diff --git a/src/lib/pages/DictationPage.svelte b/src/lib/pages/DictationPage.svelte
index 6ca7c1a..446931e 100644
--- a/src/lib/pages/DictationPage.svelte
+++ b/src/lib/pages/DictationPage.svelte
@@ -504,11 +504,11 @@
   {#if needsDownload}
     <ModelDownloader modelSize={settings.modelSize.toLowerCase()} onComplete={onModelDownloaded} />
   {:else}
-    <!-- Header -->
-    <div class="flex items-center gap-5 px-7 pt-6 pb-4">
+    <!-- Control strip -->
+    <div class="flex items-center gap-3 px-5 h-[56px] border-b border-border-subtle flex-shrink-0">
       <!-- Record button -->
       <button
-        class="relative flex items-center justify-center w-[56px] h-[56px] min-w-[56px] flex-shrink-0 rounded-full text-white
+        class="relative flex items-center justify-center w-[40px] h-[40px] min-w-[40px] flex-shrink-0 rounded-full text-white
           active:scale-[0.93] transition-all duration-200
           {page.recording
             ? 'bg-danger animate-pulse-warm'
@@ -520,125 +520,145 @@
         aria-label={page.recording ? "Stop recording" : "Start recording"}
       >
         {#if page.recording}
-          <span class="w-[18px] h-[18px] rounded-[4px] bg-white"></span>
+          <span class="w-[14px] h-[14px] rounded-[3px] bg-white"></span>
         {:else if modelLoading}
-          <svg class="w-5 h-5 animate-spin" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2.5">
+          <svg class="w-4 h-4 animate-spin" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2.5">
             <path d="M12 2a10 10 0 0 1 10 10" stroke-linecap="round" />
           </svg>
         {:else}
-          <span class="w-[18px] h-[18px] rounded-full bg-white/90"></span>
+          <span class="w-[14px] h-[14px] rounded-full bg-white/90"></span>
         {/if}
       </button>
 
-      <!-- Timer + label -->
-      <div class="flex flex-col flex-shrink-0">
-        <span class="text-[28px] font-bold text-text tabular-nums tracking-tight leading-none" style="font-variant-numeric: tabular-nums;">
-          {page.timerText}
-        </span>
-        <span class="text-[11px] text-text-tertiary mt-1">
-          {#if page.recording}
-            <span class="inline-flex items-center gap-1.5">
-              <span class="w-[6px] h-[6px] rounded-full bg-danger animate-pulse-soft"></span>
-              <span class="font-medium text-danger tracking-wide">REC</span>
-              {#if insertPos >= 0}
-                <span class="text-text-tertiary ml-1">inserting at cursor</span>
-              {/if}
-            </span>
-          {:else if modelLoading}
-            <span class="text-warning">Loading Whisper model...</span>
-          {:else if saved}
-            <span class="text-success animate-fade-in">
-              Saved to history{#if extractedCount > 0} · {extractedCount} task{extractedCount === 1 ? '' : 's'} extracted{/if}
-            </span>
-          {:else}
-            Press record or <kbd class="px-1 py-0.5 rounded bg-bg-elevated text-[10px] text-text-tertiary border border-border-subtle">Ctrl+Shift+R</kbd>
-          {/if}
-        </span>
+      <!-- Waveform placeholder (Phase 2: live visualiser) -->
+      <div class="flex-1 min-h-[32px] rounded-md border border-border-subtle bg-bg-elevated/40 flex items-center px-3">
+        {#if page.recording}
+          <span class="flex items-end gap-[3px] h-[18px]">
+            {#each [0.4, 0.8, 0.5, 1, 0.6, 0.9, 0.4, 0.7, 0.5, 0.8, 0.3, 0.6] as h, i}
+              <span
+                class="w-[2px] rounded-full bg-danger/70 animate-pulse-soft"
+                style="height: {h * 100}%; animation-delay: {i * 60}ms"
+              ></span>
+            {/each}
+          </span>
+        {:else}
+          <span class="text-[11px] text-text-tertiary">
+            {#if modelLoading}
+              Loading model...
+            {:else if saved}
+              <span class="text-success animate-fade-in">
+                Saved{#if extractedCount > 0} · {extractedCount} task{extractedCount === 1 ? '' : 's'} extracted{/if}
+              </span>
+            {:else}
+              Press record or <kbd class="px-1 py-0.5 rounded bg-bg-elevated text-[10px] text-text-tertiary border border-border-subtle">Ctrl+Shift+R</kbd>
+            {/if}
+          </span>
+        {/if}
       </div>
 
