I have used this metaphor in a post before, but this is just like going into a DIY store and expecting to only find one pattern of wallpaper.
If everyone liked the same wallpaper, it would be a very boring store, not to mention a very boring world.
I think this kind of thing is just a matter of personal taste, and I personally like the new background textures for the game.
Maybe like Dave, I have got fed up with looking at the old wallpaper.
I just hope the wife don't get fed up with ours for a few more years as I hate decorating!
What I would like to see though is not the old side bar, but all the tabs I have nicely positioned around the screen, already opened for me, and in the place I left them.
Especially the orders box, the task box, and the unit info box.
Its becoming a bit of a bind having to re-organize them every time I start the game.