diff --git a/src/PostIt.Tests/SessionStatusBannerTests.cs b/src/PostIt.Tests/SessionStatusBannerTests.cs
deleted file mode 100644
index d35529db..00000000
--- a/src/PostIt.Tests/SessionStatusBannerTests.cs
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,125 +0,0 @@
-using Avalonia;
-using Avalonia.Controls;
-using Avalonia.Headless.XUnit;
-using Avalonia.Media;
-using Avalonia.Styling;
-using Avalonia.VisualTree;
-using PostIt.ViewModels;
-using PostIt.Views;
-
-namespace PostIt.Tests;
-
-/// <summary>
-/// UI tests for <see cref="SessionStatusBanner"/>. Mounted inside
-/// a real <see cref="MainWindow"/> via the headless Avalonia
-/// platform declared in <c>TestApp.cs</c>.
-///
-/// <para>The pattern is the one that <c>UnitTest1.MainPage_Should_Load</c>
-/// established: a test attribute <c>[AvaloniaFact]</c> (from
-/// <c>Avalonia.Headless.XUnit</c>) instead of plain <c>[Fact]</c>,
-/// <c>new MainWindow()</c>, <c>window.Show()</c>. The AvaloniaFact
-/// attribute schedules the test body inside a dispatcher, which
-/// is the precondition for the headless Window's
-/// <c>PlatformManager.CreateWindow()</c> to find a registered
-/// service. A plain <c>[Fact]</c> test that calls
-/// <c>new Window().Show()</c> throws because the harness has not
-/// been initialised for that thread.</para>
-///
-/// <para>The session banner's <c>DataContext</c> is not wired in
-/// these tests: <c>App.OnFrameworkInitializationCompleted</c> is
-/// not called in a unit test, so we set the DataContext on the
-/// banner directly. The production code path is exercised
-/// end-to-end by the manual launch, not here.</para>
-/// </summary>
-public class SessionStatusBannerTests
-{
-    [AvaloniaFact]
-    public void Banner_renders_three_buttons_in_the_visual_tree()
-    {
-        var window = new MainWindow();
-        window.SessionBanner.DataContext = new SessionStatusViewModel();
-        window.Show();
-
-        var buttons = window.SessionBanner.GetVisualDescendants()
-            .OfType<Button>()
-            .ToList();
-
-        // Three buttons, named by their content text: Se
-        // déconnecter, Se connecter, Paramètres. If any one is
-        // missing, the user has no way to trigger the
-        // corresponding navigation event.
-        Assert.Equal(3, buttons.Count);
-        Assert.Contains(buttons, b => b.Content as string == "Se déconnecter");
-        Assert.Contains(buttons, b => b.Content as string == "Se connecter");
-        Assert.Contains(buttons, b => b.Content as string == "Paramètres");
-    }
-
-    [AvaloniaFact]
-    public void Banner_login_button_is_visible_when_logged_out()
-    {
-        var window = new MainWindow();
-        var vm = new SessionStatusViewModel();
-        Assert.True(vm.IsLoggedOut);  // VM default
-        window.SessionBanner.DataContext = vm;
-        window.Show();
-
-        var login = window.SessionBanner.GetVisualDescendants()
-            .OfType<Button>()
-            .Single(b => b.Content as string == "Se connecter");
-
-        // The XAML binds IsVisible to IsLoggedOut. After Show,
-        // the binding has been evaluated.
-        Assert.True(login.IsVisible);
-    }
-
-    [AvaloniaFact]
-    public void Banner_logout_button_is_hidden_when_logged_out()
-    {
-        var window = new MainWindow();
-        var vm = new SessionStatusViewModel();
-        Assert.False(vm.IsLoggedIn);  // VM default
-        window.SessionBanner.DataContext = vm;
-        window.Show();
-
-        var logout = window.SessionBanner.GetVisualDescendants()
-            .OfType<Button>()
-            .Single(b => b.Content as string == "Se déconnecter");
-
-        Assert.False(logout.IsVisible);
-    }
-
-    [AvaloniaFact]
-    public void Banner_settings_button_is_visible_regardless_of_session()
-    {
-        var window = new MainWindow();
-        window.SessionBanner.DataContext = new SessionStatusViewModel();
-        window.Show();
-
-        var settings = window.SessionBanner.GetVisualDescendants()
-            .OfType<Button>()
-            .Single(b => b.Content as string == "Paramètres");
-
-        // Paramètres is the only button with no IsVisible
-        // binding — always shown. The user's only path to the
-        // settings page goes through this button.
-        Assert.True(settings.IsVisible);
-    }
-
-    [AvaloniaFact]
-    public void Banner_session_label_reflects_DataContext()
-    {
-        var window = new MainWindow();
-        window.SessionBanner.DataContext = new SessionStatusViewModel();
-        window.Show();
-
-        var label = window.SessionBanner.GetVisualDescendants()
-            .OfType<TextBlock>()
-            .First(t => t.Text == "Déconnecté" || t.Text == "Connecté");
-
-        // Default SessionLabel is "Déconnecté" until Refresh()
-        // is called with a valid session. This pins the default
-        // so a future refactor that breaks the initial value
-        // (e.g. by removing the field initialiser) is caught.
-        Assert.Equal("Déconnecté", label.Text);
-    }
-}
diff --git a/src/PostIt/Directory.Packages.props b/src/PostIt/Directory.Packages.props
index 900f1428..12ed35df 100644
--- a/src/PostIt/Directory.Packages.props
+++ b/src/PostIt/Directory.Packages.props
@@ -12,7 +12,6 @@
     <PackageVersion Include="Avalonia.Themes.Fluent" Version="12.0.4" />
     <PackageVersion Include="AvaloniaUI.DiagnosticsSupport" Version="2.2.2" />
     <PackageVersion Include="CommunityToolkit.Mvvm" Version="8.4.2" />
-    <PackageVersion Include="Material.Avalonia" Version="3.17.0" />
     <PackageVersion Include="Microsoft.Extensions.DependencyInjection" Version="10.0.9" />
     <PackageVersion Include="Xamarin.AndroidX.Browser" Version="1.8.0" />
     <PackageVersion Include="Xamarin.AndroidX.Core.SplashScreen" Version="1.2.0" />
diff --git a/src/PostIt/PostIt.Desktop/PostIt.Desktop.csproj b/src/PostIt/PostIt.Desktop/PostIt.Desktop.csproj
index c543c550..10d48512 100644
--- a/src/PostIt/PostIt.Desktop/PostIt.Desktop.csproj
+++ b/src/PostIt/PostIt.Desktop/PostIt.Desktop.csproj
@@ -19,7 +19,6 @@
       <IncludeAssets Condition="'$(Configuration)' != 'Debug'">None</IncludeAssets>
       <PrivateAssets Condition="'$(Configuration)' != 'Debug'">All</PrivateAssets>
     </PackageReference>
-    <PackageReference Include="Material.Avalonia" />
   </ItemGroup>
   <ItemGroup>
     <ProjectReference Include="..\PostIt\PostIt.csproj" />
diff --git a/src/PostIt/PostIt/App.axaml.cs b/src/PostIt/PostIt/App.axaml.cs
index ca7e051d..a73096d2 100644
--- a/src/PostIt/PostIt/App.axaml.cs
+++ b/src/PostIt/PostIt/App.axaml.cs
@@ -5,7 +5,6 @@ using Avalonia;
 using Avalonia.Controls;
 using Avalonia.Controls.ApplicationLifetimes;
 using Avalonia.Markup.Xaml;
-using Avalonia.Styling;
 using PostIt.Services;
 using PostIt.ViewModels;
 using PostIt.Views;
@@ -113,24 +112,8 @@ public partial class App : Application
         // DataContext, and the TwoWay bindings inside the page keep
         // mutating the same in-memory Settings instance that the rest
         // of the app reads (OidcClientOptions construction, etc.).
-        provider.GetRequiredService<SettingsPage>().DataContext = settings;
-
-        // Settings.DarkMode was previously a dead field: it round-
-        // tripped through the settings file and the SettingsPage
-        // CheckBox, but no consumer ever read it. Wire it here to
-        // Application.RequestedThemeVariant so the toggle takes
-        // effect immediately, and seed the initial theme from the
-        // value Load() just populated (so a dark-mode user lands on
-        // a dark window on first launch, not on a default-light
-        // window that flips after the user touches the toggle).
-        ApplyDarkMode(settings);
-        settings.PropertyChanged += (_, e) =>
-        {
-            if (e.PropertyName == nameof(Settings.DarkMode))
-            {
-                ApplyDarkMode(settings);
-            }
-        };
+        provider.GetRequiredService<SettingsPage>().DataContext =
+            provider.GetRequiredService<Settings>();
 
