bg_default,
+    bg_rownames = bg_default,
+    bg_data = bg_default,
+    bg_footnote = bg_default,
+
+    vline = openxlsx::createStyle(border = "Left",
+                                  borderColour = "#000000",
+                                  borderStyle = "thin"),
+
+    hline = openxlsx::createStyle(border = "Top",
+                                  borderColour = "#000000",
+                                  borderStyle = "thin"),
+
+    cell_default = openxlsx::createStyle(fontSize = 11),
+    cell_title = openxlsx::createStyle(fontSize = 14,
+                                       halign = "left",
+                                       textDecoration = "bold"),
+    cell_subtitle = openxlsx::createStyle(fontSize = 11,
+                                          halign = "left",
+                                          textDecoration = "bold"),
+    cell_header_lhs = openxlsx::createStyle(fontSize = 11,
+                                            halign = "center",
+                                            border = "BottomLeftRight",
+                                            borderColour = "#000000",
+                                            borderStyle = "thin",
+                                            textDecoration = "bold"),
+    cell_header_rhs = openxlsx::createStyle(fontSize = 11,
+                                            halign = "center",
+                                            border = "BottomLeftRight",
+                                            borderColour = "#000000",
+                                            borderStyle = "thin",
+                                            textDecoration = "bold"),
+    cell_rownames = cell_default,
+    cell_data = cell_default,
+    cell_footnote = openxlsx::createStyle(fontSize = 11,
+                                          halign = "left"),
+
     merge_rownames = TRUE,
-    merged_rownames_style = createStyle(valign = "top"),
+    merged_rownames_style = openxlsx::createStyle(valign = "top"),
     footnote_style = openxlsx::createStyle(fontSize = 11,
                                            halign = "left"),
     data_styles = create_data_styles(),
     cell_styles = NULL){
-
   if(!is.null(cell_styles)){
     if(!is.list(cell_styles))
       stop("cell_styles must be a list.")
   }
-
-  return(list(background_style = background_style,
-              hline_style = hline_style,
-              vline_style = vline_style,
-              title_style = title_style,
-              subtitle_style = subtitle_style,
-              header_style = header_style,
-              merge_rownames = merge_rownames,
-              merged_rownames_style = merged_rownames_style,
-              footnote_style = footnote_style,
-              data_styles = data_styles,
-              cell_styles = cell_styles))
+  return(as.list(environment()))
 }
 
