diff --git a/data/theme/gnome-shell-sass/widgets/_message-list.scss b/data/theme/gnome-shell-sass/widgets/_message-list.scss
index 0a68c90b9..1b570c8ca 100644
--- a/data/theme/gnome-shell-sass/widgets/_message-list.scss
+++ b/data/theme/gnome-shell-sass/widgets/_message-list.scss
@@ -5,6 +5,8 @@
 .message-list {
   width: 31.5em;
   padding: 0 $base_padding * 2;
+
+  .message-list-placeholder { spacing: 12px; }
 }
 
 .message-list-sections {
@@ -141,4 +143,4 @@
     icon-size: $base_icon_size * 2 !important;
     padding: $base_padding * 2;
   }
-}
\ No newline at end of file
+}