diff --git a/packages/framework-dashboard/components/EventList.test.tsx b/packages/framework-dashboard/components/EventList.test.tsx
index 769dc786..75f2ed16 100644
--- a/packages/framework-dashboard/components/EventList.test.tsx
+++ b/packages/framework-dashboard/components/EventList.test.tsx
@@ -271,3 +271,34 @@ describe('EventList inline browser rows (#1455 item 6b)', () => {
     expect(screen.getByText('browser').className).toContain('text-primary')
   })
 })
+
+// The background wash (#1508): a tint across the whole line for the rows the eye hunts for —
+// the reader's own turns, failures, the clean landing — while the bulk of the log stays plain.
+describe('EventList row wash (#1508)', () => {
+  test("the reader's own turn gets the blue wash", () => {
+    const { container } = render(
+      <EventList events={[{ kind: 'driver', event: { type: 'start', prompt: 'add a search box' } }]} stick={false} />,
+    )
+    expect(container.querySelector('[class*="bg-info/10"]')).toBeTruthy()
+  })
+
+  test('a failure gets the red wash', () => {
+    const { container } = render(<EventList events={[{ kind: 'end', ok: false, detail: 'exited 1' }]} stick={false} />)
+    expect(container.querySelector('[class*="bg-danger/10"]')).toBeTruthy()
+  })
+
+  test('a clean end gets the green wash; a stopped one gets none', () => {
+    const { container } = render(<EventList events={[{ kind: 'end', ok: true }]} stick={false} />)
+    expect(container.querySelector('[class*="bg-success/10"]')).toBeTruthy()
+    cleanup()
+    const { container: stopped } = render(<EventList events={[{ kind: 'end', ok: false, stopped: true }]} stick={false} />)
+    expect(stopped.querySelector('[class*="bg-info"], [class*="bg-danger"], [class*="bg-success"]')).toBeNull()
+  })
+
+  test("an agent reply stays plain canvas — the log's bulk must not shout", () => {
+    const { container } = render(
+      <EventList events={[{ kind: 'driver', event: { type: 'text', text: 'working on it' } }]} stick={false} />,
+    )
+    expect(container.querySelector('[class*="bg-info"], [class*="bg-danger"], [class*="bg-success"]')).toBeNull()
+  })
+})
diff --git a/packages/framework-dashboard/components/EventList.tsx b/packages/framework-dashboard/components/EventList.tsx
index 3597d695..3ce66677 100644
--- a/packages/framework-dashboard/components/EventList.tsx
+++ b/packages/framework-dashboard/components/EventList.tsx
@@ -118,6 +118,20 @@ function badgeTone(e: FrameworkEvent): string {
   return ''
 }
 
+/**
+ * The row's BACKGROUND wash (#1508), the layer above {@link badgeTone}'s markers: a tint across
+ * the whole line, findable from the scrollbar's distance where a coloured badge word is not.
+ * Only the rows the eye actually hunts for get one — the reader's own turns (the log's natural
+ * chapter marks), failures, and the run landing cleanly — and at a whisper of alpha, so the
+ * text keeps the contrast and the bulk of the log stays plain canvas.
+ */
+function rowWash(e: FrameworkEvent): string {
+  if (isFailure(e)) return 'bg-danger/10'
+  if (e.kind === 'driver' && e.event.type === 'start') return 'bg-info/10'
+  if ((e.kind === 'end' && e.ok) || e.kind === 'ready-for-merge') return 'bg-success/10'
+  return ''
+}
+
 /**
  * Hoist the run's first prompt to the top of the log (#1170).
  *
@@ -292,7 +306,9 @@ export function EventList({
               const chunkHead = !prev || rowGroup(prev) !== rowGroup(e)
               const at = receivedAt(e)
               return (
-                <MessageScrollerItem key={i} messageId={String(i)} scrollAnchor={isTurnBoundary(e)} className="flex items-start gap-2">
+                // Every row carries the same -mx/px pair so a washed row's band and a plain row's
+                // text share the exact same columns; only the background differs.
+                <MessageScrollerItem key={i} messageId={String(i)} scrollAnchor={isTurnBoundary(e)} className={`-mx-1.5 flex items-start gap-2 rounded-sm px-1.5 ${rowWash(e)}`}>
                   {/* Fixed-width badge column so the text lines up whether or not this row repeats the badge. Wide enough for the longest common label ("system prompt") to sit on one line. */}
                   <span className="w-28 shrink-0">
                     {chunkHead && (