diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 698dcec7d88..6f2b596e186 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -1,5 +1,7 @@
 ## [`master`](https://github.com/elastic/eui/tree/master)
 
+- Default light theme now comes with an empty light variables file to make theme switching easier ([#1479](https://github.com/elastic/eui/pull/1479))
+
 **Bug fixes**
 
 - `EuiSuperDatePicker` always trigger `onTimeChange` when time changes and prop `showUpdateButton` is false ([#1477](https://github.com/elastic/eui/pull/1477))
diff --git a/src/theme_light.scss b/src/theme_light.scss
index 2d11578982e..6fe7a6ea022 100644
--- a/src/theme_light.scss
+++ b/src/theme_light.scss
@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
-// This is the default theme, it does not contain any variable overwrites.
+// This is the default theme.
+@import 'themes/eui/eui_colors_light';
 
 // Global styling
 @import 'global_styling/index';
diff --git a/src/themes/eui/eui_colors_light.scss b/src/themes/eui/eui_colors_light.scss
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..7afa8d06f28
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/themes/eui/eui_colors_light.scss
@@ -0,0 +1,2 @@
+// This file contains no overwrites because EUI by default is light.
+// The file exists in case you ever need to write logic to flip imports in a build process.
\ No newline at end of file