diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index fa06c0f..0b1a9d6 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -26,7 +26,7 @@ Run the following ommands:
     npm install
     bower install
     gulp
-    
+
 ## Setup
 
 #### Install
@@ -49,7 +49,7 @@ Keyboard in your module's run section.
 #### JS/CSS Imports (index.html)
 Include the following JavaScript/CSS file imports in your index.html.  Remember to import the ionic libraries first!
 The example below assumes your 3rd party bower dependencies are located in the default bower_components folder.
-    
+
     <link rel="stylesheet" href="bower_components/ionic-filter-bar/dist/ionic.filter.bar.css">
     <script src="bower_components/ionic-filter-bar/dist/ionic.filter.bar.js"></script>
 
@@ -155,7 +155,7 @@ A service you can inject in your controller to show the filter bar
 
   @param {object} options The options for the filterBar. Properties:
 
-         
+
   - `[Object]` `items`
 
     The array of items to filter.  When the filterBar is cancelled or removed, the original list of items will
@@ -165,7 +165,7 @@ A service you can inject in your controller to show the filter bar
   - `{function=}` `update`
 
     Called after the items are filtered.  The new filtered items will be passed to this function which can be used
-    to update the items on your controller's scope.  The text string that was searched on will be passed as the 
+    to update the items on your controller's scope.  The text string that was searched on will be passed as the
     second argument.
 
 
@@ -194,32 +194,32 @@ A service you can inject in your controller to show the filter bar
 
   - `{function=}` `expression`
 
-    The predicate to be used for selecting items from the `items` array.  This is similar to the angular filter 
-    `expression` function described [here](https://docs.angularjs.org/api/ng/filter/filter), except that the first 
+    The predicate to be used for selecting items from the `items` array.  This is similar to the angular filter
+    `expression` function described [here](https://docs.angularjs.org/api/ng/filter/filter), except that the first
     argument will be the filterText as shown below.  Default value is `null`.
     NOTE: This property will take precedence over `filterProperties`.  Only one can be defined.
-    
+
       function (filterText, value, index, array) {
         return value.propertyName === filterText || value.anotherPropertyName === filterText;
       }
 
   - `{function,true,false,undefined=}` `comparator`
 
-    Determines if the expected value (from the filter expression) and actual value (from the object in the array) 
-    should be considered a match.  This is the same as the angular filter `comparator` argument described [here](https://docs.angularjs.org/api/ng/filter/filter).  
+    Determines if the expected value (from the filter expression) and actual value (from the object in the array)
+    should be considered a match.  This is the same as the angular filter `comparator` argument described [here](https://docs.angularjs.org/api/ng/filter/filter).
     Default value is `undefined`.
-    
+
   - `[String]` `filterProperties`
 
     A string or string array of object properties that will be used to create a filterExpression object for
-    filtering items in the array.  All properties will be matched against the input filter text.  For example, given 
+    filtering items in the array.  All properties will be matched against the input filter text.  For example, given
     the following object in an array of items , and assume the user searches for "fish"
-    
+
         {name: 'fish', description: 'fish', color: 'blue'}
-        
+
         filterProperties: ['name', 'description'] ... The object will be matched and passed to the array in `update`
         filterProperties: ['name', 'color']       ... The object will NOT be matched or passed to the array in `update`
-    
+
     NOTE: If `expression` is defined, `filterProperties` will have no effect.  Only one can be defined.  Default
     value is null.
 
@@ -252,6 +252,11 @@ A service you can inject in your controller to show the filter bar
     - `.modal` (Appends to a modal)
     - `.menu-content` (Appends to the content section of a side menu.  Useful when the expose-aside-when attr is set.)
 
