diff --git a/material/base.html b/material/base.html
index c81ecded0..becd67559 100644
--- a/material/base.html
+++ b/material/base.html
@@ -81,10 +81,10 @@
     {% if not palette is mapping %}
       {% set palette = palette | first %}
     {% endif %}
-    {% set scheme  = palette.scheme  | replace(" ", "-") | lower %}
-    {% set primary = palette.primary | replace(" ", "-") | lower %}
-    {% set accent  = palette.accent  | replace(" ", "-") | lower %}
-    <body dir="{{ direction }}" data-md-color-scheme="{{ scheme }}" data-md-color-primary="{{ primary }}" data-md-color-accent="{{ accent }}">
+    {% set scheme  = palette.scheme  | d("default", true) %}
+    {% set primary = palette.primary | d("indigo", true) %}
+    {% set accent  = palette.accent  | d("indigo", true) %}
+    <body dir="{{ direction }}" data-md-color-scheme="{{ scheme | replace(' ', '-') }}" data-md-color-primary="{{ primary | replace(' ', '-') }}" data-md-color-accent="{{ accent | replace(' ', '-') }}">
   {% else %}
     <body dir="{{ direction }}">
   {% endif %}
diff --git a/material/partials/header.html b/material/partials/header.html
index 63708b2bd..f36776d86 100644
--- a/material/partials/header.html
+++ b/material/partials/header.html
@@ -34,9 +34,10 @@
     {% if not config.theme.palette is mapping %}
       <form class="md-header__option" data-md-component="palette">
         {% for option in config.theme.palette %}
-          {% set primary = option.primary | replace(" ", "-") | lower %}
-          {% set accent  = option.accent  | replace(" ", "-") | lower %}
-          <input class="md-option" data-md-color-media="{{ option.media }}" data-md-color-scheme="{{ option.scheme }}" data-md-color-primary="{{ primary }}" data-md-color-accent="{{ accent }}" {% if option.toggle %} aria-label="{{ option.toggle.name }}" {% else %} aria-hidden="true" {% endif %} type="radio" name="__palette" id="__palette_{{ loop.index }}">
+          {% set scheme  = option.scheme  | d("default", true) %}
+          {% set primary = option.primary | d("indigo", true) %}
+          {% set accent  = option.accent  | d("indigo", true) %}
+          <input class="md-option" data-md-color-media="{{ option.media }}" data-md-color-scheme="{{ scheme | replace(' ', '-') }}" data-md-color-primary="{{ primary | replace(' ', '-') }}" data-md-color-accent="{{ accent | replace(' ', '-') }}" {% if option.toggle %} aria-label="{{ option.toggle.name }}" {% else %} aria-hidden="true" {% endif %} type="radio" name="__palette" id="__palette_{{ loop.index }}">
           {% if option.toggle %}
             <label class="md-header__button md-icon" title="{{ option.toggle.name }}" for="__palette_{{ loop.index0 or loop.length }}" hidden>
               {% include ".icons/" ~ option.toggle.icon ~ ".svg" %}
diff --git a/src/base.html b/src/base.html
index fabbe2a4e..d2c984786 100644
--- a/src/base.html
+++ b/src/base.html
@@ -159,14 +159,14 @@
     {% if not palette is mapping %}
       {% set palette = palette | first %}
     {% endif %}
-    {% set scheme  = palette.scheme  | replace(" ", "-") | lower %}
-    {% set primary = palette.primary | replace(" ", "-") | lower %}
-    {% set accent  = palette.accent  | replace(" ", "-") | lower %}
+    {% set scheme  = palette.scheme  | d("default", true) %}
+    {% set primary = palette.primary | d("indigo", true) %}
+    {% set accent  = palette.accent  | d("indigo", true) %}
     <body
       dir="{{ direction }}"
-      data-md-color-scheme="{{ scheme }}"
-      data-md-color-primary="{{ primary }}"
-      data-md-color-accent="{{ accent }}"
+      data-md-color-scheme="{{ scheme | replace(' ', '-') }}"
+      data-md-color-primary="{{ primary | replace(' ', '-') }}"
+      data-md-color-accent="{{ accent | replace(' ', '-') }}"
     >
   {% else %}
     <body dir="{{ direction }}">
diff --git a/src/partials/header.html b/src/partials/header.html
index 01f87ab90..9a7719f02 100644
--- a/src/partials/header.html
+++ b/src/partials/header.html
@@ -73,14 +73,15 @@
     {% if not config.theme.palette is mapping %}
       <form class="md-header__option" data-md-component="palette">
         {% for option in config.theme.palette %}
-          {% set primary = option.primary | replace(" ", "-") | lower %}
-          {% set accent  = option.accent  | replace(" ", "-") | lower %}
+          {% set scheme  = option.scheme  | d("default", true) %}
+          {% set primary = option.primary | d("indigo", true) %}
+          {% set accent  = option.accent  | d("indigo", true) %}
           <input
             class="md-option"
             data-md-color-media="{{ option.media }}"
-            data-md-color-scheme="{{ option.scheme }}"
-            data-md-color-primary="{{ primary }}"
-            data-md-color-accent="{{ accent }}"
+            data-md-color-scheme="{{ scheme | replace(' ', '-') }}"
+            data-md-color-primary="{{ primary | replace(' ', '-') }}"
+            data-md-color-accent="{{ accent | replace(' ', '-') }}"
             {% if option.toggle %}
               aria-label="{{ option.toggle.name }}"
             {% else  %}