 #' cell_style
@@ -78,7 +98,7 @@ tbl_styles <- function(
 #' @param style style created with openxlsx::createStyle() that will be applied to
 #' the selected cells
 #' @param gridExpand see ?openxlsx::addStyle: Apply style only to the selected
-#' elements (set gridExpand = FALSE) or to all combinations?
+#' elements (gridExpand = FALSE, default) or to all combinations?
 #' @param stack should the style be added to existing styles (TRUE) or overwrite
 #' existing styles (FALSE)
 #' @returns list with specified styles
@@ -107,9 +127,12 @@ tbl_styles <- function(
 #'                                                                 style = bold))))
 #' # saveWorkbook(wb, "iris.xlsx")
 cell_style <- function(rows,
-                       colnames, style, gridExpand = TRUE, stack = TRUE){
+                       colnames,
+                       style,
+                       gridExpand = FALSE,
+                       stack = TRUE){
   if(!is(style, "Style"))
-    stop("style must be a Style created with openxlsx::createStyle")
+    stop("style must be a Style created with openxlsx::createStyle.")
   if(!is.numeric(rows))
     stop("rows must be numeric")
   if(!is.character(colnames))
@@ -154,3 +177,152 @@ create_data_styles <- function(double = list(test = is.double,
               integer = integer,
               ...))
 }
+
+#' style_color
+#'
+#' Provides a simple way to define a color scheme for tables. By default, tables
+#' have a "light" theme, where the background is white and text / lines are black.
+#' Based on a primary color, style_color will create tables that use the primary
+#' color as background for all title, header, and row name cells and adapts the
+#' text color based on the primary color. The automatic adaption of the
+#' background color is implemented based on Mark Ransom and SudoPlz at
+#' <https://stackoverflow.com/questions/3942878/how-to-decide-font-color-in-white-or-black-depending-on-background-color>
+#'
+#' @param primary_color color to be used for the title, header, and row names
+#' background. This must be a hex code for the color.
+#'
+#' @return a list with styling options
+#' @export
+#'
+#' @examples
+#' library(tablespan)
+#' library(dplyr)
+#' data("mtcars")
+#'
+#' # First summarize the data:
+#' summarized_table <- mtcars |>
+#'   group_by(cyl, vs) |>
+#'   summarise(N = n(),
+#'             mean_hp = mean(hp),
+#'             sd_hp = sd(hp),
+#'             mean_wt = mean(wt),
+#'             sd_wt = sd(wt))
+#'
+#' # Now, we want to create a table, where we show the grouping variables
+#' # as row names and also create spanners for the horse power (hp) and the
+#' # weight (wt) variables:
+#' tbl <- tablespan(data = summarized_table,
+#'           formula = Cylinder:cyl + Engine:vs ~
+#'             N +
+#'             (`Horse Power` = Mean:mean_hp + SD:sd_hp) +
+#'             (`Weight` = Mean:mean_wt + SD:sd_wt),
+#'           title = "Motor Trend Car Road Tests",
+#'           subtitle = "A table created with tablespan",
+#'           footnote = "Data from the infamous mtcars data set.")
+#'
+#' # We can save this table with the default color scheme:
+#' wb <- as_excel(tbl = tbl)
+#'
+#' # Or adapt the color scheme to our liking:
+#' wb <- as_excel(tbl = tbl,
+#'                styles = style_color(primary_color = "#2e9199"))
+#'
+#' # Create the excel table:
+#' # openxlsx::saveWorkbook(wb,
+#' #                        file = "cars.xlsx",
+#' #                        overwrite = TRUE)
+style_color <- function(primary_color ="#ffffff"){
+  if(!grepl(pattern = "^#?([a-f0-9]{3}|[a-f0-9]{6})$",
+            x = primary_color))
+    stop("primary_color must be a hex code")
+  text_color <- get_text_color(primary_color = primary_color)
+
+  line_color <- ifelse(text_color == "#000000",
+                       "#000000",
+                       primary_color)
+
+  return(
+    tbl_styles(
+      bg_default = openxlsx::createStyle(fgFill = "#ffffff"),
+      bg_title = openxlsx::createStyle(fgFill = primary_color),
+      bg_subtitle = openxlsx::createStyle(fgFill = primary_color),
+      bg_header_lhs = openxlsx::createStyle(fgFill = primary_color),
+      bg_header_rhs = openxlsx::createStyle(fgFill = primary_color),
+      bg_rownames = openxlsx::createStyle(fgFill = primary_color),
+      bg_data = openxlsx::createStyle(fgFill = "#ffffff"),
+      bg_footnote = openxlsx::createStyle(fgFill = "#ffffff"),
+
+      vline = openxlsx::createStyle(border = "Left",
+                                    borderColour = line_color,
+                                    borderStyle = "thin"),
+
+      hline = openxlsx::createStyle(border = "Top",
+                                    borderColour = line_color,
+                                    borderStyle = "thin"),
+
+      cell_default = openxlsx::createStyle(fontSize = 11),
+      cell_title = openxlsx::createStyle(fontSize = 14,
+                                         halign = "left",
+                                         textDecoration = "bold",
+                                         fontColour = text_color),
+      cell_subtitle = openxlsx::createStyle(fontSize = 11,
+                                            halign = "left",
+                                            textDecoration = "bold",
+                                            fontColour = text_color),
+      cell_header_lhs = openxlsx::createStyle(fontSize = 11,
+                                              halign = "center",
+                                              border = "BottomLeftRight",
+                                              borderColour = text_color,
+                                              borderStyle = "thin",
+                                              textDecoration = "bold",
+                                              fontColour = text_color),
+      cell_header_rhs = openxlsx::createStyle(fontSize = 11,
+                                              halign = "center",
+                                              border = "BottomLeftRight",
+                                              borderColour = text_color,
+                                              borderStyle = "thin",
+                                              textDecoration = "bold",
+                                              fontColour = text_color),
+      cell_rownames = openxlsx::createStyle(fontSize = 11,
+                                            fontColour = text_color),
+      cell_data = openxlsx::createStyle(fontSize = 11),
+      cell_footnote = openxlsx::createStyle(fontSize = 11,
+                                            halign = "left"),
+
+      merge_rownames = TRUE,
+      merged_rownames_style = openxlsx::createStyle(valign = "top"),
+      footnote_style = openxlsx::createStyle(fontSize = 11,
+                                             halign = "left"),
+      data_styles = create_data_styles(),
+      cell_styles = NULL)
+  )
+}
+
+#' get_text_color
+#'
+#' Determines if the text should be black or white based on the formula
+#' from Mark Ransom and SudoPlz at
+# <https://stackoverflow.com/questions/3942878/how-to-decide-font-color-in-white-or-black-depending-on-background-color>
+#'
+#' @param primary_color color to be used for the title, header, and row names
+#' background.
+#'
+#' @return back or white as hex code
+#' @importFrom grDevices col2rgb
+#' @noRd
+#'
+#' @examples
+#' tablespan:::get_text_color("#ffffff")
+get_text_color <- function(primary_color){
+  rgb_colors <- as.vector(col2rgb(primary_color))
+  # scale colors to be between 0 and 1:
+  rgb_colors <- rgb_colors/255
+  rgb_colors <- sapply(rgb_colors, function(x) ifelse(x <= 0.03928,
+                                                      x/12.92,
+                                                      ((x + .055) / 1.055)^2.4))
+  luminance <- (0.2126 * rgb_colors[1]) + (0.7152 * rgb_colors[2]) + (0.0722 * rgb_colors[3])
+
+  if(luminance <= .1769)
+    return("#ffffff")
+  return("#000000")
+}
diff --git a/R/tablespan.R b/R/tablespan.R
index 64cf2d8..43bfa86 100644
--- a/R/tablespan.R
+++ b/R/tablespan.R
@@ -105,7 +105,7 @@
 #' wb <- as_excel(tbl = tbl)
 #'
 #' # Save using openxlsx
-#' # openxlsx::saveWorkbook(wb, "iris.xlsx")
+#' # openxlsx::saveWorkbook(wb, "cars.xlsx")
 #'
 #' # Export as gt:
 #' gt_tbl <- as_gt(tbl = tbl)
diff --git a/README.Rmd b/README.Rmd
index 9e8e921..1596957 100644
--- a/README.Rmd
+++ b/README.Rmd
@@ -187,6 +187,37 @@ In `tablespan`, styling happens when translating the table to an `openxlsx` work
 with `as_excel`.
 To this end, `tablespan` provides a `styles` argument.
 
