diff --git a/docs/management/advanced-options.asciidoc b/docs/management/advanced-options.asciidoc
index 1d6020e02dcc6..cb8777c6fef8a 100644
--- a/docs/management/advanced-options.asciidoc
+++ b/docs/management/advanced-options.asciidoc
@@ -132,6 +132,8 @@ The default is `_source`.
 the Visualize button in the field drop down. The default is `20`.
 `discover:sampleSize`:: The number of rows to show in the Discover table.
 `discover:sort:defaultOrder`:: The default sort direction for time-based index patterns.
+`discover:searchOnPageLoad`:: Controls whether a search is executed when Discover first loads. 
+This setting does not have an effect when loading a saved search.
 `doc_table:hideTimeColumn`:: Hides the "Time" column in Discover and in all saved searches on dashboards.
 `doc_table:highlight`:: Highlights results in Discover and saved searches on dashboards. 
 Highlighting slows requests when
diff --git a/src/legacy/core_plugins/kibana/public/discover/_discover.scss b/src/legacy/core_plugins/kibana/public/discover/_discover.scss
index 2e142d475be24..b625e394a1383 100644
--- a/src/legacy/core_plugins/kibana/public/discover/_discover.scss
+++ b/src/legacy/core_plugins/kibana/public/discover/_discover.scss
@@ -1,5 +1,11 @@
+@import 'node_modules/@elastic/eui/src/components/panel/mixins';
+
 discover-app {
-  background-color: $euiColorEmptyShade;
+  flex-grow: 1;
+
+  .sidebar-container {
+    background-color: transparent;
+  }
 }
 
 // SASSTODO: replace the margin-top value with a variable
@@ -14,14 +20,20 @@ discover-app {
 
 // SASSTODO: replace the z-index value with a variable
 .dscWrapper {
-  padding-right: 0;
+  padding-right: $euiSizeS;
   padding-left: 21px;
-  z-index: 1
+  z-index: 1;
 }
 
+@include euiPanel('dscWrapper__content');
+
 .dscWrapper__content {
-  padding-right: $euiSize;
-  clear: both;
+  padding-top: $euiSizeXS;
+  background-color: $euiColorEmptyShade;
+
+  .kbn-table {
+    margin-bottom: 0;
+  }
 }
 
 .dscTimechart {
@@ -41,11 +53,11 @@ discover-app {
   padding-left: $euiSizeM;
 
   .dscResultHits {
-    padding-left: $euiSizeXS; 
+    padding-left: $euiSizeXS;
   }
 
   > .kuiLink {
-    padding-left: $euiSizeM; 
+    padding-left: $euiSizeM;
   }
 }
 
@@ -136,7 +148,7 @@ discover-app {
 // SASSTODO: replace the padding value with a variable
 .dscFieldDetails {
   padding: 10px;
-  background-color: shade($euiColorLightestShade, 5%);
+  background-color: $euiColorLightestShade;
   color: $euiTextColor;
 }
 
diff --git a/src/legacy/core_plugins/kibana/public/discover/_hacks.scss b/src/legacy/core_plugins/kibana/public/discover/_hacks.scss
index 7f2b5b3400046..cdc8e04dff578 100644
--- a/src/legacy/core_plugins/kibana/public/discover/_hacks.scss
+++ b/src/legacy/core_plugins/kibana/public/discover/_hacks.scss
@@ -1,7 +1,6 @@
-// SASSTODO: the classname is dinamically generated with ng-class
+// SASSTODO: the classname is dynamically generated with ng-class
 .tab-discover {
   overflow: hidden;
-  background: $euiColorEmptyShade;
 }
 
 // SASSTODO: these are Angular Bootstrap classes. Will be replaced by EUI
diff --git a/src/legacy/core_plugins/kibana/public/discover/controllers/discover.js b/src/legacy/core_plugins/kibana/public/discover/controllers/discover.js
index c38652aa8805e..4711fb1edb018 100644
--- a/src/legacy/core_plugins/kibana/public/discover/controllers/discover.js
+++ b/src/legacy/core_plugins/kibana/public/discover/controllers/discover.js
@@ -530,6 +530,14 @@ function discoverController(
     indexPatternList: $route.current.locals.ip.list,
   };
 
+  const shouldSearchOnPageLoad = () => {
+    // A saved search is created on every page load, so we check the ID to see if we're loading a
+    // previously saved search or if it is just transient
+    return config.get('discover:searchOnPageLoad')
+      || savedSearch.id !== undefined
+      || _.get($scope, 'refreshInterval.pause') === false;
+  };
+
   const init = _.once(function () {
     stateMonitor = stateMonitorFactory.create($state, getStateDefaults());
     stateMonitor.onChange((status) => {
@@ -577,8 +585,10 @@ function discoverController(
           $scope.enableTimeRangeSelector = !!timefield;
         });
 
