Good start! Don't be afraid to increase the font size - my eye sight is okay, but it's not easy for me to read the text surrounding the headlines unless I focus on it.
Personally, I like small fonts when I'm coding but larger fonts for other stuff.
IMO, it could make a difference. 7pt Tahoma might be a bit too small, but I do think there is an 'intelligent aesthetic' that font size plays into.