-      <div class="flex-1"></div>
+      <!-- Timer -->
+      <span class="text-[20px] font-bold text-text tabular-nums tracking-tight leading-none flex-shrink-0" style="font-variant-numeric: tabular-nums;">
+        {page.timerText}
+      </span>
 
-      <!-- Actions -->
-      <div class="flex gap-0.5 flex-shrink-0">
-        <!-- Template selector -->
-        {#if templates.length > 0}
-          <div class="relative">
-            <button
-              class="btn-md rounded-lg text-text-secondary hover:bg-hover hover:text-text flex-shrink-0 whitespace-nowrap"
-              onclick={() => { showTemplateMenu = !showTemplateMenu; showExportMenu = false; }}
-            >Template</button>
-            {#if showTemplateMenu}
-              <div class="absolute right-0 top-full mt-1 bg-bg-card border border-border rounded-lg shadow-lg py-1 z-10 animate-fade-in min-w-[160px]">
-                {#each templates as template}
-                  <button
-                    class="w-full text-left btn-md text-text-secondary hover:bg-hover hover:text-text
-                      {activeTemplate === template.name ? 'text-accent' : ''}"
-                    onclick={() => applyTemplate(template)}
-                  >{template.name}</button>
-                {/each}
-              </div>
-            {/if}
-          </div>
+      <!-- Status indicator -->
+      <span class="text-[11px] text-text-tertiary flex-shrink-0 min-w-[60px] text-right">
+        {#if page.recording}
+          <span class="inline-flex items-center gap-1.5">
+            <span class="w-[6px] h-[6px] rounded-full bg-danger animate-pulse-soft"></span>
+            <span class="font-medium text-danger tracking-wide">REC</span>
+          </span>
+        {:else if modelLoading}
+          <span class="text-warning">Loading</span>
+        {:else}
+          <span class="text-success">Ready</span>
         {/if}
-        <button
-          class="btn-md rounded-lg flex-shrink-0 whitespace-nowrap {aiProcessing ? 'text-warning' : 'text-accent hover:bg-accent/10 hover:text-accent font-medium'}"
-          onclick={manualExtractTasks}
-          disabled={aiProcessing || !transcript.trim()}
-        >{aiProcessing ? "Extracting..." : "Extract Tasks"}</button>
-        <span class="w-px h-4 bg-border-subtle flex-shrink-0"></span>
-        <button
-          class="btn-md rounded-lg text-text-secondary hover:bg-hover hover:text-text flex-shrink-0 whitespace-nowrap
-            {!transcript.trim() ? 'opacity-40 cursor-default' : ''}"
-          onclick={saveTypedText}
-          disabled={!transcript.trim()}
-        >Save</button>
-        <button
-          class="btn-md rounded-lg text-text-secondary hover:bg-hover hover:text-text flex-shrink-0 whitespace-nowrap"
-          onclick={copyAll}
-        >Copy</button>
-        <button
-          class="btn-md rounded-lg text-text-secondary hover:bg-hover hover:text-text flex-shrink-0 whitespace-nowrap"
-          onclick={clearTranscript}
-        >Clear</button>
-        <div class="relative flex-shrink-0">
+      </span>
+
+      <!-- Separator -->
+      <span class="w-px h-4 bg-border-subtle flex-shrink-0"></span>
+
+      <!-- Task sidebar toggle -->
+      <button
+        class="relative px-2 py-1.5 rounded-lg flex-shrink-0
+          {page.taskSidebarOpen ? 'bg-accent/10' : 'hover:bg-hover'}"
+        onclick={() => page.taskSidebarOpen = !page.taskSidebarOpen}
+        aria-label="Toggle task sidebar"
+      >
+        <svg class="w-4 h-4 {page.taskSidebarOpen ? 'text-accent' : 'text-text-tertiary'}" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="currentColor">
+          <path d="M9 11l3 3L22 4M21 12v7a2 2 0 0 1-2 2H5a2 2 0 0 1-2-2V5a2 2 0 0 1 2-2h11" />
+        </svg>
+        {#if taskCount > 0}
+          <span class="absolute -top-0.5 -right-0.5 text-[9px] px-1 py-0 rounded-full bg-accent text-white font-medium min-w-[14px] text-center leading-[14px]">
+            {taskCount}
+          </span>
+        {/if}
+      </button>
+    </div>
+
+    <!-- Toolbar -->
+    <div class="flex items-center justify-end gap-1 px-5 py-2 border-b border-border-subtle flex-shrink-0">
+      <!-- Template selector -->
+      {#if templates.length > 0}
+        <div class="relative">
           <button
-            class="btn-md rounded-lg text-text-secondary hover:bg-hover hover:text-text whitespace-nowrap"
