for a start it doesn't look too bad... (bgtest.htm) I'd have to see it further along to get an better idea of it... if you follow what you had in your book, it shouldn't turn out too bad...
also: if you wanted to run with that hall design, gradients are your friend... look at the design I just threw together really fast:
just use a square gradient, and keep adding on to it... use a small square, then double the size (from the same starting point) and keep doing that until you get to a light shade (in my case transparent) where you want them... then you can add doors/people/lights/etc.