diff --git a/piNail2/tty_status_display.py b/piNail2/tty_status_display.py
index 73d4f76..77a58fd 100644
--- a/piNail2/tty_status_display.py
+++ b/piNail2/tty_status_display.py
@@ -148,6 +148,12 @@ class StatusDisplay:
         color, label = phases.get(phase, (Colors.WHITE, "  ?   "))
         return "{}{}{}".format(color, label, Colors.RESET)
     
+    def strip_ansi(self, text):
+        """Remove ANSI color codes from text for length calculation."""
+        import re
+        ansi_escape = re.compile(r'\x1B(?:[@-Z\\-_]|\[[0-?]*[ -/]*[@-~])')
+        return ansi_escape.sub('', text)
+    
     def draw_nail_panel_compact(self, nail_id, status):
         """Draw compact status panel for a single nail (for side-by-side layout)."""
         if not status:
@@ -267,31 +273,43 @@ class StatusDisplay:
             nail2_lines.append("")
         
         # Draw separate boxes for each nail side-by-side
+        # Top border
         lines.append("{}┌──────────────────────────┐     ┌──────────────────────────┐{}".format(
             Colors.CYAN, Colors.RESET))
-        lines.append("{}│ {}NAIL 1{:<17}│     │ {}NAIL 2{:<17}│{}".format(
-            Colors.CYAN,
-            Colors.BRIGHT_RED + Colors.BOLD,
-            Colors.CYAN,
-            Colors.BRIGHT_BLUE + Colors.BOLD,
-            Colors.CYAN,
-            Colors.RESET
-        ))
+        
+        # Header line with nail names
+        n1_header = "{}NAIL 1{}".format(Colors.BRIGHT_RED + Colors.BOLD, Colors.CYAN)
+        n2_header = "{}NAIL 2{}".format(Colors.BRIGHT_BLUE + Colors.BOLD, Colors.CYAN)
+        # Manually pad with spaces after stripping ANSI codes
+        n1_spaces = 22 - len(self.strip_ansi(n1_header))
+        n2_spaces = 22 - len(self.strip_ansi(n2_header))
+        lines.append("{}│ {}{:<{}}│     │ {}{:<{}}│{}".format(
+            Colors.CYAN, n1_header, "", n1_spaces, n2_header, "", n2_spaces, Colors.RESET))
+        
+        # Middle border
         lines.append("{}├──────────────────────────┤     ├──────────────────────────┤{}".format(
             Colors.CYAN, Colors.RESET))
         
+        # Content lines
         for n1_line, n2_line in zip(nail1_lines, nail2_lines):
-            # Pad lines to 24 chars for each box with 5 spaces between
-            n1_padded = "{:<24}".format(n1_line[:24])
-            n2_padded = "{:<24}".format(n2_line[:24])
-            lines.append("{}│ {}  │     │ {}  │{}".format(
+            # Calculate visible length without ANSI codes
+            n1_visible = self.strip_ansi(n1_line)[:22]
+            n2_visible = self.strip_ansi(n2_line)[:22]
+            n1_spaces = 22 - len(n1_visible)
+            n2_spaces = 22 - len(n2_visible)
+            
+            lines.append("{}│ {}{:<{}}│     │ {}{:<{}}│{}".format(
                 Colors.CYAN,
-                n1_padded,
-                n2_padded,
+                n1_line,
+                "",
+                n1_spaces,
+                n2_line,
+                "",
+                n2_spaces,
                 Colors.RESET
             ))
         
-        # Footer
+        # Bottom border
         lines.append("{}└──────────────────────────┘     └──────────────────────────┘{}".format(
             Colors.CYAN, Colors.RESET))