It's not the overall layout of v2, it's the overall layout of TCAdmin. The software is really great, and I love how we're able to customize each game server to fit almost every need, but the design is just really not pleasing to the eye. The least ugly thing about TCAdmin's design is the icons, but they are also not that great.
One of the reasons I don't like the handlebars: The corners are low-res images.
http://i.imgur.com/nreLeMJ.png
The grids are grey and really boring
Tabs are also grey and boring, and again - low res images: http://i.imgur.com/ydYrzXJ.png
Theming TCAdmin is a really tedious job - A LOT of stuff contains of images (almost everything that has a color that can be changed actually), and you basically have to do background-image: none before being able to get rid of it.
I offered to do a redesign of TCAdmin for free here which I'm still willing to do, but only if there's the slightest chance that it's actually getting used. I'm not saying I need access to any of the code, I'm just saying that I'd offer to create a template in HTML, CSS and Javascript, showing what can be done to make the design look better and easier to navigate.