Change the background color of cells in Excel 2007

To change the background color of the cells, select an individual cell or select multiple cells first. Click here for information regarding selecting multiple cells.

On the Home tab, in the Font group, click the arrow next to the Fill Color command (It has the paint bucket icon in it). Click to apply that color as the background color for the cell(s).

If the color that you are looking for is not available under Theme Colors or Standard Colors then click More Colors... to open the Color dialog box. Pick a color from the Standard tab or from the Custom tab and click OK.
In the figure to the right, few cells in column C and D are selected and applied Purple, Accent 4, Lighter 40% color.