         if (ApplicationLifetime is IClassicDesktopStyleApplicationLifetime desktop)
         {
@@ -207,12 +190,6 @@ public partial class App : Application
         }
     }
 
-    private static void ApplyDarkMode(Settings settings)
-    {
-        Application.Current!.RequestedThemeVariant =
-                            settings.DarkMode ? ThemeVariant.Dark : ThemeVariant.Light;
-    }
-
     /// <summary>
     /// Run once after the main window is shown: try to refresh the
     /// cached OIDC tokens silently; on success, push MainPage on top
diff --git a/src/PostIt/PostIt/ViewModels/MainPageViewModel.cs b/src/PostIt/PostIt/ViewModels/MainPageViewModel.cs
index a7c70ab3..74996bd9 100644
--- a/src/PostIt/PostIt/ViewModels/MainPageViewModel.cs
+++ b/src/PostIt/PostIt/ViewModels/MainPageViewModel.cs
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ using System;
 using System.Collections.ObjectModel;
 using System.Linq;
 using System.Threading.Tasks;
+using Avalonia.Styling;
 using CommunityToolkit.Mvvm.ComponentModel;
 using CommunityToolkit.Mvvm.Input;
 using PostIt.Models;
@@ -37,6 +38,9 @@ public partial class MainPageViewModel : ViewModelBase
     [ObservableProperty]
     public partial bool IsBusy { get; set; }
 
+    [ObservableProperty]
+    ThemeVariant themeVariant = ThemeVariant.Default;
+
     [ObservableProperty]
     public partial Settings Settings { get; private set; }
 
diff --git a/src/PostIt/PostIt/Views/SessionStatusBanner.axaml b/src/PostIt/PostIt/Views/SessionStatusBanner.axaml
index 0088bd07..9c6a3f93 100644
--- a/src/PostIt/PostIt/Views/SessionStatusBanner.axaml
+++ b/src/PostIt/PostIt/Views/SessionStatusBanner.axaml
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@
              x:Class="PostIt.Views.SessionStatusBanner"
              x:DataType="vm:SessionStatusViewModel">
   <Border DockPanel.Dock="Top"
+          Background="#ECEFF1"
           BorderBrush="#B0BEC5"
           BorderThickness="0,0,0,1"
           Padding="12,6">