+#### Changing the Overall Look
+
+The easiest way to customize tables is to change the default color scheme.
+The function `tbl_styles` provides control over most elements in the table,
+but in many cases `style_color` may be sufficient. The following creates a 
+table with teal-colored backgrounds for the title, header, and row names:
+
+```{r}
+wb <- as_excel(tbl = tbl, 
+               styles = style_color(primary_color = "#008080"))
+
+# Save the workbook as an xlsx file:
+# openxlsx::saveWorkbook(wb,
+#                        file = "cars.xlsx", 
+#                        overwrite = TRUE)
+```
+
+![](man/figures/tablespan_example_cars_color.png)
+
+Similarly, a dark background can be defined as follows:
+
+```{r}
+wb <- as_excel(tbl = tbl, 
+               styles = style_color(primary_color = "#000000"))
+
+# Save the workbook as an xlsx file:
+# openxlsx::saveWorkbook(wb,
+#                        file = "cars.xlsx", 
+#                        overwrite = TRUE)
+```
+
 #### Formatting Cells
 
 Let's assume we want all `mean_hp` values with a value $\geq 100$ to be printed 
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index eb5b7a7..85f3714 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -237,6 +237,38 @@ format numbers differently. In `tablespan`, styling happens when
 translating the table to an `openxlsx` workbook with `as_excel`. To this
 end, `tablespan` provides a `styles` argument.
 
