 <p>Unfortunately I cannot provide a sample at the current moment, but you should definitely look into <a href="http://docs.oracle.com/javase/7/docs/api/javax/swing/plaf/basic/BasicScrollBarUI.html" rel="nofollow">this</a></p> <p>The <code>BasicScrollBarUI</code> class allows you to modify different features of a typical <code>JScrollBar</code>, such as various different colors, sizes, and shadow effects. This should be what you are looking for. Basically the idea is that you are supposed to override the <code>installDefaults</code> method and just modify the protected fields to your liking.</p> <p>But, if you want to get fancy, I would highly suggest looking into <a href="http://docs.oracle.com/javafx/" rel="nofollow">JavaFX</a> due to the amount of customizability it supports, one being CSS styling (which should be very helpful to you).</p>