To change Background color of MdI form Do not set isMDIcontainer property of the MDI form to true. Add the following code. Private Sub test_Load(ByVal sender As System.Object, ByVal e As System.EventArgs) Handles MyBase.Load Dim mdiClient1 As MdiClient = New System.Windows.Forms.MdiClient mdiClient1.Dock = System.Windows.Forms.DockStyle.Fill mdiClient1.Name = "mdiClient1" mdiClient1.BackColor = Color.DarkCyan Me.Controls.AddRange(New System.Windows.Forms.Control() {mdiClient1}) Me.IsMdiContainer = True Dim frm As Form1 = New Form1 frm.MdiParent = Me frm.Show() End Sub this should work for mdi form. How to change the background color of a toolbar: 1.Place a panel on your form 2.Set the panel's docked property to Top (the default for a toolbar) 3.Set the panels backcolor to the color that you want the toolbar to be 4.Place a toolbar on the panel mentioned above The Toolbar & its buttons inherit their backcolor from their parent control. Seems simple enough. You could always 'subclass the toolbar and do the drawing yourself' but for a newbie to VB simple is best.