-            onclick={() => { showExportMenu = !showExportMenu; showTemplateMenu = false; }}
-          >Export</button>
-          {#if showExportMenu}
-            <div class="absolute right-0 top-full mt-1 bg-bg-card border border-border rounded-lg shadow-lg py-1 z-10 animate-fade-in min-w-[120px]">
-              {#each [["txt", "Plain Text"], ["md", "Markdown"], ["csv", "CSV"], ["html", "HTML"], ["srt", "SRT Subtitles"], ["vtt", "WebVTT"]] as [fmt, label]}
+            class="btn-md rounded-lg text-text-secondary hover:bg-hover hover:text-text flex-shrink-0 whitespace-nowrap"
+            onclick={() => { showTemplateMenu = !showTemplateMenu; showExportMenu = false; }}
+          >Template</button>
+          {#if showTemplateMenu}
+            <div class="absolute right-0 top-full mt-1 bg-bg-card border border-border rounded-lg shadow-lg py-1 z-10 animate-fade-in min-w-[160px]">
+              {#each templates as template}
                 <button
-                  class="w-full text-left btn-md text-text-secondary hover:bg-hover hover:text-text"
-                  onclick={() => handleExport(fmt)}
-                >{label}</button>
+                  class="w-full text-left btn-md text-text-secondary hover:bg-hover hover:text-text
+                    {activeTemplate === template.name ? 'text-accent' : ''}"
+                  onclick={() => applyTemplate(template)}
+                >{template.name}</button>
               {/each}
             </div>
           {/if}
         </div>
-        <span class="w-px h-4 bg-border-subtle flex-shrink-0"></span>
-        <!-- Task sidebar toggle -->
+      {/if}
+      <button
+        class="btn-md rounded-lg flex-shrink-0 whitespace-nowrap {aiProcessing ? 'text-warning' : 'text-accent hover:bg-accent/10 hover:text-accent font-medium'}"
+        onclick={manualExtractTasks}
+        disabled={aiProcessing || !transcript.trim()}
+      >{aiProcessing ? "Extracting..." : "Extract Tasks"}</button>
+      <span class="w-px h-4 bg-border-subtle flex-shrink-0"></span>
+      <button
+        class="btn-md rounded-lg text-text-secondary hover:bg-hover hover:text-text flex-shrink-0 whitespace-nowrap
+          {!transcript.trim() ? 'opacity-40 cursor-default' : ''}"
+        onclick={saveTypedText}
+        disabled={!transcript.trim()}
+      >Save</button>
+      <button
+        class="btn-md rounded-lg text-text-secondary hover:bg-hover hover:text-text flex-shrink-0 whitespace-nowrap"
+        onclick={copyAll}
+      >Copy</button>
+      <button
+        class="btn-md rounded-lg text-text-secondary hover:bg-hover hover:text-text flex-shrink-0 whitespace-nowrap"
+        onclick={clearTranscript}
+      >Clear</button>
+      <div class="relative flex-shrink-0">
         <button
-          class="relative px-2 py-1.5 rounded-lg flex-shrink-0
-            {page.taskSidebarOpen ? 'bg-accent/10' : 'hover:bg-hover'}"
-          onclick={() => page.taskSidebarOpen = !page.taskSidebarOpen}
-          aria-label="Toggle task sidebar"
-        >
-          <svg class="w-4 h-4 {page.taskSidebarOpen ? 'text-accent' : 'text-text-tertiary'}" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="currentColor">
-            <path d="M9 11l3 3L22 4M21 12v7a2 2 0 0 1-2 2H5a2 2 0 0 1-2-2V5a2 2 0 0 1 2-2h11" />
-          </svg>
-          {#if taskCount > 0}
-            <span class="absolute -top-0.5 -right-0.5 text-[9px] px-1 py-0 rounded-full bg-accent text-white font-medium min-w-[14px] text-center leading-[14px]">
-              {taskCount}
-            </span>
-          {/if}
-        </button>
+          class="btn-md rounded-lg text-text-secondary hover:bg-hover hover:text-text whitespace-nowrap"
+          onclick={() => { showExportMenu = !showExportMenu; showTemplateMenu = false; }}
+        >Export</button>
+        {#if showExportMenu}
+          <div class="absolute right-0 top-full mt-1 bg-bg-card border border-border rounded-lg shadow-lg py-1 z-10 animate-fade-in min-w-[120px]">
+            {#each [["txt", "Plain Text"], ["md", "Markdown"], ["csv", "CSV"], ["html", "HTML"], ["srt", "SRT Subtitles"], ["vtt", "WebVTT"]] as [fmt, label]}
+              <button
+                class="w-full text-left btn-md text-text-secondary hover:bg-hover hover:text-text"
+                onclick={() => handleExport(fmt)}
+              >{label}</button>
+            {/each}
+          </div>
+        {/if}
       </div>
     </div>
 