-        $scope.$watch('state.interval', function () {
-          $scope.fetch();
+        $scope.$watch('state.interval', function (newInterval, oldInterval) {
+          if (newInterval !== oldInterval) {
+            $scope.fetch();
+          }
         });
 
         $scope.$watch('vis.aggs', function () {
@@ -592,9 +602,11 @@ function discoverController(
           }
         });
 
-        $scope.$watch('state.query', (newQuery) => {
-          const query = migrateLegacyQuery(newQuery);
-          $scope.updateQueryAndFetch({ query });
+        $scope.$watch('state.query', (newQuery, oldQuery) => {
+          if (!_.isEqual(newQuery, oldQuery)) {
+            const query = migrateLegacyQuery(newQuery);
+            $scope.updateQueryAndFetch({ query });
+          }
         });
 
         $scope.$watchMulti([
@@ -603,19 +615,25 @@ function discoverController(
         ], (function updateResultState() {
           let prev = {};
           const status = {
+            UNINITIALIZED: 'uninitialized',
             LOADING: 'loading', // initial data load
             READY: 'ready', // results came back
             NO_RESULTS: 'none' // no results came back
           };
 
           function pick(rows, oldRows, fetchStatus) {
-            // initial state, pretend we are loading
-            if (rows == null && oldRows == null) return status.LOADING;
+            // initial state, pretend we're already loading if we're about to execute a search so
+            // that the uninitilized message doesn't flash on screen
+            if (rows == null && oldRows == null && shouldSearchOnPageLoad()) {
+              return status.LOADING;
+            }
+
+            if (fetchStatus === fetchStatuses.UNINITIALIZED) {
+              return status.UNINITIALIZED;
+            }
 
             const rowsEmpty = _.isEmpty(rows);
-            const preparingForFetch = fetchStatus === fetchStatuses.UNINITIALIZED;
-            if (preparingForFetch) return status.LOADING;
-            else if (rowsEmpty && fetchStatus === fetchStatuses.LOADING) return status.LOADING;
+            if (rowsEmpty && fetchStatus === fetchStatuses.LOADING) return status.LOADING;
             else if (!rowsEmpty) return status.READY;
             else return status.NO_RESULTS;
           }
@@ -644,6 +662,10 @@ function discoverController(
 
         init.complete = true;
         $state.replace();
+
+        if (shouldSearchOnPageLoad()) {
+          $scope.fetch();
+        }
       });
   });
 
@@ -807,7 +829,14 @@ function discoverController(
   };
 
   $scope.updateRefreshInterval = function () {
-    $scope.refreshInterval = timefilter.getRefreshInterval();
+    const newInterval = timefilter.getRefreshInterval();
+    const shouldFetch = _.get($scope, 'refreshInterval.pause') === true && newInterval.pause === false;
+
+    $scope.refreshInterval = newInterval;
+
+    if (shouldFetch) {
+      $scope.fetch();
+    }
   };
 
   $scope.onRefreshChange = function ({ isPaused, refreshInterval }) {
diff --git a/src/legacy/core_plugins/kibana/public/discover/directives/index.js b/src/legacy/core_plugins/kibana/public/discover/directives/index.js
index 30e8bf5a07c22..d13448bbf9c8a 100644
--- a/src/legacy/core_plugins/kibana/public/discover/directives/index.js
+++ b/src/legacy/core_plugins/kibana/public/discover/directives/index.js
@@ -21,21 +21,24 @@ import 'ngreact';
 import { wrapInI18nContext } from 'ui/i18n';
 import { uiModules } from 'ui/modules';
 
-import {
-  DiscoverNoResults,
-} from './no_results';
+import { DiscoverNoResults } from './no_results';
 
-import {
-  DiscoverUnsupportedIndexPattern,
-} from './unsupported_index_pattern';
+import { DiscoverUninitialized } from './uninitialized';
+
+import { DiscoverUnsupportedIndexPattern } from './unsupported_index_pattern';
 
 import './timechart';
 
 const app = uiModules.get('apps/discover', ['react']);
 
-app.directive('discoverNoResults', reactDirective => reactDirective(wrapInI18nContext(DiscoverNoResults)));
+app.directive('discoverNoResults', reactDirective =>
+  reactDirective(wrapInI18nContext(DiscoverNoResults))
+);
+
+app.directive('discoverUninitialized', reactDirective =>
+  reactDirective(wrapInI18nContext(DiscoverUninitialized))
+);
 
