diff --git a/modules/gui/src/CMakeLists.txt b/modules/gui/src/CMakeLists.txt
index 41e0c9901e394f20ee79c2c76266bf9577920ccd..da9df49e3eb9f6886b5a0eea4bd10e5fa813c213 100644
--- a/modules/gui/src/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/modules/gui/src/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -22,6 +22,7 @@ sequence_search_bar.hh
 
 set(OST_GUI_SEQUENCE_VIEW_HEADERS
 base_row.hh
+background_painter.hh
 painter.hh
 secstr_row.hh
 seq_secstr_painter.hh
@@ -211,6 +212,7 @@ sequence_viewer/sequence_viewer.cc
 sequence_viewer/sequence_scene.cc
 sequence_viewer/sequence_search_bar.cc
 sequence/base_row.cc
+sequence/background_painter.cc
 sequence/secstr_row.cc
 sequence/seq_secstr_painter.cc
 sequence/seq_selection_painter.cc
@@ -339,6 +341,7 @@ sequence_viewer/sequence_viewer_base.hh
 sequence_viewer/sequence_viewer.hh
 sequence_viewer/sequence_scene.hh
 sequence_viewer/sequence_search_bar.hh
+sequence/background_painter.hh
 sequence/base_row.hh
 sequence/painter.hh
 sequence/secstr_row.hh
diff --git a/modules/gui/src/sequence/background_painter.cc b/modules/gui/src/sequence/background_painter.cc
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..adc5e6a7374ae8b2dbfca069a4721cce291e74dd
--- /dev/null
+++ b/modules/gui/src/sequence/background_painter.cc
@@ -0,0 +1,48 @@
+//------------------------------------------------------------------------------
+// This file is part of the OpenStructure project <www.openstructure.org>
+//
+// Copyright (C) 2008-2010 by the OpenStructure authors
+//
+// This library is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it under
+// the terms of the GNU Lesser General Public License as published by the Free
+// Software Foundation; either version 3.0 of the License, or (at your option)
+// any later version.
+// This library is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but WITHOUT
+// ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS
+// FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the GNU Lesser General Public License for more
+// details.
+//
+// You should have received a copy of the GNU Lesser General Public License
+// along with this library; if not, write to the Free Software Foundation, Inc.,
+// 51 Franklin Street, Fifth Floor, Boston, MA  02110-1301  USA
+//------------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+/*
+  Author: Stefan Scheuber
+ */
+
+
+#include <QtGui>
+
+#include "background_painter.hh"
+
+namespace ost { namespace gui {
+
+BackgroundPainter::BackgroundPainter(QObject* parent)
+    : Painter(parent)
+{}
+
+void BackgroundPainter::Paint(QPainter* painter, const QStyleOptionViewItem& option, const QModelIndex& index){
+  painter->save();
+  if ((index.column()-1)%10 > 4){
+    painter->fillRect(option.rect, QColor(240,240,240));
+
+  }
+  if(index.row()>0 && (index.column())%10 == 0){
+    painter->setPen(QPen(QColor(135,135,135)));
+    painter->drawLine(option.rect.topRight(),option.rect.bottomRight());
+  }
+  painter->restore();
+}
+
+}}
diff --git a/modules/gui/src/sequence/background_painter.hh b/modules/gui/src/sequence/background_painter.hh
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..942e1dde5bd9b67326862eaf605de1436c962ab7
--- /dev/null
+++ b/modules/gui/src/sequence/background_painter.hh
@@ -0,0 +1,43 @@
+//------------------------------------------------------------------------------
+// This file is part of the OpenStructure project <www.openstructure.org>
+//
+// Copyright (C) 2008-2010 by the OpenStructure authors
+//
+// This library is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it under
+// the terms of the GNU Lesser General Public License as published by the Free
+// Software Foundation; either version 3.0 of the License, or (at your option)
+// any later version.
+// This library is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but WITHOUT
+// ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS
+// FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the GNU Lesser General Public License for more
+// details.
+//
+// You should have received a copy of the GNU Lesser General Public License
+// along with this library; if not, write to the Free Software Foundation, Inc.,
+// 51 Franklin Street, Fifth Floor, Boston, MA  02110-1301  USA
+//------------------------------------------------------------------------------
+#ifndef OST_SEQUENCE_VIEWER_BACKGROUND_PAINTER
+#define OST_SEQUENCE_VIEWER_BACKGROUND_PAINTER
+
+/*
+  Author: Stefan Scheuber
+ */
+
+#include <QObject>
+
+#include "painter.hh"
+
+namespace ost { namespace gui {
+
+class BackgroundPainter : public Painter
+{
+  Q_OBJECT
+public:
+  BackgroundPainter(QObject* parent = 0);
+  void Paint(QPainter *painter, const QStyleOptionViewItem &option,
+      const QModelIndex &index);
+};
+
+}}
+
+#endif
diff --git a/modules/gui/src/sequence/seq_selection_painter.cc b/modules/gui/src/sequence/seq_selection_painter.cc
index e9b0c4d5c8723a51c9277a03946c9d5d0968796a..8473171967a9f398e8e9a9883197ab54ff605146 100644
--- a/modules/gui/src/sequence/seq_selection_painter.cc
+++ b/modules/gui/src/sequence/seq_selection_painter.cc
@@ -29,27 +29,25 @@
 namespace ost { namespace gui {
 