+  - `{object=}` `config`
+
+    A config object to customize the filter bar template instance.
+
+
 ## Screenshots
 
 
diff --git a/dist/ionic.filter.bar.js b/dist/ionic.filter.bar.js
index 9d39717..6e34f63 100644
--- a/dist/ionic.filter.bar.js
+++ b/dist/ionic.filter.bar.js
@@ -371,6 +371,10 @@ angular.module('jett.ionic.filter.bar', ['ionic']);
             opts.container = angular.element($body[0].querySelector(opts.container));
           }
 
+          //extend templateConfig with supplied config options
+          angular.extend(templateConfig, opts.config);
+          delete opts.config;
+
           //extend scope defaults with supplied options
           angular.extend(scope, {
             config: templateConfig,
diff --git a/dist/ionic.filter.bar.min.js b/dist/ionic.filter.bar.min.js
index 35d79a7..356ad28 100644
--- a/dist/ionic.filter.bar.min.js
+++ b/dist/ionic.filter.bar.min.js
@@ -1 +1 @@
-angular.module("jett.ionic.filter.bar",["ionic"]),function(e){"use strict";e.module("jett.ionic.filter.bar").directive("ionFilterBar",["$document","$timeout","$ionicGesture","$ionicPlatform",function(t,n,r,i){var o;return o=i.is("android")?'<div class="filter-bar-wrapper filter-bar-{{::config.theme}} filter-bar-transition-{{::config.transition}}"><div class="bar bar-header bar-{{::config.theme}} item-input-inset"><button class="filter-bar-cancel button button-icon icon {{::config.back}}"></button><label class="item-input-wrapper"><input type="search" class="filter-bar-search" ng-model="filterText" placeholder="{{::config.placeholder}}" /><button style="display:none;" class="filter-bar-clear button button-icon icon {{::config.clear}}"></button></label></div></div>':'<div class="filter-bar-wrapper filter-bar-{{::config.theme}} filter-bar-transition-{{::config.transition}}"><div class="bar bar-header bar-{{::config.theme}} item-input-inset"><label class="item-input-wrapper"><i class="icon {{::config.search}} placeholder-icon"></i><input type="search" class="filter-bar-search" ng-model="filterText" placeholder="{{::config.placeholder}}"/><button style="display:none;" class="filter-bar-clear button button-icon icon {{::config.clear}}"></button></label><button class="filter-bar-cancel button button-clear" ng-bind-html="::cancelText"></button></div></div>',{restrict:"E",scope:!0,link:function(i,o){var a,c,l,s,f,u=e.element(o[0].querySelector(".filter-bar-clear")),d=e.element(o[0].querySelector(".filter-bar-cancel")),p=o.find("input");i.filterText="";var b=function(){i.cancelFilterBar()};d.bind("click",b),i.config.backdrop&&(l=e.element('<div class="filter-bar-backdrop"></div>'),o.append(l),s=function(e){e.target==l[0]&&b()},l.bind("click",s),c=r.on("swipe",s,l));var m=function(){"none"===u.css("display")&&u.css("display","block")},h=function(){"block"===u.css("display")&&u.css("display","none")},g=function(){n(function(){i.filterText="",h(),ionic.requestAnimationFrame(function(){i.showBackdrop(),i.scrollItemsTop(),i.focusInput()})})};u.bind("touchstart mousedown",g),p.bind("touchstart mousedown",function(){i.scrollItemsTop(),i.focusInput()});var v=function(e){27==e.which?b():i.filterText&&i.filterText.length?(m(),i.hideBackdrop()):(h(),i.showBackdrop())};t.bind("keyup",v);var B=function(){i.filterItems(i.filterText)};i.$on("$destroy",function(){o.remove(),t.unbind("keyup",v),l&&r.off(c,"swipe",s),f()}),f=i.$watch("filterText",function(e,t){var r;a&&n.cancel(a),e!==t&&(r=e.length&&i.debounce?i.delay:0,a=n(B,r,!1))})},template:o}}])}(angular),function(e){"use strict";e.module("jett.ionic.filter.bar").provider("$ionicFilterBarConfig",function(){function t(e,t){c.platform[e]=t,o.platform[e]={},n(c,c.platform[e]),r(c.platform[e],o.platform[e],"")}function n(t,r){for(var i in t)i!