I'll start of with the bits I don't like that I feel you can focus upon john. The breadcrumbs, I'm really not liking the colour used in that area and with the portion of the breadcrumbs link transparent with the arrow part solid with that colour it just looks odd. I find that the bradcrumbs should be styled with simplicity in mind, some generic so that it doesn't hamper readability which I feel that it restricts. I've found the breadcrumbs hard to style in a way that trying for a complicated approach always looks worse than what a simplistic approach would result in a better result.
Point being, we have the rest if the areas within the style to go for a more creative, gutsy approach.
The navbar, Love the colour you have going on there. I think you should apply this kind of style on some of the areas throughout your board. Example: message user info block (it's worth a try in my opinion). The inset within the forums also looks odd, I've seen some of your styles (which are outstanding) but this doesn't reflect on the standard that I know you can output.
Here's a screenshot of a test style I've done, focus on the border surrounding it (being fixed this will be easy for you to accomplish) except, get that border with the same beautiful colouring you have going on in the navbar. I'm using 3 slices for that border overlay on a fixed width and I personally think this would look great (lowering the opacity) to give it some life. Plus, you have the luxury of maintaining the curves and it showing in IE.
Just another suggestion (i think would work nicely) the swirly sky in the screenshot above, I think you should add some of this but in other colours more soothing to compliment the "dream" theme, think northern lights. I think the helper span could be an asset in overlaying images to get a desirable effect.
Same with those side panels, spruce that up by adding some imagery such a "dreamy" type objects (god knows what dreamy type objects are) something easy and calming too the eyes.
I like some of the colours, (btw I'd still stick to your purples) but the golden colour in the navbar at the lowered opacity is not used enough imo. I think tweaking up the style a little and replacing the borders with sliced images (around node lists) you could sell this style if the output that I know your capable of results in a (what i feel) a johns high standard style.
Hopefully that helped a little, it is late here.
Look forward regardless in seeing this when your done.
Can't wait to see what you've done my friend 
