Color settings

I noticed that in 2.20.0 the display colors of various parts of
windows can be controlled that are/can not in 2.16.0.

Can anyone tell me where the color controls for the panels in the
windows are set?  (I'm guessing that they're in a file somewhere....)
I really hate the gray on my CentOS 5.1 box and really like the color
controls in 2.20.0 (on my work FC8 box).

In the alternative, is there a way to get 2.20.0 for a distro that
does not include it (other than the "demo" CD - not an acceptable
method)?

Thanks.

mhr