=a&&t.hasOwnProperty(i)&&(e.isObject(t[i])?(e.isDefined(r[i])||(r[i]={}),n(t[i],r[i])):e.isDefined(r[i])||(r[i]=null))}function r(t,n,o){e.forEach(t,function(l,s){e.isObject(t[s])?(n[s]={},r(t[s],n[s],o+"."+s)):n[s]=function(e){if(arguments.length)return t[s]=e,n;if(t[s]==a){var r=i(c.platform,ionic.Platform.platform()+o+"."+s);return r||r===!1?r:i(c.platform,"default"+o+"."+s)}return t[s]}})}function i(t,n){n=n.split(".");for(var r=0;r<n.length;r++){if(!t||!e.isDefined(t[n[r]]))return null;t=t[n[r]]}return t}var o=this;o.platform={};var a="platform",c={theme:a,clear:a,search:a,backdrop:a,transition:a,platform:{},placeholder:a};r(c,o,""),t("default",{clear:"ion-ios-close",search:"ion-ios-search-strong",backdrop:!0,transition:"vertical",placeholder:"Search"}),t("ios",{}),t("android",{clear:"ion-android-close",search:!1,backdrop:!1,transition:"horizontal"}),o.setPlatformConfig=t,o.$get=function(){return o}})}(angular),function(e,t){"use strict";var n=function(e){var t=["light","stable","positive","calm","balanced","energized","assertive","royal","dark"],n=e&&e.classList;if(n)for(var r=0;r<t.length;r++)if(n.contains("bar-"+t[r]))return t[r]};e.module("jett.ionic.filter.bar").factory("$ionicFilterBar",["$document","$rootScope","$compile","$timeout","$filter","$ionicPlatform","$ionicFilterBarConfig","$ionicConfig","$ionicScrollDelegate",function(r,i,o,a,c,l,s,f,u){function d(r){if(!p){p=!0,r=r||{};var s=i.$new(!0),f=!1,d=!1;r.container&&(r.container=e.element(b[0].querySelector(r.container))),e.extend(s,{config:m,$deregisterBackButton:e.noop,update:e.noop,cancel:e.noop,done:e.noop,scrollDelegate:u,filter:c("filter"),filterProperties:null,expression:null,comparator:null,debounce:!0,delay:300,cancelText:"Cancel",cancelOnStateChange:!0,container:b},r),s.config.theme||(s.config.theme=n(s.container[0].querySelector(".bar.bar-header")));var h=s.element=o('<ion-filter-bar class="filter-bar"></ion-filter-bar>')(s),g=h.children().eq(0),v=g.find("input")[0],B=h.children().eq(1),k=s.scrollDelegate.getScrollView(),$=!!k,y=$?e.element(k.__container):null,w=s.cancelOnStateChange?i.$on("$stateChangeSuccess",function(){s.cancelFilterBar()}):e.noop,T=function(){d||(d=!0,v&&v.focus())},F=function(){d&&(d=!1,v&&v.blur())},x=function(){k.__scrollTop>0&&F()};return s.scrollItemsTop=function(){$&&s.scrollDelegate.scrollTop&&s.scrollDelegate.scrollTop()},s.focusInput=function(){d=!1,T()},s.hideBackdrop=function(){B.length&&f&&(f=!1,B.removeClass("active").css("display","none"))},s.showBackdrop=function(){B.length&&!f&&(f=!0,B.css("display","block").addClass("active"))},s.filterItems=function(t){var n,r;t.length?(s.expression?n=e.bind(this,s.expression,t):e.isArray(s.filterProperties)?(n={},e.forEach(s.filterProperties,function(e){n[e]=t})):s.filterProperties?(n={},n[s.filterProperties]=t):n=t,r=s.filter(s.items,n,s.comparator)):r=s.items,a(function(){s.update(r,t),s.scrollItemsTop()})},s.$deregisterBackButton=l.registerBackButtonAction(function(){a(s.cancelFilterBar)},300),s.removeFilterBar=function(n){s.removed||(s.removed=!0,t.requestAnimationFrame(function(){g.removeClass("filter-bar-in"),F(),s.hideBackdrop(),a(function(){s.scrollItemsTop(),s.update(s.items),s.$destroy(),h.remove(),s.cancelFilterBar.$scope=y=k=g=B=v=null,p=!1,(n||e.noop)()},350)}),a(function(){s.container.removeClass("filter-bar-open")},400),s.$deregisterBackButton(),w(),y&&y.off("scroll",x))},s.showFilterBar=function(n){s.removed||(s.container.append(h).addClass("filter-bar-open"),s.scrollItemsTop(),t.requestAnimationFrame(function(){s.removed||a(function(){g.addClass("filter-bar-in"),s.focusInput(),s.showBackdrop(),(n||e.noop)()},20,!1)}),y&&y.on("scroll",x))},s.cancelFilterBar=function(){s.removeFilterBar(s.cancel)},s.showFilterBar(s.done),s.cancelFilterBar.$scope=s,s.cancelFilterBar}}var p=!1,b=e.element(r[0].body),m={theme:s.theme(),transition:s.transition(),back:f.backButton.icon(),clear:s.clear(),search:s.search(),backdrop:s.backdrop(),placeholder:s.placeholder()};return{show:d}}])}(angular,ionic);
