Disclosed is a default property sheet system that coordinates default values for elements used in a user interface. Interface designers add default values for the properties of the elements that they define. The default “value” is broadly understood. Not limited to fixed values, the default property sheet can provide a rule for calculating a default value. The rule can take into account, for example, aspects of the present environment. The order of searching for a rule that provides a value to a property of an interface element is defined. Other collections of value-setting rules, called “non-default property sheets,” can be created that take precedence over the default property sheet. The default property sheet can be a “theme of last resort.” If a property of an interface element is not given a value elsewhere, then the property is given the value specified in the default property sheet.