-app.directive(
-  'discoverUnsupportedIndexPattern',
-  reactDirective => reactDirective(wrapInI18nContext(DiscoverUnsupportedIndexPattern), ['unsupportedType'])
+app.directive('discoverUnsupportedIndexPattern', reactDirective =>
+  reactDirective(wrapInI18nContext(DiscoverUnsupportedIndexPattern), ['unsupportedType'])
 );
diff --git a/src/legacy/core_plugins/kibana/public/discover/directives/uninitialized.tsx b/src/legacy/core_plugins/kibana/public/discover/directives/uninitialized.tsx
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000..f40865800098e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/legacy/core_plugins/kibana/public/discover/directives/uninitialized.tsx
@@ -0,0 +1,65 @@
+/*
+ * Licensed to Elasticsearch B.V. under one or more contributor
+ * license agreements. See the NOTICE file distributed with
+ * this work for additional information regarding copyright
+ * ownership. Elasticsearch B.V. licenses this file to you under
+ * the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License"); you may
+ * not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * You may obtain a copy of the License at
+ *
+ *    http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ *
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing,
+ * software distributed under the License is distributed on an
+ * "AS IS" BASIS, WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY
+ * KIND, either express or implied.  See the License for the
+ * specific language governing permissions and limitations
+ * under the License.
+ */
+
+import React from 'react';
+import { FormattedMessage } from '@kbn/i18n/react';
+
+import { EuiButton, EuiEmptyPrompt, EuiPage, EuiPageBody, EuiPageContent } from '@elastic/eui';
+
+interface Props {
+  onRefresh: () => void;
+}
+
+export const DiscoverUninitialized = ({ onRefresh }: Props) => {
+  return (
+    <EuiPage>
+      <EuiPageBody>
+        <EuiPageContent horizontalPosition="center">
+          <EuiEmptyPrompt
+            iconType="discoverApp"
+            title={
+              <h2>
+                <FormattedMessage
+                  id="kbn.discover.uninitializedTitle"
+                  defaultMessage="Start searching"
+                />
+              </h2>
+            }
+            body={
+              <p>
+                <FormattedMessage
+                  id="kbn.discover.uninitializedText"
+                  defaultMessage="Write a query, add some filters, or simply hit Refresh to retrieve results for the current query."
+                />
+              </p>
+            }
+            actions={
+              <EuiButton color="primary" fill onClick={onRefresh}>
+                <FormattedMessage
+                  id="kbn.discover.uninitializedRefreshButtonText"
+                  defaultMessage="Refresh data"
+                />
+              </EuiButton>
+            }
+          />
+        </EuiPageContent>
+      </EuiPageBody>
+    </EuiPage>
+  );
+};
diff --git a/src/legacy/core_plugins/kibana/public/discover/index.html b/src/legacy/core_plugins/kibana/public/discover/index.html
index e1cdcc3365bdf..4b89d3c9adf14 100644
--- a/src/legacy/core_plugins/kibana/public/discover/index.html
+++ b/src/legacy/core_plugins/kibana/public/discover/index.html
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 <discover-app class="app-container">
   <!-- Local nav. -->
 
-  <kbn-top-nav-v2 
+  <kbn-top-nav-v2
     app-name="'discover'"
     config="topNavMenu"
     show-search-bar="true"
@@ -19,7 +19,7 @@
     on-refresh-change="onRefreshChange"
   >
   </kbn-top-nav-v2>
-  
+
   <main class="container-fluid">
     <div class="row">
       <div class="col-md-2 sidebar-container collapsible-sidebar" id="discover-sidebar">
@@ -39,48 +39,52 @@
       </div>
 