+#### Changing the Overall Look
+
+The easiest way to customize tables is to change the default color
+scheme. The function `tbl_styles` provides control over most elements in
+the table, but in many cases `style_color` may be sufficient. The
+following creates a table with teal-colored backgrounds for the title,
+header, and row names:
+
+``` r
+wb <- as_excel(tbl = tbl, 
+               styles = style_color(primary_color = "#008080"))
+
+# Save the workbook as an xlsx file:
+# openxlsx::saveWorkbook(wb,
+#                        file = "cars.xlsx", 
+#                        overwrite = TRUE)
+```
+
+![](man/figures/tablespan_example_cars_color.png)
+
+Similarly, a dark background can be defined as follows:
+
+``` r
+wb <- as_excel(tbl = tbl, 
+               styles = style_color(primary_color = "#000000"))
+
+# Save the workbook as an xlsx file:
+# openxlsx::saveWorkbook(wb,
+#                        file = "cars.xlsx", 
+#                        overwrite = TRUE)
+```
+
 #### Formatting Cells
 
 Let’s assume we want all `mean_hp` values with a value $\geq 100$ to be
diff --git a/man/cell_style.Rd b/man/cell_style.Rd
index 7d8f419..a5be9a3 100644
--- a/man/cell_style.Rd
+++ b/man/cell_style.Rd
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@
 \alias{cell_style}
 \title{cell_style}
 \usage{
-cell_style(rows, colnames, style, gridExpand = TRUE, stack = TRUE)
+cell_style(rows, colnames, style, gridExpand = FALSE, stack = TRUE)
 }
 \arguments{
 \item{rows}{indices of the rows to which the style should be applied}
@@ -15,7 +15,7 @@ cell_style(rows, colnames, style, gridExpand = TRUE, stack = TRUE)
 the selected cells}
 
 \item{gridExpand}{see ?openxlsx::addStyle: Apply style only to the selected
-elements (set gridExpand = FALSE) or to all combinations?}
+elements (gridExpand = FALSE, default) or to all combinations?}
 