\ No newline at end of file
+angular.module("jett.ionic.filter.bar",["ionic"]),function(e){"use strict";e.module("jett.ionic.filter.bar").directive("ionFilterBar",["$document","$timeout","$ionicGesture","$ionicPlatform",function(t,n,r,i){var o;return o=i.is("android")?'<div class="filter-bar-wrapper filter-bar-{{::config.theme}} filter-bar-transition-{{::config.transition}}"><div class="bar bar-header bar-{{::config.theme}} item-input-inset"><button class="filter-bar-cancel button button-icon icon {{::config.back}}"></button><label class="item-input-wrapper"><input type="search" class="filter-bar-search" ng-model="filterText" placeholder="{{::config.placeholder}}" /><button style="display:none;" class="filter-bar-clear button button-icon icon {{::config.clear}}"></button></label></div></div>':'<div class="filter-bar-wrapper filter-bar-{{::config.theme}} filter-bar-transition-{{::config.transition}}"><div class="bar bar-header bar-{{::config.theme}} item-input-inset"><label class="item-input-wrapper"><i class="icon {{::config.search}} placeholder-icon"></i><input type="search" class="filter-bar-search" ng-model="filterText" placeholder="{{::config.placeholder}}"/><button style="display:none;" class="filter-bar-clear button button-icon icon {{::config.clear}}"></button></label><button class="filter-bar-cancel button button-clear" ng-bind-html="::cancelText"></button></div></div>',{restrict:"E",scope:!0,link:function(i,o){var a,c,l,s,f,u=e.element(o[0].querySelector(".filter-bar-clear")),d=e.element(o[0].querySelector(".filter-bar-cancel")),p=o.find("input");i.filterText="";var b=function(){i.cancelFilterBar()};d.bind("click",b),i.config.backdrop&&(l=e.element('<div class="filter-bar-backdrop"></div>'),o.append(l),s=function(e){e.target==l[0]&&b()},l.bind("click",s),c=r.on("swipe",s,l));var m=function(){"none"===u.css("display")&&u.css("display","block")},h=function(){"block"===u.css("display")&&u.css("display","none")},g=function(){n(function(){i.filterText="",h(),ionic.requestAnimationFrame(function(){i.showBackdrop(),i.scrollItemsTop(),i.focusInput()})})};u.bind("touchstart mousedown",g),p.bind("touchstart mousedown",function(){i.scrollItemsTop(),i.focusInput()});var v=function(e){27==e.which?b():i.filterText&&i.filterText.length?(m(),i.hideBackdrop()):(h(),i.showBackdrop())};t.bind("keyup",v);var B=function(){i.filterItems(i.filterText)};i.$on("$destroy",function(){o.remove(),t.unbind("keyup",v),l&&r.off(c,"swipe",s),f()}),f=i.$watch("filterText",function(e,t){var r;a&&n.cancel(a),e!==t&&(r=e.length&&i.debounce?i.delay:0,a=n(B,r,!1))})},template:o}}])}(angular),function(e){"use strict";e.module("jett.ionic.filter.bar").provider("$ionicFilterBarConfig",function(){function t(e,t){c.platform[e]=t,o.platform[e]={},n(c,c.platform[e]),r(c.platform[e],o.platform[e],"")}function n(t,r){for(var i in t)i!=a&&t.hasOwnProperty(i)&&(e.isObject(t[i])?(e.isDefined(r[i])||(r[i]={}),n(t[i],r[i])):e.isDefined(r[i])||(r[i]=null))}function r(t,n,o){e.forEach(t,function(l,s){e.isObject(t[s])?(n[s]={},r(t[s],n[s],o+"."+s)):n[s]=function(e){if(arguments.length)return t[s]=e,n;if(t[s]==a){var r=i(c.platform,ionic.Platform.platform()+o+"."+s);return r||r===!1?r:i(c.platform,"default"+o+"."+s)}return t[s]}})}function i(t,n){n=n.split(".");for(var r=0;r<n.length;r++){if(!t||!e.isDefined(t[n[r]]))return null;t=t[n[r]]}return t}var o=this;o.platform={};var a="platform",c={theme:a,clear:a,search:a,backdrop:a,transition:a,platform:{},placeholder:a};r(c,o,""),t("default",{clear:"ion-ios-close",search:"ion-ios-search-strong",backdrop:!0,transition:"vertical",placeholder:"Search"}),t("ios",{}),t("android",{clear:"ion-android-close",search:!1,backdrop:!1,transition:"horizontal"}),o.setPlatformConfig=t,o.