diff --git a/res/css/_components.scss b/res/css/_components.scss
index 34d6f8a900..d19d07132c 100644
--- a/res/css/_components.scss
+++ b/res/css/_components.scss
@@ -159,6 +159,7 @@
 @import "./views/rooms/_RoomUpgradeWarningBar.scss";
 @import "./views/rooms/_SearchBar.scss";
 @import "./views/rooms/_SearchableEntityList.scss";
+@import "./views/rooms/_SendMessageComposer.scss";
 @import "./views/rooms/_Stickers.scss";
 @import "./views/rooms/_TopUnreadMessagesBar.scss";
 @import "./views/rooms/_WhoIsTypingTile.scss";
diff --git a/res/css/views/rooms/_SendMessageComposer.scss b/res/css/views/rooms/_SendMessageComposer.scss
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..7bb20a443b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/res/css/views/rooms/_SendMessageComposer.scss
@@ -0,0 +1,30 @@
+/*
+Copyright 2019 The Matrix.org Foundation C.I.C.
+
+Licensed 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.
+*/
+
+.mx_SendMessageComposer {
+    flex: 1;
+    min-height: 50px;
+    display: flex;
+    flex-direction: column;
+    justify-content: center;
+
+    .mx_BasicMessageComposer {
+        .mx_BasicMessageComposer_input {
+            padding: 3px 0;
+        }
+    }
+}
+
diff --git a/src/components/views/rooms/MessageComposer.js b/src/components/views/rooms/MessageComposer.js
index a14bac5a2a..022d45e60e 100644
--- a/src/components/views/rooms/MessageComposer.js
+++ b/src/components/views/rooms/MessageComposer.js
@@ -16,30 +16,18 @@ limitations under the License.
 */
 import React from 'react';
 import PropTypes from 'prop-types';
-import { _t, _td } from '../../../languageHandler';
+import { _t } from '../../../languageHandler';
 import CallHandler from '../../../CallHandler';
 import MatrixClientPeg from '../../../MatrixClientPeg';
 import sdk from '../../../index';
 import dis from '../../../dispatcher';
 import RoomViewStore from '../../../stores/RoomViewStore';
-import SettingsStore, {SettingLevel} from "../../../settings/SettingsStore";
 import Stickerpicker from './Stickerpicker';
 import { makeRoomPermalink } from '../../../matrix-to';
 import ContentMessages from '../../../ContentMessages';
 import classNames from 'classnames';
 import E2EIcon from './E2EIcon';
 
-const formatButtonList = [
-    _td("bold"),
-    _td("italic"),
-    _td("deleted"),
-    _td("underlined"),
-    _td("inline-code"),
-    _td("block-quote"),
-    _td("bulleted-list"),
-    _td("numbered-list"),
-];
-
 function ComposerAvatar(props) {
     const MemberStatusMessageAvatar = sdk.getComponent('avatars.MemberStatusMessageAvatar');
     return <div className="mx_MessageComposer_avatar">
@@ -115,28 +103,11 @@ HangupButton.propTypes = {
     roomId: PropTypes.string.isRequired,
 };
 
-function FormattingButton(props) {
-    const AccessibleButton = sdk.getComponent('elements.AccessibleButton');
-    return <AccessibleButton
-        element="img"
-        className="mx_MessageComposer_formatting"
-        alt={_t("Show Text Formatting Toolbar")}
-        title={_t("Show Text Formatting Toolbar")}
-        src={require("../../../../res/img/button-text-formatting.svg")}
-        style={{visibility: props.showFormatting ? 'hidden' : 'visible'}}
-        onClick={props.onClickHandler}
-    />;
-}
-
-FormattingButton.propTypes = {
-    showFormatting: PropTypes.bool.isRequired,
-    onClickHandler: PropTypes.func.isRequired,
-};
-
 class UploadButton extends React.Component {
     static propTypes = {
         roomId: PropTypes.string.isRequired,
     }
+
     constructor(props, context) {
         super(props, context);
         this.onUploadClick = this.onUploadClick.bind(this);
@@ -193,24 +164,14 @@ class UploadButton extends React.Component {
 export default class MessageComposer extends React.Component {
     constructor(props, context) {
         super(props, context);
-        this._onAutocompleteConfirm = this._onAutocompleteConfirm.bind(this);
-        this.onToggleFormattingClicked = this.onToggleFormattingClicked.bind(this);
-        this.onToggleMarkdownClicked = this.onToggleMarkdownClicked.bind(this);
         this.onInputStateChanged = this.onInputStateChanged.bind(this);
         this.onEvent = this.onEvent.bind(this);
         this._onRoomStateEvents = this._onRoomStateEvents.bind(this);
         this._onRoomViewStoreUpdate = this._onRoomViewStoreUpdate.bind(this);
         this._onTombstoneClick = this._onTombstoneClick.bind(this);
         this.renderPlaceholderText = this.renderPlaceholderText.bind(this);
-        this.renderFormatBar = this.renderFormatBar.bind(this);
 
