You can't really. CSS backgrounds are the main reason you need to use padding (instead of margin): margins exist outside an element, while padding expands withi

You can't really. CSS backgrounds are the main reason you need to use padding (instead of margin): margins exist outside an element, while padding expands within the box itself (beyond the content, but permitting the background to remain visible). To visualize it, http://hicksdesign.co.uk/boxmodel/ http://hicksdesign.co.uk/boxmodel/ is probably the most oft-cited example - certainly the one I find most helpful.