Can we adjust the top/bottom padding, but leave the left/right? By modifying the left/right padding, we cause the data to become offset with the header.
Change - Increased the padding for 'th' (table header)
Reason - The table header is not getting highlighted enough thus the sense of hierarchy and visual difference between 'th' and 'td' is not strong enough
Case study -
If you see the existing version of table everything looks flat in terms of hierarchy due to 'white background' for both 'th' and 'td' except the header texts are in bold.
I would recommend you to see it in the actual application for better clarity of the issue.
Conclusion -
Padding does that required differentiation part in order to highlight/achieve the hierarchy.
Attaching the reference design too and going further I am aiming to reach this level of look and feel with our application.
I really feel that "a good amount of breathing space sets the user's mind calm and focused towards reading the data" :)