         this.state = {
-            inputState: {
-                marks: [],
-                blockType: null,
-                isRichTextEnabled: SettingsStore.getValue('MessageComposerInput.isRichTextEnabled'),
-            },
-            showFormatting: SettingsStore.getValue('MessageComposer.showFormatting'),
             isQuoting: Boolean(RoomViewStore.getQuotingEvent()),
             tombstone: this._getRoomTombstone(),
             canSendMessages: this.props.room.maySendMessage(),
@@ -257,6 +218,7 @@ export default class MessageComposer extends React.Component {
     onEvent(event) {
         if (event.getType() !== 'm.room.encryption') return;
         if (event.getRoomId() !== this.props.room.roomId) return;
+        // TODO: put (encryption state??) in state
         this.forceUpdate();
     }
 
@@ -281,34 +243,12 @@ export default class MessageComposer extends React.Component {
         this.setState({ isQuoting });
     }
 
-
     onInputStateChanged(inputState) {
         // Merge the new input state with old to support partial updates
         inputState = Object.assign({}, this.state.inputState, inputState);
         this.setState({inputState});
     }
 
-    _onAutocompleteConfirm(range, completion) {
-        if (this.messageComposerInput) {
-            this.messageComposerInput.setDisplayedCompletion(range, completion);
-        }
-    }
-
-    onFormatButtonClicked(name, event) {
-        event.preventDefault();
-        this.messageComposerInput.onFormatButtonClicked(name, event);
-    }
-
-    onToggleFormattingClicked() {
-        SettingsStore.setValue("MessageComposer.showFormatting", null, SettingLevel.DEVICE, !this.state.showFormatting);
-        this.setState({showFormatting: !this.state.showFormatting});
-    }
-
-    onToggleMarkdownClicked(e) {
-        e.preventDefault(); // don't steal focus from the editor!
-        this.messageComposerInput.enableRichtext(!this.state.inputState.isRichTextEnabled);
-    }
-
     _onTombstoneClick(ev) {
         ev.preventDefault();
 
@@ -355,47 +295,6 @@ export default class MessageComposer extends React.Component {
         }
     }
 
-    renderFormatBar() {
-        const AccessibleButton = sdk.getComponent('elements.AccessibleButton');
-        const {marks, blockType} = this.state.inputState;
-        const formatButtons = formatButtonList.map((name) => {
-            // special-case to match the md serializer and the special-case in MessageComposerInput.js
-            const markName = name === 'inline-code' ? 'code' : name;
-            const active = marks.some(mark => mark.type === markName) || blockType === name;
-            const suffix = active ? '-on' : '';
-            const onFormatButtonClicked = this.onFormatButtonClicked.bind(this, name);
-            const className = 'mx_MessageComposer_format_button mx_filterFlipColor';
-            return (
-                <img className={className}
-                    title={_t(name)}
-                    onMouseDown={onFormatButtonClicked}
-                    key={name}
-                    src={require(`../../../../res/img/button-text-${name}${suffix}.svg`)}
-                    height="17"
-                />
-            );
-        });
-
-        return (
-            <div className="mx_MessageComposer_formatbar_wrapper">
-                <div className="mx_MessageComposer_formatbar">
-                { formatButtons }
-                <div style={{ flex: 1 }}></div>
-                <AccessibleButton
-                    className="mx_MessageComposer_formatbar_markdown mx_MessageComposer_markdownDisabled"
-                    onClick={this.onToggleMarkdownClicked}
-                    title={_t("Markdown is disabled")}
-                />
-                <AccessibleButton element="img" title={_t("Hide Text Formatting Toolbar")}
-                    onClick={this.onToggleFormattingClicked}
-                    className="mx_MessageComposer_formatbar_cancel mx_filterFlipColor"
-                    src={require("../../../../res/img/icon-text-cancel.svg")}
-                />
-                </div>
-            </div>
-        );
-    }
-
     render() {
         const controls = [
             this.state.me ? <ComposerAvatar key="controls_avatar" me={this.state.me} /> : null,
@@ -409,23 +308,16 @@ export default class MessageComposer extends React.Component {
             // check separately for whether we can call, but this is slightly
             // complex because of conference calls.
 