 SeqSelectionPainter::SeqSelectionPainter(QObject* parent)
-    : Painter(parent)
-{}
+    : Painter(parent), focus_color_(255,0,0,0), mouse_over_color_(240,240,240,192)
+{
+
+}
 
 void SeqSelectionPainter::Paint(QPainter* painter, const QStyleOptionViewItem& option, const QModelIndex& index){
   painter->save();
-  if ((index.column()-1)%10 > 4){
-    painter->fillRect(option.rect, QColor(240,240,240));
-
-  }
-  if((index.column())%10 == 0){
-    painter->setPen(QPen(QColor(135,135,135)));
-    painter->drawLine(option.rect.topRight(),option.rect.bottomRight());
-  }
+  /*
   if (option.state & QStyle::State_HasFocus){
-    painter->fillRect(option.rect, QColor(240,240,0,60));
+    painter->fillRect(option.rect, focus_color_);
   }
+  */
   if (option.state & QStyle::State_MouseOver){
-    painter->fillRect(option.rect, QColor(240,240,240,128));
+    painter->fillRect(option.rect, mouse_over_color_);
   }
   if (option.state & QStyle::State_Selected){
-    painter->fillRect(option.rect, QColor(0,240,0,128));
+    QColor color = option.palette.highlight().color();
+    color.setAlpha(128);
+    painter->fillRect(option.rect, color);
   }
   painter->restore();
 }
diff --git a/modules/gui/src/sequence/seq_selection_painter.hh b/modules/gui/src/sequence/seq_selection_painter.hh
index 416f423c0fc1f187b81cb24f6297821d2fefd7df..a98d5afb6bf0cab9e33e7283ec5e6b80af423aa3 100644
--- a/modules/gui/src/sequence/seq_selection_painter.hh
+++ b/modules/gui/src/sequence/seq_selection_painter.hh
@@ -36,6 +36,9 @@ public:
   SeqSelectionPainter(QObject* parent = 0);
   void Paint(QPainter *painter, const QStyleOptionViewItem &option,
       const QModelIndex &index);
+private:
+  QColor focus_color_;
+  QColor mouse_over_color_;
 };
 
 }}
diff --git a/modules/gui/src/sequence/sequence_model.cc b/modules/gui/src/sequence/sequence_model.cc
index 428952657b2f0bb3e14277fdd2a5dbc4c2cf104c..ddac0e2a8db67446cb5bb75f32d699cf7a8c2c96 100644
--- a/modules/gui/src/sequence/sequence_model.cc
+++ b/modules/gui/src/sequence/sequence_model.cc
@@ -119,7 +119,7 @@ const PainterList& SequenceModel::GetPainters(const QModelIndex& index) const{
     pair.second->GetRow(pair.first);
     return pair.second->GetRow(pair.first)->GetPainters();
   }
-  assert(false);
+  return empty_list_;
 }
 
 QPair<int, ViewObject*> SequenceModel::GetRowWithItem(int row) const{
diff --git a/modules/gui/src/sequence/sequence_model.hh b/modules/gui/src/sequence/sequence_model.hh
index 50618db9c0a8bc6054dc5ac3ff3d015b5b011c1b..1c8b27f6fca5cf94f9eefff0bd938025870b2180 100644
--- a/modules/gui/src/sequence/sequence_model.hh
+++ b/modules/gui/src/sequence/sequence_model.hh
@@ -81,6 +81,7 @@ private:
 
   QList<ViewObject*> objects_;
   int max_columns;
+  PainterList empty_list_;
 };
 
 
diff --git a/modules/gui/src/sequence/sequence_row.cc b/modules/gui/src/sequence/sequence_row.cc
index b9f758053613d533897cf9f4b19092536259761f..2c33712ace2197cfe00160d78d120e4cf682b1f0 100644
--- a/modules/gui/src/sequence/sequence_row.cc
+++ b/modules/gui/src/sequence/sequence_row.cc
@@ -35,10 +35,16 @@
 namespace ost { namespace gui {
 
 SequenceRow::SequenceRow(const QString& name, seq::SequenceHandle& sequence, ViewObject* parent) : BaseRow(QFont("Courier",11),parent), name_(name), name_font_(QFont("Courier",11)), sequence_(sequence)
-{ }
+{
+  name_font_.setBold(true);
+  name_font_.setItalic(true);
+}
 