 \item{stack}{should the style be added to existing styles (TRUE) or overwrite
 existing styles (FALSE)}
diff --git a/man/figures/tablespan_example_cars_color.png b/man/figures/tablespan_example_cars_color.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..04d4adb
Binary files /dev/null and b/man/figures/tablespan_example_cars_color.png differ
diff --git a/man/style_color.Rd b/man/style_color.Rd
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..1cd4bb8
--- /dev/null
+++ b/man/style_color.Rd
@@ -0,0 +1,62 @@
+% Generated by roxygen2: do not edit by hand
+% Please edit documentation in R/tab_styles.R
+\name{style_color}
+\alias{style_color}
+\title{style_color}
+\usage{
+style_color(primary_color = "#ffffff")
+}
+\arguments{
+\item{primary_color}{color to be used for the title, header, and row names
+background. This must be a hex code for the color.}
+}
+\value{
+a list with styling options
+}
+\description{
+Provides a simple way to define a color scheme for tables. By default, tables
+have a "light" theme, where the background is white and text / lines are black.
+Based on a primary color, style_color will create tables that use the primary
+color as background for all title, header, and row name cells and adapts the
+text color based on the primary color. The automatic adaption of the
+background color is implemented based on Mark Ransom and SudoPlz at
+<https://stackoverflow.com/questions/3942878/how-to-decide-font-color-in-white-or-black-depending-on-background-color>
+}
+\examples{
+library(tablespan)
+library(dplyr)
+data("mtcars")
+
+# First summarize the data:
+summarized_table <- mtcars |>
+  group_by(cyl, vs) |>
+  summarise(N = n(),
+            mean_hp = mean(hp),
+            sd_hp = sd(hp),
+            mean_wt = mean(wt),
+            sd_wt = sd(wt))
+
+# Now, we want to create a table, where we show the grouping variables
+# as row names and also create spanners for the horse power (hp) and the
+# weight (wt) variables:
+tbl <- tablespan(data = summarized_table,
+          formula = Cylinder:cyl + Engine:vs ~
+            N +
+            (`Horse Power` = Mean:mean_hp + SD:sd_hp) +
+            (`Weight` = Mean:mean_wt + SD:sd_wt),
+          title = "Motor Trend Car Road Tests",
+          subtitle = "A table created with tablespan",
+          footnote = "Data from the infamous mtcars data set.")
+
+# We can save this table with the default color scheme:
+wb <- as_excel(tbl = tbl)
+
+# Or adapt the color scheme to our liking:
+wb <- as_excel(tbl = tbl,
+               styles = style_color(primary_color = "#2e9199"))
+
+# Create the excel table:
+# openxlsx::saveWorkbook(wb,
+#                        file = "cars.xlsx",
+#                        overwrite = TRUE)
+}
diff --git a/man/tablespan.Rd b/man/tablespan.Rd
index 2ea9ad8..1032750 100644
--- a/man/tablespan.Rd
+++ b/man/tablespan.Rd
@@ -121,7 +121,7 @@ tbl
 wb <- as_excel(tbl = tbl)
 
 # Save using openxlsx
-# openxlsx::saveWorkbook(wb, "iris.xlsx")
+# openxlsx::saveWorkbook(wb, "cars.xlsx")
 
 # Export as gt:
 gt_tbl <- as_gt(tbl = tbl)
diff --git a/man/tbl_styles.Rd b/man/tbl_styles.Rd
index 9b437dd..bb91a7f 100644
--- a/man/tbl_styles.Rd
+++ b/man/tbl_styles.Rd
@@ -5,42 +5,75 @@
 \title{tbl_styles}
 \usage{
 tbl_styles(
-  background_style = openxlsx::createStyle(fgFill = "#ffffff"),
-  hline_style = openxlsx::createStyle(border = "Top", borderColour =
-    openxlsx::openxlsx_getOp("borderColour", "black"), borderStyle =
-    openxlsx::openxlsx_getOp("borderStyle", "double")),
-  vline_style = openxlsx::createStyle(border = "Left", borderColour =
-    openxlsx::openxlsx_getOp("borderColour", "black"), borderStyle =
-    openxlsx::openxlsx_getOp("borderStyle", "double")),
-  title_style = openxlsx::createStyle(fontSize = 14, halign = "left", textDecoration =
+  bg_default = openxlsx::createStyle(fgFill = "#ffffff"),
+  bg_title = bg_default,
+  bg_subtitle = bg_default,
+  bg_header_lhs = bg_default,
+  bg_header_rhs = bg_default,
+  bg_rownames = bg_default,
+  bg_data = bg_default,
+  bg_footnote = bg_default,
+  vline = openxlsx::createStyle(border = "Left", borderColour = "#000000", borderStyle =
+    "thin"),
+  hline = openxlsx::createStyle(border = "Top", borderColour = "#000000", borderStyle =
+    "thin"),
+  cell_default = openxlsx::createStyle(fontSize = 11),
+  cell_title = openxlsx::createStyle(fontSize = 14, halign = "left", textDecoration =
     "bold"),
-  subtitle_style = openxlsx::createStyle(fontSize = 11, halign = "left", textDecoration =
+  cell_subtitle = openxlsx::createStyle(fontSize = 11, halign = "left", textDecoration =
     "bold"),
-  header_style = openxlsx::createStyle(fontSize = 11, halign = "center", border =
-    "BottomLeftRight", borderColour = openxlsx::openxlsx_getOp("borderColour", "black"),
-    borderStyle = openxlsx::openxlsx_getOp("borderStyle", "double"), textDecoration =
+  cell_header_lhs = openxlsx::createStyle(fontSize = 11, halign = "center", border =
+    "BottomLeftRight", borderColour = "#000000", borderStyle = "thin", textDecoration =
     "bold"),
+  cell_header_rhs = openxlsx::createStyle(fontSize = 11, halign = "center", border =
+    "BottomLeftRight", borderColour = "#000000", borderStyle = "thin", textDecoration =
+    "bold"),
+  cell_rownames = cell_default,
+  cell_data = cell_default,
+  cell_footnote = openxlsx::createStyle(fontSize = 11, halign = "left"),
   merge_rownames = TRUE,
-  merged_rownames_style = createStyle(valign = "top"),
+  merged_rownames_style = openxlsx::createStyle(valign = "top"),
   footnote_style = openxlsx::createStyle(fontSize = 11, halign = "left"),
   data_styles = create_data_styles(),
   cell_styles = NULL
 )
 }
 \arguments{
-\item{background_style}{color etc. for the entire background of the table}
+\item{bg_default}{default color for the background of the table}
+
+\item{bg_title}{background color for the title}
+
+\item{bg_subtitle}{background color for the subtitle}
+
+\item{bg_header_lhs}{background color for the left hand side of the table header}
+
+\item{bg_header_rhs}{background color for the right hand side of the table header}
+
+\item{bg_rownames}{background color for the row names}
+
+\item{bg_data}{background color for the data}
+
+\item{bg_footnote}{background color for the footnote}
+
+\item{vline}{styling for all vertical lines added to the table}
+
+\item{hline}{styling for all horizontal lines added to the table}
+
+\item{cell_default}{default style added to cells in the table}
+
+\item{cell_title}{style added to title cells in the table}
+
+\item{cell_subtitle}{style added to subtitle cells in the table}
 
