diff --git a/RKSyntaxView/RKSyntaxView.h b/RKSyntaxView/RKSyntaxView.h
index 3047aa0..9d26e18 100644
--- a/RKSyntaxView/RKSyntaxView.h
+++ b/RKSyntaxView/RKSyntaxView.h
@@ -22,6 +22,12 @@
 @property (retain) NSDictionary *scheme;
 @property (retain) NSDictionary *syntax;
 
+@property (nonatomic, retain) NSString* defaultSchemePath;
+@property (nonatomic, retain) NSString* defaultSyntaxPath;
+
+
+- (id) initWithDefaultSchemePath:(NSString *)schemePath andSyntaxPath:(NSString *)syntaxPath; // do not use with Nibs
+
 - (void) _setup;
 
 #pragma mark - Handling text change
@@ -47,4 +53,7 @@
 - (void) _setBackgroundColor:(NSColor *)color range:(NSRange)range content:(NSMutableAttributedString *)content;
 - (void) _setFont:(NSFont *)font range:(NSRange)range content:(NSMutableAttributedString *)content;
 
+
+
+
 @end
diff --git a/RKSyntaxView/RKSyntaxView.m b/RKSyntaxView/RKSyntaxView.m
index d388d64..e9a1da3 100644
--- a/RKSyntaxView/RKSyntaxView.m
+++ b/RKSyntaxView/RKSyntaxView.m
@@ -13,6 +13,7 @@ @implementation RKSyntaxView
 
 @synthesize scheme=_scheme;
 @synthesize syntax=_syntax;
+@synthesize defaultSchemePath, defaultSyntaxPath;
 
 #pragma mark - Lifecycle
 
@@ -23,6 +24,18 @@ - (id)init {
     return self;
 }
 
+- (id) initWithDefaultSchemePath:(NSString *)schemePath andSyntaxPath:(NSString *)syntaxPath {
+    self = [super init];
+    if (self) {
+        [self setDefaultSchemePath:schemePath];
+        [self setDefaultSyntaxPath:syntaxPath];
+        [self loadScheme:[self defaultSchemePath]];
+        [self loadSyntax:[self defaultSyntaxPath]];
+        [self _setup];
+    }
+    return self;
+}
+
 - (void)awakeFromNib {
     [self _setup];
 }
@@ -30,12 +43,13 @@ - (void)awakeFromNib {
 - (void)_setup {
     [self setTextContainerInset:NSMakeSize(10.0, 10.0)];
     [self highlight];
-    
     [self addObserver:self forKeyPath:@"string" options:0 context:nil];
     [[NSNotificationCenter defaultCenter] addObserver:self selector:@selector(_textDidChange:) name:NSTextDidChangeNotification object:self];
 }
 
 - (void) dealloc {
+    [defaultSyntaxPath release];
+    [defaultSchemePath release];
     [super dealloc];
 }
 
@@ -52,11 +66,22 @@ - (void)_textDidChange:(NSNotification *)notif {
 #pragma mark - Scheme
 
 - (void)loadScheme:(NSString *)schemeFilename {
-    NSString *schemePath = [[NSBundle mainBundle] pathForResource:schemeFilename ofType:@"plist" inDirectory:nil];
-    self.scheme = [NSDictionary dictionaryWithContentsOfFile:schemePath];
+    if (schemeFilename) {
+        NSString *schemePath = [[NSBundle mainBundle] pathForResource:schemeFilename ofType:@"plist" inDirectory:nil];
+        self.scheme = [NSDictionary dictionaryWithContentsOfFile:schemePath];
+    }
 }
 
 - (NSColor *) _colorFor:(NSString *)key {
+    if (![self scheme] || ![self syntax]) {
+        if ([self defaultSyntaxPath] && [self defaultSchemePath]) {
+            [self loadSyntax:[self defaultSyntaxPath]];
+            [self loadScheme:[self defaultSchemePath]];
+        } else {
+            [self loadScheme:@"PageScheme"];
+            [self loadSyntax:@"PageSyntax"];
+        }
+    }
     NSString *colorCode = [[self.scheme objectForKey:@"colors"] objectForKey:key];
     if (!colorCode) return nil;
     NSColor *color = [NSColor colorFromHexRGB:colorCode];
@@ -90,8 +115,10 @@ - (NSInteger) _defaultSize {
 #pragma mark - Syntax
 
 - (void)loadSyntax:(NSString *)syntaxFilename {
-    NSString *schemePath = [[NSBundle mainBundle] pathForResource:syntaxFilename ofType:@"plist" inDirectory:nil];
-    self.syntax = [NSDictionary dictionaryWithContentsOfFile:schemePath];
+    if (syntaxFilename) {
+        NSString *schemePath = [[NSBundle mainBundle] pathForResource:syntaxFilename ofType:@"plist" inDirectory:nil];
+        self.syntax = [NSDictionary dictionaryWithContentsOfFile:schemePath];
+    }
 }
 
 #pragma mark - Highlighting