     <!-- Template indicator -->
     {#if activeTemplate}
-      <div class="px-7 pb-2 animate-fade-in">
+      <div class="px-5 pt-2 animate-fade-in flex-shrink-0">
         <div class="flex items-center gap-2 px-4 py-1.5 rounded-lg bg-accent-subtle border border-accent/20">
           <span class="text-[11px] text-accent font-medium">Template: {activeTemplate}</span>
           <span class="text-[11px] text-text-tertiary">Click a section, then record to fill it</span>
@@ -650,7 +670,7 @@
 
     <!-- Error -->
     {#if error}
-      <div class="px-7 pb-2 animate-fade-in">
+      <div class="px-5 pt-2 animate-fade-in flex-shrink-0">
         <div class="px-4 py-2 rounded-lg bg-danger/10 border border-danger/20 text-[12px] text-danger">
           {error}
         </div>
@@ -658,12 +678,12 @@
     {/if}
 
     <!-- Transcript area -->
-    <div class="flex-1 px-7 pb-3 min-h-0">
+    <div class="flex-1 px-5 pt-3 pb-3 min-h-0">
       <Card classes="h-full flex flex-col">
         <textarea
           bind:this={textareaEl}
           class="font-transcript flex-1 w-full bg-transparent text-text p-6
-                 resize-none focus:outline-none placeholder:text-text-tertiary"
+                 resize-none focus:outline-none placeholder:text-text-tertiary min-h-0"
           placeholder={activeTemplate ? "Click a section above, then press record..." : "Your words will appear here..."}
           bind:value={transcript}
           onclick={() => { showExportMenu = false; showTemplateMenu = false; }}
@@ -671,23 +691,30 @@
           aria-label="Transcript"
           aria-live="polite"
         ></textarea>
-      </Card>
-    </div>
 
-    <!-- Bottom bar -->
-    <div class="flex items-center px-7 pb-5">
-      <span class="text-[11px] text-text-tertiary">
-        {#if wordCount > 0}
-          {wordCount} {wordCount === 1 ? 'word' : 'words'}
-        {/if}
-      </span>
-      <div class="flex-1"></div>
-      {#if aiStatus}
-        <span class="text-[11px] text-accent animate-fade-in mr-3">{aiStatus}</span>
-      {/if}
-      <span class="text-[11px] text-text-tertiary">
-        {settings.formatMode} · {page.activeProfile === "None" ? "No profile" : page.activeProfile}
-      </span>
+        <!-- Status footer (inside transcript card) -->
+        <div class="flex items-center justify-between px-6 pb-3 pt-1 flex-shrink-0">
+          <span class="text-[11px] text-text-tertiary">
+            {#if wordCount > 0}
+              {wordCount} {wordCount === 1 ? 'word' : 'words'}
+            {:else}
+              0 words
+            {/if}
+            {#if insertPos >= 0 && page.recording}
+              · <span class="text-accent">inserting at cursor</span>
+            {/if}
+          </span>
+          <div class="flex items-center gap-2">
+            {#if aiStatus}
+              <span class="text-[11px] text-accent animate-fade-in">{aiStatus}</span>
+              <span class="text-[11px] text-text-tertiary">·</span>
+            {/if}
+            <span class="text-[11px] text-text-tertiary">
+              {settings.formatMode} · {page.activeProfile === "None" ? "No profile" : page.activeProfile}
+            </span>
+          </div>
+        </div>
+      </Card>
     </div>
   {/if}
 </div>