Making the chat feature look nicer

How do I make the chat feature look more like the iMessage and/or Instagram chat interface? The default chat functionality requires making a “comment” in a separate window before it is entered into the chat interface. The chat interface as well is not set up where the external user’s messages appear indented to the ;eft, and the current user’s is indented to the right as it is in most modern chatting interfaces.

We’re building something here with CSS. Not guaranteed to work, but will report if we find something interesting.