-\item{hline_style}{style for the horizontal lines used in the table. Note:
-the style for the lines under spanners is defined in the title_style.}
+\item{cell_header_lhs}{style added to the left hand side of the header cells in the table}
 
-\item{vline_style}{style for the vertical lines used in the table. Note:
-the style for the lines under spanners is defined in the title_style.}
+\item{cell_header_rhs}{style added to the right hand side of the header cells in the table}
 
-\item{title_style}{style applied to the table title}
+\item{cell_rownames}{style added to row name cells in the table}
 
-\item{subtitle_style}{style applied to the table subtitle}
+\item{cell_data}{style added to data cells in the table}
 
-\item{header_style}{style applied to the table header (column names)}
+\item{cell_footnote}{style added to footnote cells in the table}
 
 \item{merge_rownames}{boolean: Should adjacent rows with identical names be merged?}
 
@@ -51,12 +84,12 @@ the style for the lines under spanners is defined in the title_style.}
 \item{data_styles}{styles applied to the columns in the data set based on their
 classes (e.g., numeric, character, etc.). data_styles must be a list of lists.
 Each inner list must have two elements: a "test" that is used to determine the
-class of a data colum (e.g., is.double) and a style that is then applied to
+class of a data column (e.g., is.double) and a style that is then applied to
 the columns where the test returns TRUE. Note that styles will be applied in the
 order of the list, meaning that a later style may overwrite an earlier style.}
 
 \item{cell_styles}{an optional list with styles for selected cells in the
-data frame.}
+data frame. See ?cell_style.}
 }
 \value{
 a list with styles for different elements of the table
diff --git a/tests/testthat/test-excel-cars.R b/tests/testthat/test-excel-cars.R
index 631d83e..b0e6ab4 100644
--- a/tests/testthat/test-excel-cars.R
+++ b/tests/testthat/test-excel-cars.R
@@ -41,6 +41,92 @@ test_that("cars", {
 
 })
 
