diff --git a/gtk/Makefile.am b/gtk/Makefile.am
index 6e71fbade6..1c4d2d87f3 100644
--- a/gtk/Makefile.am
+++ b/gtk/Makefile.am
@@ -467,6 +467,7 @@ gtk_private_h_sources =		\
 	gtkcsstypedvalueprivate.h	\
 	gtkcssvalueprivate.h	\
 	gtkcustompaperunixdialog.h \
+	gtkdialogprivate.h 	\
 	gtkentryprivate.h	\
 	gtkfilechooserdefault.h	\
 	gtkfilechooserembed.h	\
diff --git a/gtk/gtkdialog.c b/gtk/gtkdialog.c
index 5b2258bfc5..90eeabc1f9 100644
--- a/gtk/gtkdialog.c
+++ b/gtk/gtkdialog.c
@@ -175,7 +175,7 @@ struct _GtkDialogPrivate
   GtkWidget *headerbar;
   GtkWidget *action_area;
 
-  gboolean use_header_bar;
+  gint use_header_bar;
   gboolean constructed;
 };
 
@@ -235,11 +235,34 @@ G_DEFINE_TYPE_WITH_CODE (GtkDialog, gtk_dialog, GTK_TYPE_WINDOW,
 
 static void
 set_use_header_bar (GtkDialog *dialog,
-                    gboolean   use_header_bar)
+                    gint       use_header_bar)
 {
   GtkDialogPrivate *priv = dialog->priv;
 
+  if (use_header_bar == -1)
+    return;
+
   priv->use_header_bar = use_header_bar;
+}
+
+/* A convenience helper for built-in dialogs */
+void
+gtk_dialog_set_use_header_bar_from_setting (GtkDialog *dialog)
+{
+  GtkDialogPrivate *priv = dialog->priv;
+
+  g_assert (!priv->constructed);
+
+  g_object_get (gtk_widget_get_settings (GTK_WIDGET (dialog)),
+                "gtk-dialogs-use-header", &priv->use_header_bar,
+                NULL);
+}
+
+static void
+apply_use_header_bar (GtkDialog *dialog)
+{
+  GtkDialogPrivate *priv = dialog->priv;
+
   gtk_widget_set_visible (priv->action_area, !priv->use_header_bar);
   gtk_widget_set_visible (priv->headerbar, priv->use_header_bar);
   if (!priv->use_header_bar)
@@ -257,7 +280,7 @@ gtk_dialog_set_property (GObject      *object,
   switch (prop_id)
     {
     case PROP_USE_HEADER_BAR:
-      set_use_header_bar (dialog, g_value_get_boolean (value));
+      set_use_header_bar (dialog, g_value_get_int (value));
       break;
 
     default:
@@ -278,7 +301,7 @@ gtk_dialog_get_property (GObject      *object,
   switch (prop_id)
     {
     case PROP_USE_HEADER_BAR:
-      g_value_set_boolean (value, priv->use_header_bar);
+      g_value_set_int (value, priv->use_header_bar);
       break;
 
     default:
@@ -412,8 +435,11 @@ gtk_dialog_constructor (GType                  type,
   priv = dialog->priv;
 
   priv->constructed = TRUE;
+  if (priv->use_header_bar == -1)
+    priv->use_header_bar = FALSE;
 
   add_action_widgets (dialog);
+  apply_use_header_bar (dialog);
 
   return object;
 }
@@ -528,15 +554,18 @@ gtk_dialog_class_init (GtkDialogClass *class)
    * %TRUE if the dialog uses a #GtkHeaderBar for action buttons
    * instead of the action-area.
    *
+   * For technical reasons, this property is declared as an integer
+   * property, but you should only set it to %TRUE or %FALSE.
+   *
    * Since: 3.12
    */
   g_object_class_install_property (gobject_class,
                                    PROP_USE_HEADER_BAR,
-                                   g_param_spec_boolean ("use-header-bar",
-                                                         P_("Use Header Bar"),
-                                                         P_("Use Header Bar for actions."),
-                                                         FALSE,
-                                                         GTK_PARAM_READWRITE|G_PARAM_CONSTRUCT_ONLY));
+                                   g_param_spec_int ("use-header-bar",
+                                                     P_("Use Header Bar"),
+                                                     P_("Use Header Bar for actions."),
+                                                     -1, 1, -1,
+                                                     GTK_PARAM_READWRITE|G_PARAM_CONSTRUCT_ONLY));
 
   binding_set = gtk_binding_set_by_class (class);
   gtk_binding_entry_add_signal (binding_set, GDK_KEY_Escape, 0, "close", 0);
@@ -585,6 +614,8 @@ gtk_dialog_init (GtkDialog *dialog)
 {
   dialog->priv = gtk_dialog_get_instance_private (dialog);
 
+  dialog->priv->use_header_bar = -1;
+
   gtk_widget_init_template (GTK_WIDGET (dialog));
 
   update_spacings (dialog);
@@ -1448,11 +1479,12 @@ gtk_dialog_set_alternative_button_order (GtkDialog *dialog,
 					 gint       first_response_id,
 					 ...)
 {
+  GtkDialogPrivate *priv = dialog->priv;
   va_list args;
 
   g_return_if_fail (GTK_IS_DIALOG (dialog));
 
-  if (dialog->priv->use_header_bar)
+  if (priv->constructed && priv->use_header_bar)
     return;
 
   if (!gtk_alt_dialog_button_order ())
diff --git a/gtk/gtkdialogprivate.h b/gtk/gtkdialogprivate.h
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..626d18835e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/gtk/gtkdialogprivate.h
@@ -0,0 +1,36 @@
+/* GTK - The GIMP Toolkit
+ * Copyright (C) 1995-1997 Peter Mattis, Spencer Kimball and Josh MacDonald
+ *
+ * This library is free software; you can redistribute it and/or
+ * modify it under the terms of the GNU Lesser General Public
+ * License as published by the Free Software Foundation; either
+ * version 2 of the License, or (at your option) any later version.
+ *
+ * This library is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
+ * but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
+ * MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the GNU
+ * Lesser General Public License for more details.
+ *
+ * You should have received a copy of the GNU Lesser General Public
+ * License along with this library. If not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
+ */
+
+/*
+ * Modified by the GTK+ Team and others 1997-2000.  See the AUTHORS
+ * file for a list of people on the GTK+ Team.  See the ChangeLog
+ * files for a list of changes.  These files are distributed with
+ * GTK+ at ftp://ftp.gtk.org/pub/gtk/.
+ */
+
+#ifndef __GTK_DIALOG_PRIVATE_H__
+#define __GTK_DIALOG_PRIVATE_H__
+
+#include "gtkdialog.h"
+
+G_BEGIN_DECLS
+
+void gtk_dialog_set_use_header_bar_from_setting (GtkDialog *dialog);
+
+G_END_DECLS
+
+#endif /* __GTK_DIALOG_PRIVATE_H__ */