diff --git a/administrate/NEWS b/administrate/NEWS
index a3df6a96b380105b957e15e8fa5cc1d3b940f17e..48a4016dc5b9eef071cec7a11e296f9c0e40219e 100644
--- a/administrate/NEWS
+++ b/administrate/NEWS
@@ -1,3 +1,7 @@
+* Improvement: Stop flash from index page from persisting across requests
+* UI: Use a light background
+* UI: Improve element spacing on index page
+
 New in 0.0.8:
 
 * Change: Change the `DashboardManifest` and `ModelDashboard` APIs
diff --git a/administrate/app/assets/stylesheets/administrate/_sidebar.scss b/administrate/app/assets/stylesheets/administrate/_sidebar.scss
index 64139a39804d73341ff6edd57421f6a826ef42f1..3fb86247b9d14ec24582e5d5e9c4f78f26a41ce9 100644
--- a/administrate/app/assets/stylesheets/administrate/_sidebar.scss
+++ b/administrate/app/assets/stylesheets/administrate/_sidebar.scss
@@ -1,8 +1,10 @@
 .sidebar {
-  flex: 0 0 $sidebar-width;
+  flex: 0 0 auto;
+  max-width: 12em;
   overflow-y: auto;
+  padding: 0 $base-spacing;
 
-  &-logo {
+  &__logo {
     height: 6em;
 
     img {
@@ -12,18 +14,14 @@
     }
   }
 
-  &-list {
-    @include fill-parent;
-  }
-
-  a {
+  &__link {
     @include fill-parent;
     color: $base-font-color;
     display: block;
     padding-top: $base-spacing;
     transition: color 0.05s linear;
 
-    &.active {
+    &--active {
       color: $blue;
       font-weight: $bold-font-weight;
     }
diff --git a/administrate/app/assets/stylesheets/administrate/base/_variables.scss b/administrate/app/assets/stylesheets/administrate/base/_variables.scss
index 305eb295975497159dd0d19d015f3884d256c66f..c94a1673c8c280e8ca9196ed082e1f681b028e92 100644
--- a/administrate/app/assets/stylesheets/administrate/base/_variables.scss
+++ b/administrate/app/assets/stylesheets/administrate/base/_variables.scss
@@ -28,7 +28,6 @@ $base-border-radius: 3px;
 $base-spacing: $base-line-height * 1em;
 $base-z-index: 0;
 $small-spacing: $base-spacing / 2;
-$sidebar-width: 150px;
 
 // Transitions
 $base-easing: cubic-bezier(0.215, 0.610, 0.355, 1);
diff --git a/administrate/app/controllers/administrate/application_controller.rb b/administrate/app/controllers/administrate/application_controller.rb
index 56162fa117492b0f0505dd7b21416e382aad3714..47eaaeaa8ce89fe12bb18fa5cc732e07a4d00692 100644
--- a/administrate/app/controllers/administrate/application_controller.rb
+++ b/administrate/app/controllers/administrate/application_controller.rb
@@ -65,10 +65,12 @@ module Administrate
 
     private
 
-    helper_method :link_class
-    def link_class(resource)
+    helper_method :nav_link_state
+    def nav_link_state(resource)
       if resource_name.to_s.pluralize == resource.to_s
         :active
+      else
+        :inactive
       end
     end
 
diff --git a/administrate/app/views/administrate/application/_sidebar.html.erb b/administrate/app/views/administrate/application/_sidebar.html.erb
index 877fd13d992febe7794ab7cfe68fde41205ad416..b838cc0926e7bc1c7536b5ece44b4bfbe31845a1 100644
--- a/administrate/app/views/administrate/application/_sidebar.html.erb
+++ b/administrate/app/views/administrate/application/_sidebar.html.erb
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
-<ul class="sidebar-list">
-  <div class="sidebar-logo">
+<ul class="sidebar__list">
+  <div class="sidebar__logo">
     <%= image_tag "logo.svg" %>
   </div>
 
@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@
       <%= link_to(
         resource.to_s.titleize,
         [Administrate::NAMESPACE, resource],
-        class: link_class(resource)
+        class: "sidebar__link sidebar__link--#{nav_link_state(resource)}"
       ) %>
     </li>
   <% end %>
diff --git a/spec/features/sidebar_spec.rb b/spec/features/sidebar_spec.rb
index c55ba84e01c37c45269662ff5772afa696001459..e36fe3a6123450520fd30ae2184b4b34593320cb 100644
--- a/spec/features/sidebar_spec.rb
+++ b/spec/features/sidebar_spec.rb
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@ describe "sidebar" do
   it "highlights the link to the current page's resource type" do
     visit admin_customers_path
 
-    active_link = find(".sidebar .active")
+    active_link = find(".sidebar__link--active")
 
     expect(active_link.text).to eq "Customers"
   end