$get=function(){return o}})}(angular),function(e,t){"use strict";var n=function(e){var t=["light","stable","positive","calm","balanced","energized","assertive","royal","dark"],n=e&&e.classList;if(n)for(var r=0;r<t.length;r++)if(n.contains("bar-"+t[r]))return t[r]};e.module("jett.ionic.filter.bar").factory("$ionicFilterBar",["$document","$rootScope","$compile","$timeout","$filter","$ionicPlatform","$ionicFilterBarConfig","$ionicConfig","$ionicScrollDelegate",function(r,i,o,a,c,l,s,f,u){function d(r){if(!p){p=!0,r=r||{};var s=i.$new(!0),f=!1,d=!1;r.container&&(r.container=e.element(b[0].querySelector(r.container))),e.extend(m,r.config),delete r.config,e.extend(s,{config:m,$deregisterBackButton:e.noop,update:e.noop,cancel:e.noop,done:e.noop,scrollDelegate:u,filter:c("filter"),filterProperties:null,expression:null,comparator:null,debounce:!0,delay:300,cancelText:"Cancel",cancelOnStateChange:!0,container:b},r),s.config.theme||(s.config.theme=n(s.container[0].querySelector(".bar.bar-header")));var h=s.element=o('<ion-filter-bar class="filter-bar"></ion-filter-bar>')(s),g=h.children().eq(0),v=g.find("input")[0],B=h.children().eq(1),k=s.scrollDelegate.getScrollView(),$=!!k,y=$?e.element(k.__container):null,w=s.cancelOnStateChange?i.$on("$stateChangeSuccess",function(){s.cancelFilterBar()}):e.noop,T=function(){d||(d=!0,v&&v.focus())},F=function(){d&&(d=!1,v&&v.blur())},x=function(){k.__scrollTop>0&&F()};return s.scrollItemsTop=function(){$&&s.scrollDelegate.scrollTop&&s.scrollDelegate.scrollTop()},s.focusInput=function(){d=!1,T()},s.hideBackdrop=function(){B.length&&f&&(f=!1,B.removeClass("active").css("display","none"))},s.showBackdrop=function(){B.length&&!f&&(f=!0,B.css("display","block").addClass("active"))},s.filterItems=function(t){var n,r;t.length?(s.expression?n=e.bind(this,s.expression,t):e.isArray(s.filterProperties)?(n={},e.forEach(s.filterProperties,function(e){n[e]=t})):s.filterProperties?(n={},n[s.filterProperties]=t):n=t,r=s.filter(s.items,n,s.comparator)):r=s.items,a(function(){s.update(r,t),s.scrollItemsTop()})},s.$deregisterBackButton=l.registerBackButtonAction(function(){a(s.cancelFilterBar)},300),s.removeFilterBar=function(n){s.removed||(s.removed=!0,t.requestAnimationFrame(function(){g.removeClass("filter-bar-in"),F(),s.hideBackdrop(),a(function(){s.scrollItemsTop(),s.update(s.items),s.$destroy(),h.remove(),s.cancelFilterBar.$scope=y=k=g=B=v=null,p=!1,(n||e.noop)()},350)}),a(function(){s.container.removeClass("filter-bar-open")},400),s.$deregisterBackButton(),w(),y&&y.off("scroll",x))},s.showFilterBar=function(n){s.removed||(s.container.append(h).addClass("filter-bar-open"),s.scrollItemsTop(),t.requestAnimationFrame(function(){s.removed||a(function(){g.addClass("filter-bar-in"),s.focusInput(),s.showBackdrop(),(n||e.noop)()},20,!1)}),y&&y.on("scroll",x))},s.cancelFilterBar=function(){s.removeFilterBar(s.cancel)},s.showFilterBar(s.done),s.cancelFilterBar.$scope=s,s.cancelFilterBar}}var p=!1,b=e.element(r[0].body),m={theme:s.theme(),transition:s.transition(),back:f.backButton.icon(),clear:s.clear(),search:s.search(),backdrop:s.backdrop(),placeholder:s.placeholder()};return{show:d}}])}(angular,ionic);
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/js/ionic.filter.bar.service.js b/js/ionic.filter.bar.service.js
index 3aa33ad..102aaba 100644
--- a/js/ionic.filter.bar.service.js
+++ b/js/ionic.filter.bar.service.js
@@ -76,6 +76,10 @@
             opts.container = angular.element($body[0].querySelector(opts.container));
           }
 
