I absolutely agree with you that the more features are at the designer�s disposal the better the outcome is. We are more than sure that the Internet is satiated with simple designs and the customers, these days, demand creativity and innovation. In “Astra Design Company”:http://www.astra-design.com the designers work hand in hand with the html-coders to ensure the high level of final product. I have seen so many times when a designer can produce a quality design but the ideas cannot be put into the html-code because simply there are no ways to do it. And it is such a pity to explain the Client that the design s/he wants does not have a chance to survive in the html-coding.
You are doing a great job introducing new options like multiple backgrounds, etc. I will just repeat myself that the more options are there, the better the design will be!