       <div class="dscWrapper col-md-10">
-        <div class="dscWrapper__content">
-          <discover-unsupported-index-pattern
-            ng-if="isUnsupportedIndexPattern"
-            unsupported-type="unsupportedIndexPatternType"
-          ></discover-unsupported-index-pattern>
-
-          <discover-no-results
-            ng-show="resultState === 'none'"
-            shard-failures="failures"
-            time-field-name="opts.timefield"
-            query-language="state.query.language"
-            get-doc-link="getDocLink"
-          ></discover-no-results>
-
-          <!-- loading -->
-          <div ng-show="resultState === 'loading'">
-            <discover-fetch-error
-              ng-show="fetchError"
-              fetch-error="fetchError"
-            ></discover-fetch-error>
-
+        <discover-unsupported-index-pattern
+          ng-if="isUnsupportedIndexPattern"
+          unsupported-type="unsupportedIndexPatternType"
+        ></discover-unsupported-index-pattern>
+
+        <discover-no-results
+          ng-show="resultState === 'none'"
+          shard-failures="failures"
+          time-field-name="opts.timefield"
+          query-language="state.query.language"
+          get-doc-link="getDocLink"
+        ></discover-no-results>
+
+        <discover-uninitialized
+          ng-show="resultState === 'uninitialized'"
+          on-refresh="fetch"
+        ></discover-uninitialized>
+
+        <!-- loading -->
+        <div ng-show="resultState === 'loading'">
+          <discover-fetch-error
+            ng-show="fetchError"
+            fetch-error="fetchError"
+          ></discover-fetch-error>
+
+          <div ng-hide="fetchError" class="dscOverlay">
+            <h2
+              i18n-id="kbn.discover.searchingTitle"
+              i18n-default-message="Searching"
+              class="euiTitle euiTitle--small"
+            ></h2>
+            <div class="euiSpacer euiSpacer--m"></div>
             <div
-              ng-hide="fetchError"
-              class="dscOverlay"
-            >
-              <h2
-                i18n-id="kbn.discover.searchingTitle"
-                i18n-default-message="Searching"
-                class="euiTitle euiTitle--small"
-              ></h2>
-              <div class="euiSpacer euiSpacer--m"></div>
-              <div class="euiLoadingSpinner euiLoadingSpinner--large" data-test-subj="loadingSpinner"></div>
-            </div>
+              class="euiLoadingSpinner euiLoadingSpinner--large"
+              data-test-subj="loadingSpinner"
+            ></div>
           </div>
+        </div>
 
+        <div class="dscWrapper__content" ng-show="resultState === 'ready'">
           <!-- result -->
-          <div class="dscResults" ng-show="resultState === 'ready'">
+          <div class="dscResults">
             <button
               class="kuiButton kuiButton--basic kuiButton--iconText dscSkipButton"
               ng-click="showAllRows(); scrollToBottom()"
             >
-
               <span class="kuiButton__inner">
                 <span aria-hidden="true" class="kuiButton__icon kuiIcon fa-chevron-down"></span>
                 <span
@@ -98,14 +102,14 @@
                 i18n-default-message="{hits, plural, one {hit} other {hits}}"
                 i18n-values="{ hits }"
               ></span>
-              <button	
+              <button
                 ng-if="opts.savedSearch.id"
-                class="kuiLink"	
-                type="button"	
-                id="reload_saved_search"	
-                ng-click="resetQuery()"	
-              >	
-                {{::'kbn.discover.reloadSavedSearchButton' | i18n: {defaultMessage: 'Reset search'} }}	
+                class="kuiLink"
+                type="button"
+                id="reload_saved_search"
+                ng-click="resetQuery()"
+              >
+                {{::'kbn.discover.reloadSavedSearchButton' | i18n: {defaultMessage: 'Reset search'} }}
               </button>
             </div>
 
diff --git a/src/legacy/core_plugins/kibana/ui_setting_defaults.js b/src/legacy/core_plugins/kibana/ui_setting_defaults.js
index 5c6b1bb7361ba..cacca60ff795f 100644
--- a/src/legacy/core_plugins/kibana/ui_setting_defaults.js
+++ b/src/legacy/core_plugins/kibana/ui_setting_defaults.js
@@ -298,6 +298,19 @@ export function getUiSettingDefaults() {
       }),
       category: ['discover'],
     },
+    'discover:searchOnPageLoad': {
+      name: i18n.translate('kbn.advancedSettings.discover.searchOnPageLoadTitle', {
+        defaultMessage: 'Search on page load',
+      }),
+      value: true,
+      type: 'boolean',
+      description: i18n.translate('kbn.advancedSettings.discover.searchOnPageLoadText', {
+        defaultMessage:
+          'Controls whether a search is executed when Discover first loads. This setting does not ' +
+          'have an effect when loading a saved search.',
+      }),
+      category: ['discover'],
+    },
     'doc_table:highlight': {
       name: i18n.translate('kbn.advancedSettings.docTableHighlightTitle', {
         defaultMessage: 'Highlight results',
diff --git a/src/legacy/ui/public/styles/_legacy/components/_sidebar.scss b/src/legacy/ui/public/styles/_legacy/components/_sidebar.scss
index 9dbc3608d27ba..daa3ad512e171 100644
--- a/src/legacy/ui/public/styles/_legacy/components/_sidebar.scss
+++ b/src/legacy/ui/public/styles/_legacy/components/_sidebar.scss
@@ -111,8 +111,7 @@
   }
 
   .index-pattern-selection {
-    padding: $euiSizeS;
-    padding-bottom: 0;
+    padding: 0 $euiSizeS;
   }
 
   .index-pattern-selection .ui-select-choices {