+          //extend templateConfig with supplied config options
+          angular.extend(templateConfig, opts.config);
+          delete opts.config;
+
           //extend scope defaults with supplied options
           angular.extend(scope, {
             config: templateConfig,
diff --git a/test/unit/ionic.filter.bar.service.unit.js b/test/unit/ionic.filter.bar.service.unit.js
index 7dd7b86..c5e52e7 100644
--- a/test/unit/ionic.filter.bar.service.unit.js
+++ b/test/unit/ionic.filter.bar.service.unit.js
@@ -191,6 +191,26 @@ describe('Ionic FilterBar Service', function() {
       expect(scope.delay).toBe(0);
       expect(scope.cancelText).toBe('Done');
     }));
+
+    it('should override provider custom options with supplied on show call', inject(function() {
+      var scope = setup({
+        config: {
+          theme: 'dark',
+          transition: 'vertical',
+          clear: 'ion-close-other',
+          search: 'ion-search-other',
+          backdrop: true,
+          placeholder: 'Other Filter'
+        }
+      });
+
+      expect(scope.config.theme).toBe('dark');
+      expect(scope.config.transition).toBe('vertical');
+      expect(scope.config.clear).toBe('ion-close-other');
+      expect(scope.config.search).toBe('ion-search-other');
+      expect(scope.config.backdrop).toBe(true);
+      expect(scope.config.placeholder).toBe('Other Filter');
+    }));
   });
 
 });