+test_that("cars - color", {
+  library(tablespan)
+  library(testthat)
+  library(dplyr)
+  library(openxlsx)
+
+  comp_file_dir <- paste0(testthat::test_path(), "/xlsx_files/")
+
+  summarized_table <- mtcars |>
+    group_by(cyl, vs) |>
+    summarise(N = n(),
+              mean_hp = mean(hp),
+              sd_hp = sd(hp),
+              mean_wt = mean(wt),
+              sd_wt = sd(wt))
+
+  tbl <- tablespan(data = summarized_table,
+                   formula = Cylinder:cyl + Engine:vs ~
+                     N +
+                     (`Horse Power` = Mean:mean_hp + SD:sd_hp) +
+                     (`Weight` = Mean:mean_wt + SD:sd_wt),
+                   title = "Motor Trend Car Road Tests",
+                   subtitle = "A table created with tablespan",
+                   footnote = "Data from the infamous mtcars data set.")
+
+  wb <- as_excel(tbl = tbl, styles = style_color(primary_color = "#987349"))
+
+  # Compare just the data
+  xlsx_compare <- openxlsx::read.xlsx(xlsxFile = paste0(comp_file_dir, "cars_987349.xlsx"))
+  testthat::expect_true(all.equal(openxlsx::read.xlsx(wb), xlsx_compare))
+
+  # to compare workbooks, we have to write and reload the xlsx file
+  tmp_dir <- tempdir()
+  openxlsx::saveWorkbook(wb,
+                         file = paste0(tmp_dir, "/cars_test.xlsx"),
+                         overwrite = TRUE)
+
+  wb <- openxlsx::loadWorkbook(file = paste0(tmp_dir, "/cars_test.xlsx"))
+  wb_compare <- openxlsx::loadWorkbook(file = paste0(comp_file_dir, "cars.xlsx"))
+  testthat::expect_true(all.equal(wb$worksheets,  wb_compare$worksheets))
+
+})
+
+test_that("cars - color - 2", {
+  library(tablespan)
+  library(testthat)
+  library(dplyr)
+  library(openxlsx)
+
+  comp_file_dir <- paste0(testthat::test_path(), "/xlsx_files/")
+
+  summarized_table <- mtcars |>
+    group_by(cyl, vs) |>
+    summarise(N = n(),
+              mean_hp = mean(hp),
+              sd_hp = sd(hp),
+              mean_wt = mean(wt),
+              sd_wt = sd(wt))
+
+  tbl <- tablespan(data = summarized_table,
+                   formula = Cylinder:cyl + Engine:vs ~
+                     N +
+                     (`Horse Power` = Mean:mean_hp + SD:sd_hp) +
+                     (`Weight` = Mean:mean_wt + SD:sd_wt),
+                   title = "Motor Trend Car Road Tests",
+                   subtitle = "A table created with tablespan",
+                   footnote = "Data from the infamous mtcars data set.")
+
+  wb <- as_excel(tbl = tbl, styles = style_color(primary_color = "#893485"))
+
+  # Compare just the data
+  xlsx_compare <- openxlsx::read.xlsx(xlsxFile = paste0(comp_file_dir, "cars_893485.xlsx"))
+  testthat::expect_true(all.equal(openxlsx::read.xlsx(wb), xlsx_compare))
+
+  # to compare workbooks, we have to write and reload the xlsx file
+  tmp_dir <- tempdir()
+  openxlsx::saveWorkbook(wb,
+                         file = paste0(tmp_dir, "/cars_test.xlsx"),
+                         overwrite = TRUE)
+
+  wb <- openxlsx::loadWorkbook(file = paste0(tmp_dir, "/cars_test.xlsx"))
+  wb_compare <- openxlsx::loadWorkbook(file = paste0(comp_file_dir, "cars.xlsx"))
+  testthat::expect_true(all.equal(wb$worksheets,  wb_compare$worksheets))
+
+})
+
 test_that("cars-offset", {
   library(tablespan)
   library(testthat)
diff --git a/tests/testthat/xlsx_files/cars.xlsx b/tests/testthat/xlsx_files/cars.xlsx
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