-            const MessageComposerInput = sdk.getComponent("rooms.MessageComposerInput");
-            const showFormattingButton = this.state.inputState.isRichTextEnabled;
+            const SendMessageComposer = sdk.getComponent("rooms.SendMessageComposer");
             const callInProgress = this.props.callState && this.props.callState !== 'ended';
 
             controls.push(
-                <MessageComposerInput
+                <SendMessageComposer
                     ref={(c) => this.messageComposerInput = c}
                     key="controls_input"
                     room={this.props.room}
                     placeholder={this.renderPlaceholderText()}
-                    onInputStateChanged={this.onInputStateChanged}
                     permalinkCreator={this.props.permalinkCreator} />,
-                showFormattingButton ? <FormattingButton
-                    key="controls_formatting"
-                    showFormatting={this.state.showFormatting}
-                    onClickHandler={this.onToggleFormattingClicked} /> :
-                null,
                 <Stickerpicker key='stickerpicker_controls_button' room={this.props.room} />,
                 <UploadButton key="controls_upload" roomId={this.props.room.roomId} />,
                 callInProgress ? <HangupButton key="controls_hangup" roomId={this.props.room.roomId} /> : null,
@@ -461,8 +353,6 @@ export default class MessageComposer extends React.Component {
             );
         }
 
-        const showFormatBar = this.state.showFormatting && this.state.inputState.isRichTextEnabled;
-
         const wrapperClasses = classNames({
             mx_MessageComposer_wrapper: true,
             mx_MessageComposer_hasE2EIcon: !!this.props.e2eStatus,
@@ -474,7 +364,6 @@ export default class MessageComposer extends React.Component {
                         { controls }
                     </div>
                 </div>
-                { showFormatBar ? this.renderFormatBar() : null }
             </div>
         );
     }
diff --git a/src/components/views/rooms/SendMessageComposer.js b/src/components/views/rooms/SendMessageComposer.js
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..50a09eb894
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/components/views/rooms/SendMessageComposer.js
@@ -0,0 +1,105 @@
+/*
+Copyright 2019 New Vector Ltd
+Copyright 2019 The Matrix.org Foundation C.I.C.
+
+Licensed 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 PropTypes from 'prop-types';
+import dis from '../../../dispatcher';
+import EditorModel from '../../../editor/model';
+import {getCaretOffsetAndText} from '../../../editor/dom';
+import {htmlSerializeIfNeeded, textSerialize} from '../../../editor/serialize';
+import {PartCreator} from '../../../editor/parts';
+import EditorStateTransfer from '../../../utils/EditorStateTransfer';
+import {MatrixClient} from 'matrix-js-sdk';
+import BasicMessageComposer from "./BasicMessageComposer";
+
+function createMessageContent(model, editedEvent) {
+    const body = textSerialize(model);
+    const content = {
+        msgtype: "m.text",
+        body,
+    };
+    const formattedBody = htmlSerializeIfNeeded(model, {forceHTML: false});
+    if (formattedBody) {
+        content.format = "org.matrix.custom.html";
+        content.formatted_body = formattedBody;
+    }
+    return content;
+}
+
+export default class SendMessageComposer extends React.Component {
+    static propTypes = {
+        // the message event being edited
+        editState: PropTypes.instanceOf(EditorStateTransfer).isRequired,
+    };
+
+    static contextTypes = {
+        matrixClient: PropTypes.instanceOf(MatrixClient).isRequired,
+    };
+
+    constructor(props, context) {
+        super(props, context);
+        this.model = null;
+        this._editorRef = null;
+    }
+
+    _setEditorRef = ref => {
+        this._editorRef = ref;
+    };
+
+    _onKeyDown = (event) => {
+        if (event.metaKey || event.altKey || event.shiftKey) {
+            return;
+        }
+        if (event.key === "Enter") {
+            this._sendMessage();
+            event.preventDefault();
+        }
+    }
+
+    _sendMessage = () => {
+        const {roomId} = this.props.room;
+        this.context.matrixClient.sendMessage(roomId, createMessageContent(this.model));
+        this.model.reset([]);
+        dis.dispatch({action: 'focus_composer'});
+    }
+
+    componentWillUnmount() {
+        const sel = document.getSelection();
+        const {caret} = getCaretOffsetAndText(this._editorRef, sel);
+        const parts = this.model.serializeParts();
+        this.props.editState.setEditorState(caret, parts);
+    }
+
+    componentWillMount() {
+        const partCreator = new PartCreator(this.props.room, this.context.matrixClient);
+        this.model = new EditorModel([], partCreator);
+    }
+
+    render() {
+        // <div className="mx_MessageComposer_autocomplete_wrapper">
+        // </div>
+        //<ReplyPreview permalinkCreator={this.props.permalinkCreator} />
+        return (
+            <div className="mx_SendMessageComposer" onClick={this.focusComposer} onKeyDown={this._onKeyDown}>
+                <BasicMessageComposer
+                    ref={this._setEditorRef}
+                    model={this.model}
+                    room={this.props.room}
+                />
+            </div>
+        );
+    }
+}