-SequenceRow::SequenceRow(const QString& name, ViewObject* parent) : BaseRow(QFont("Courier",11),parent), name_(name)
-{ }
+SequenceRow::SequenceRow(const QString& name, ViewObject* parent) : BaseRow(QFont("Courier",11),parent), name_(name), name_font_(QFont("Courier",11))
+{
+  name_font_.setBold(true);
+  name_font_.setItalic(true);
+}
 
 int SequenceRow::GetColumnCount() const
 {
diff --git a/modules/gui/src/sequence/sequence_table_view.cc b/modules/gui/src/sequence/sequence_table_view.cc
index 2152c1a6bb6b129e27b579d54ffc0560b036ee5f..73769705dde169a4c7b7f56707ef08e73f072ee6 100644
--- a/modules/gui/src/sequence/sequence_table_view.cc
+++ b/modules/gui/src/sequence/sequence_table_view.cc
@@ -95,7 +95,6 @@ void SequenceTableView::InitStaticColumn()
   static_column_->setVerticalScrollBarPolicy(Qt::ScrollBarAlwaysOff);
   static_column_->show();
   static_column_->setStyleSheet("QTableView { border: 0px;"
-                                 "background-color: #F6F6F6;"
                                  "selection-background-color: #EEEEEE}"
                                  "QTableView::item{ border: none;"
                                  "padding: 0px; border-width: 0px; margin: 0px;}");
@@ -130,7 +129,7 @@ void SequenceTableView::InitStaticRow()
   static_row_->setVerticalScrollBarPolicy(Qt::ScrollBarAlwaysOff);
   static_row_->show();
   static_row_->setStyleSheet("QTableView { border: 0px;"
-                                 "background-color: #F6F6F6;"
+                                 "background-color: #FFFFFF;"
                                  "selection-background-color: #EEEEEE}"
                                  "QTableView::item{ border: none;"
                                  "padding: 0px; border-width: 0px; margin: 0px;}");
@@ -169,7 +168,7 @@ void SequenceTableView::InitStaticField(){
   static_field_->setVerticalScrollBarPolicy(Qt::ScrollBarAlwaysOff);
   static_field_->show();
   static_field_->setStyleSheet("QTableView { border: 0px;"
-                                 "background-color: #E0E0E0;"
+                                 "background-color: #FFFFFF;"
                                  "selection-background-color: #EEEEEE}"
                                  "QTableView::item{ border: none;"
                                  "padding: 0px; border-width: 0px; margin: 0px;}");
diff --git a/modules/gui/src/sequence/view_object.cc b/modules/gui/src/sequence/view_object.cc
index e422027e7105fa95277e89be52ce5f70aa110ddd..01d80818a08b725cdd655dec051f1b9f5b204aff 100644
--- a/modules/gui/src/sequence/view_object.cc
+++ b/modules/gui/src/sequence/view_object.cc
@@ -32,6 +32,7 @@
 #include "title_row.hh"
 
 #include "painter.hh"
+#include "background_painter.hh"
 #include "seq_secstr_painter.hh"
 #include "seq_selection_painter.hh"
 #include "seq_text_painter.hh"
@@ -78,7 +79,9 @@ ViewObject::ViewObject(gfx::EntityP& entity, QObject* parent): QObject(parent),
 ViewObject::ViewObject(QObject* parent): QObject(parent)
 {
   TitleRow* new_row = new TitleRow(this);
-  Painter* p = new TickPainter(this);
+  Painter* p = new BackgroundPainter(this);
+  new_row->InsertPainter(p);
+  p = new TickPainter(this);
   new_row->InsertPainter(p);
   rows_.append(new_row);
 }
@@ -111,7 +114,9 @@ int ViewObject::GetRowCount()
 void ViewObject::AddSequence(seq::SequenceHandle& sequence, const QString& name)
 {
   SequenceRow* new_row = new SequenceRow(name, sequence, this);
-  Painter* p = new SeqSelectionPainter(this);
+  Painter* p = new BackgroundPainter(this);
+  new_row->InsertPainter(p);
+  p = new SeqSelectionPainter(this);
   new_row->InsertPainter(p);
   p = new SeqTextPainter(this);
   new_row->InsertPainter(p);
@@ -121,12 +126,14 @@ void ViewObject::AddSequence(seq::SequenceHandle& sequence, const QString& name)
 void ViewObject::AddChain(mol::ChainView& chain, const QString& name)
 {
   SecStrRow* new_row = new SecStrRow(name, chain, this);
-  Painter* p = new SeqSelectionPainter(this);
+  Painter* p = new BackgroundPainter(this);
   new_row->InsertPainter(p);
   p = new SeqSecStrPainter(this);
   new_row->InsertPainter(p);
   p = new SeqTextPainter(this);
   new_row->InsertPainter(p);
+  p = new SeqSelectionPainter(this);
+  new_row->InsertPainter(p);
   rows_.append(new_row);
 }