diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 466514c..8f49ea6 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -11,6 +11,8 @@ and this project adheres to [Semantic Versioning](https://semver.org/spec/v2.0.0
 
 ### Changed
 
+* Fixed `ValueError` when starting viewer for the first time with default config.
+
 ### Removed
 
 
diff --git a/src/compas_notebook/config.py b/src/compas_notebook/config.py
index 147bb1b..87fb0c6 100644
--- a/src/compas_notebook/config.py
+++ b/src/compas_notebook/config.py
@@ -19,7 +19,7 @@ class CameraConfig:
 @dataclass
 class ViewConfig:
     viewport: Literal["top", "perspective"] = "perspective"
-    background: Color = Color.from_hex("#eeeeee")
+    background: Color = field(default_factory=lambda: Color.from_hex("#eeeeee"))
     width: float = 1100
     height: float = 580
     show_grid: bool = True