Since Discourse released Chat as part of their official plugins now, they have also worked on a new theme that integrates better into the content experience. I’ve been using it for some time now at meta.discourse.org. It’s easier to focus on content and switch from chat to threads and all kinds of (custom) filters. The theme also supports dark mode and you can change the background. The theme will become publicly available soon, no specific date mentioned.
Maybe this is something to keep in mind when working on the new Fairphone theme.
Below is an impression. So the repeating icons you see on the left and right could be replaced with specific FP icons. Then it’s FP specific, but you won’t have to keep your custom theme consistent with Discourse releases. Just a thought.