Libreoffice looks like office 97!!!. really, if you want to compete against MOffice 200++ you must update the GUI because that interface looks so older!!! the mayority of users dont care about advanced functionalities but about colors and integration.
Thanks in advance!!
from https://www.libreoffice.org/get-help/faq/general-faq/are-there-any-plans-for-a-new-gui/:
“We are revising and improving LibreOffice’s interface in small ways with every version. You can see some of our progress in the release notes for LibreOffice 3.3, 3.4, 3.5 and 3.6. The Design Team’s Whiteboards section in our wiki contains more information on planned improvements. A number of ideas to improve the interface in a big way exist, however, they are usually not yet mature enough to be implementable. It is important to note that such ideas generally need to be split up into several smaller chunks to better to better fit LibreOffice’s development style.”
So in short:
Reality happens here, everything else is just random ideas for now: http://wiki.documentfoundation.org/Design/Whiteboards
In addition to Citrus, there is also currently a request from the team for a designer to help with the icons.
Once I sent the below suggestion to The Document Foundation:
Now I will come to my point. I have read many comments in engadget, omgubuntu, slashdot and other website that people want a new GUI for LibreOffice. I know that developing a new GUI requires a huge effort. My suggestion is why not you as document Foundation create a new initiative to improve the current GUI to something modern and beautiful. This of course will require money and for that you can make a camping in pledgie.com or Kickstarter to collect donations. Let us say to develop a improved GUI we need three developers full time for one year and that will cost X mount of money. I am sure that a lot of people will donate to see their beloved feature implement it in LibreOffice.
Then I got this reply:
Now I will come to my point. I have read many comments in engadget, omgubuntu, slashdot and other website that people want a new GUI for LibreOffice. I know that developing a new GUI requires a huge effort.
Right - I think you underestimate the effort by about an order of magnitude
I am sure that a lot of people will donate to see their beloved feature implement it in LibreOffice.
If you want to raise the money, hire the people, manage the project and get the community to like the result - feel free to start acting on your vision
In the meantime, a more incremental approach to improving the UI is
getting underway, we’re also trying to improve the raw underlying code
to make it easier to do these things in future.
But - it is of course rather an expensive hobby
Yes I agree with you, Libre Office must change the GUI, but not for competing MOffice but for their users. 
(not a wiki-style post as there are already two - but as the site just launched, only moderators/admins can edit wikiposts…)
LibreOffice will sometime in the future get a new UI - that is for sure as the tablet versions that sooner or later will have to exist need a different way of interacting (i.e. touch-interface), and I’m sure the whole UI-Layer will be revamped, making this possible and in turn easier to change the UI.
But then again it is of course a controversial topic, as some people don’t like change, especially don’t like MS-Ribbon interface, etc.
No matter what, it will still take time for this, so I definitely wouldn’t expect a different UI in 2012.
But when you mention Office 97 & colors (and not 2000 or the traditional menu structure vs always-adapting ribbons): If you’re using Linux, make sure that you’re using either GNOME/GTK or KDE/QT theme integration, otherwise you’ll indeed get a very old-school color scheme that adds to this impression 
Also note that you can switch between different icon styles in the options, maybe that already makes it feel less “old” for you. (Tools|Options → LibreOffice → View)
A new GUI would definitely help, but why follow the MSOff way? Why not be a step ahead?
Once Upon a Time, there was project Renaissance. And a work for Impress but only in preview. Then OO.org changed hands.
The GUI needs to change. It looks older and not useful and also functional. But MS Office refreshes and renews the GUI every major release. Because change sells…
Please, whatever you do with the GUI, don’t adopt Microsoft’s Ribbon—the ribbon interface sucks! It is very hard to navigate through and it takes up to much screen space.
They should make an option to use as ribbon style or classic one.Customizing is really important.The internet explorer went to the garbage of the history because they ddn’t give an option for customizing.
A little story to say :
One of my compagnies switched to OOo/LibreOffice from MSO, it took more than 3 month to teach the people where are the “hidden function” and the workers was still not happy about the UI (the icon are now very little in hight resolution, badly made and the workers said : "it’s a Big Mess in the way how there are showed), so my compagny “test” switch back to MSO last June with only 1 week to refresh their skills…
Recently i discover this “possible” UI > http://pauloup.deviantart.com/gallery/28216273
because I’am a hard stubborn, i made a little conference with my employees witch have tested the actual old prehistoric UI, showing this “possible” new UI > http://pauloup.deviantart.com/gallery/28216273
100% of them was very surprised and want to try it soon as possible…
What lesson i took from this story ?
Finally if i have a suggestion, i will say STOP to add and add new functions but just go there > http://pauloup.deviantart.com/gallery/28216273 and try URGENTLY to change your prehistoric UNERGONOMIC very old UI and you will see how fast The Document Fundation will be a REAL alternative to MSO
Best Regards
Patrice