Thread Status Icons - Help needed!

[Milargo]

How can I change the status icon of a thread?
The current representation if the thread is "hot", closed or if it contains unread posts is a little icon (where the green circle & arrow is).



However, instead of a small icon, I would like the thread status to be represented with a larger image and forgo the icons altogether.
To be more specific, I would like to replace the letter tile in above image and show a different icon depending on the thread's status.

Is there anyway that this can be accomplished?

I've seen this done plenty of times (Namely on IP Boards) and this feature would considerably help tie together the overall aesthetics of my forum and improve the user experience by leaps and bounds.

Any help/solutions would be greatly appreciated!