diff --git a/DisplayOptionsPanel.c b/DisplayOptionsPanel.c
index 234df4b68..093685260 100644
--- a/DisplayOptionsPanel.c
+++ b/DisplayOptionsPanel.c
@@ -203,6 +203,12 @@ DisplayOptionsPanel* DisplayOptionsPanel_new(Settings* settings, ScreenManager*
    Panel_add(super, (Object*) CheckItem_newByRef("Highlight new and old processes", &(settings->highlightChanges)));
    Panel_add(super, (Object*) NumberItem_newByRef("- Highlight time (in seconds)", &(settings->highlightDelaySecs), 0, 1, 24 * 60 * 60));
    Panel_add(super, (Object*) NumberItem_newByRef("Hide main function bar (0 - off, 1 - on ESC until next input, 2 - permanently)", &(settings->hideFunctionBar), 0, 0, 2));
+
+   #ifdef HAVE_LIBNCURSESW
+   if (CRT_utf8)
+      Panel_add(super, (Object*) NumberItem_newByRef("Bar Type (0 - default)", (int*)&(settings->barType), 0, 0, BAR_METER_NUM_STYLES-1));
+   #endif
+
    #ifdef HAVE_LIBHWLOC
    Panel_add(super, (Object*) CheckItem_newByRef("Show topology when selecting affinity by default", &(settings->topologyAffinity)));
    #endif
diff --git a/Meter.c b/Meter.c
index 4f8f76673..d1ae4d4c1 100644
--- a/Meter.c
+++ b/Meter.c
@@ -86,6 +86,18 @@ static void TextMeterMode_draw(Meter* this, int x, int y, int w) {
 
 static const char BarMeterMode_characters[] = "|#*@$%&.";
 
+#ifdef HAVE_LIBNCURSESW
+const wchar_t* bars[BAR_METER_NUM_STYLES] = {
+   L"|",
+   L"#",
+   L"⣿⡀⡄⡆⡇⣇⣧⣷",
+   L"█░░▒▒▓▓█",
+   L"█▏▎▍▌▋▊▉",
+   L"█▁▂▃▄▅▆▇",
+   L"█▌▌▌▌███"
+};
+#endif
+
 static void BarMeterMode_draw(Meter* this, int x, int y, int w) {
    assert(x >= 0);
    assert(w <= INT_MAX - x);
@@ -149,6 +161,14 @@ static void BarMeterMode_draw(Meter* this, int x, int y, int w) {
    assert(startPos + w <= RichString_sizeVal(bar));
 
    int blockSizes[10];
+#ifdef HAVE_LIBNCURSESW
+   Settings* settings = this->host->settings;
+   assert(settings->barType < ( sizeof(bars) / sizeof(wchar_t*) ));
+   assert(settings->barType >= 0);
+   const wchar_t* currBar = bars[settings->barType];
+   int barLen = (int)wcslen(currBar);
+   int extraWidth = 0;
+#endif
 
    // First draw in the bar[] buffer...
    int offset = 0;
@@ -158,19 +178,35 @@ static void BarMeterMode_draw(Meter* this, int x, int y, int w) {
          value = MINIMUM(value, this->total);
          blockSizes[i] = ceil((value / this->total) * w);
          blockSizes[i] = MINIMUM(blockSizes[i], w - offset);
+
+#ifdef HAVE_LIBNCURSESW
+         extraWidth = (int)ceil((value / this->total) * w * barLen) % barLen;
+#endif
       } else {
          blockSizes[i] = 0;
       }
       int nextOffset = offset + blockSizes[i];
-      for (int j = offset; j < nextOffset; j++)
+      for (int j = offset; j < nextOffset; j++) {
          if (RichString_getCharVal(bar, startPos + j) == ' ') {
             if (CRT_colorScheme == COLORSCHEME_MONOCHROME) {
                assert(i < strlen(BarMeterMode_characters));
                RichString_setChar(&bar, startPos + j, BarMeterMode_characters[i]);
-            } else {
+            }
+#ifdef HAVE_LIBNCURSESW
+            else if (CRT_utf8 && settings->barType) {
+               if (j == nextOffset - 1) {
+                  RichString_setChar(&bar, startPos + nextOffset - 1,  currBar[extraWidth]);
+               } else {
+                  RichString_setChar(&bar, startPos + j, currBar[0]);
+               }
+            }
+#endif
+            else {
                RichString_setChar(&bar, startPos + j, '|');
             }
          }
+      }
+
       offset = nextOffset;
    }
 
diff --git a/MeterMode.h b/MeterMode.h
index 8a4355417..603c3d974 100644
--- a/MeterMode.h
+++ b/MeterMode.h
@@ -26,4 +26,5 @@ typedef unsigned int MeterModeId;
    (1 << LED_METERMODE) |             \
    0) // Avoids edits when updating
 
+#define BAR_METER_NUM_STYLES 7
 #endif
diff --git a/Settings.c b/Settings.c
index be0019788..d30e16c9d 100644
--- a/Settings.c
+++ b/Settings.c
@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@ Released under the GNU GPLv2+, see the COPYING file
 in the source distribution for its full text.
 */
 
+#include "MeterMode.h"
 #include "config.h" // IWYU pragma: keep
 
 #include "Settings.h"
@@ -516,6 +517,13 @@ static bool Settings_read(Settings* this, const char* fileName, const Machine* h
          didReadMeters = true;
       } else if (String_eq(option[0], "hide_function_bar")) {
          this->hideFunctionBar = atoi(option[1]);
+      #ifdef HAVE_LIBNCURSESW
+      } else if (String_eq(option[0], "bar_type")) {
+         long value = strtol(option[1], NULL, 10);
+         if (value < 0 || value > BAR_METER_NUM_STYLES)
+            value = 0;
+         this->barType = (unsigned int)value;
+      #endif
       #ifdef HAVE_LIBHWLOC
       } else if (String_eq(option[0], "topology_affinity")) {
          this->topologyAffinity = !!atoi(option[1]);
@@ -714,6 +722,9 @@ int Settings_write(const Settings* this, bool onCrash) {
    #endif
    printSettingInteger("delay", (int) this->delay);
    printSettingInteger("hide_function_bar", (int) this->hideFunctionBar);
+   #ifdef HAVE_LIBNCURSESW
+   printSettingInteger("bar_type", (int) this->barType);
+   #endif
    #ifdef HAVE_LIBHWLOC
    printSettingInteger("topology_affinity", this->topologyAffinity);
    #endif
@@ -821,6 +832,11 @@ Settings* Settings_new(const Machine* host, Hashtable* dynamicMeters, Hashtable*
    this->showMergedCommand = false;
    this->hideFunctionBar = 0;
    this->headerMargin = true;
+
+   #ifdef HAVE_LIBNCURSESW
+   this->barType = 0;
+   #endif
+
    #ifdef HAVE_LIBHWLOC
    this->topologyAffinity = false;
    #endif
diff --git a/Settings.h b/Settings.h
index 01e808e86..72287f281 100644
--- a/Settings.h
+++ b/Settings.h
@@ -106,6 +106,9 @@ typedef struct Settings_ {
    bool enableMouse;
    #endif
    int hideFunctionBar;  // 0 - off, 1 - on ESC until next input, 2 - permanently
+   #ifdef HAVE_LIBNCURSESW
+   unsigned int barType;
+   #endif
    #ifdef HAVE_LIBHWLOC
    bool topologyAffinity;
    #endif