diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index c440329..b4b1df7 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -140,6 +140,25 @@ You'll need apache2-utils on the machine where you plan to create the htpasswd f
 
 If you need to configure Nginx beyond what is possible using environment variables, you can provide custom configuration files on either a proxy-wide or per-`VIRTUAL_HOST` basis.
 
+#### Replacing default proxy settings
+
+If you want to replace the default proxy settings for the nginx container, add a configuration file at `/etc/nginx/proxy.conf`. A file with the default settings would
+look like this:
+
+```Nginx
+# HTTP 1.1 support
+proxy_http_version 1.1;
+proxy_buffering off;
+proxy_set_header Host $http_host;
+proxy_set_header Upgrade $http_upgrade;
+proxy_set_header Connection $proxy_connection;
+proxy_set_header X-Real-IP $remote_addr;
+proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-For $proxy_add_x_forwarded_for;
+proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-Proto $proxy_x_forwarded_proto;
+```
+
+***NOTE***: If you provide this file it will replace the defaults; you may want to check the .tmpl file to make sure you have all of the needed options.
+
 #### Proxy-wide
 
 To add settings on a proxy-wide basis, add your configuration file under `/etc/nginx/conf.d` using a name ending in `.conf`.
@@ -172,4 +191,30 @@ For example, if you have a virtual host named `app.example.com`, you could provi
 If you are using multiple hostnames for a single container (e.g. `VIRTUAL_HOST=example.com,www.example.com`), the virtual host configuration file must exist for each hostname. If you would like to use the same configuration for multiple virtual host names, you can use a symlink:
 
     $ { echo 'server_tokens off;'; echo 'client_max_body_size 100m;'; } > /path/to/vhost.d/www.example.com
-    $ ln -s www.example.com /path/to/vhost.d/example.com
+    $ ln -s /path/to/vhost.d/www.example.com /path/to/vhost.d/example.com
+
+#### Per-VIRTUAL_HOST default configuration
+
+If you want most of your virtual hosts to use a default single configuration and then override on a few specific ones, add those settings to the `/etc/nginx/vhost.d/default` file. This file
+will be used on any virtual host which does not have a `/etc/nginx/vhost.d/{VIRTUAL_HOST}` file associated with it.
+
+#### Per-VIRTUAL_HOST location configuration
+
+To add settings to the "location" block on a per-`VIRTUAL_HOST` basis, add your configuration file under `/etc/nginx/vhost.d`
+just like the previous section except with the suffix `_location`.
+
+For example, if you have a virtual host named `app.example.com` and you have configured a proxy_cache `my-cache` in another custom file, you could tell it to use a proxy cache as follows:
+
+    $ docker run -d -p 80:80 -p 443:443 -v /path/to/vhost.d:/etc/nginx/vhost.d:ro -v /var/run/docker.sock:/tmp/docker.sock:ro jwilder/nginx-proxy
+    $ { echo 'proxy_cache my-cache;'; echo 'proxy_cache_valid  200 302  60m;'; echo 'proxy_cache_valid  404 1m;' } > /path/to/vhost.d/app.example.com_location
+
+If you are using multiple hostnames for a single container (e.g. `VIRTUAL_HOST=example.com,www.example.com`), the virtual host configuration file must exist for each hostname. If you would like to use the same configuration for multiple virtual host names, you can use a symlink:
+
+    $ { echo 'proxy_cache my-cache;'; echo 'proxy_cache_valid  200 302  60m;'; echo 'proxy_cache_valid  404 1m;' } > /path/to/vhost.d/app.example.com_location
+    $ ln -s /path/to/vhost.d/www.example.com /path/to/vhost.d/example.com
+
+#### Per-VIRTUAL_HOST location default configuration
+
+If you want most of your virtual hosts to use a default single `location` block configuration and then override on a few specific ones, add those settings to the `/etc/nginx/vhost.d/default_location` file. This file
+will be used on any virtual host which does not have a `/etc/nginx/vhost.d/{VIRTUAL_HOST}` file associated with it.
+
diff --git a/nginx.tmpl b/nginx.tmpl
index d61b412..08f6c01 100644
--- a/nginx.tmpl
+++ b/nginx.tmpl
@@ -37,6 +37,9 @@ log_format vhost '$host $remote_addr - $remote_user [$time_local] '
 
 access_log off;
 
+{{ if (exists "/etc/nginx/proxy.conf") }}
+include /etc/nginx/proxy.conf;
+{{ else }}
 # HTTP 1.1 support
 proxy_http_version 1.1;
 proxy_buffering off;
@@ -46,6 +49,7 @@ proxy_set_header Connection $proxy_connection;
 proxy_set_header X-Real-IP $remote_addr;
 proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-For $proxy_add_x_forwarded_for;
 proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-Proto $proxy_x_forwarded_proto;
+{{ end }}
 
 server {
 	server_name _; # This is just an invalid value which will never trigger on a real hostname.
@@ -134,6 +138,8 @@ server {
 
 	{{ if (exists (printf "/etc/nginx/vhost.d/%s" $host)) }}
 	include {{ printf "/etc/nginx/vhost.d/%s" $host }};
+	{{ else if (exists "/etc/vhost.d/default") }}
+	include /etc/nginx/vhost.d/default;
 	{{ end }}
 
 	location / {
@@ -142,6 +148,11 @@ server {
 		auth_basic	"Restricted {{ $host }}";
 		auth_basic_user_file	{{ (printf "/etc/nginx/htpasswd/%s" $host) }};
 		{{ end }}
+                {{ if (exists (printf "/etc/nginx/vhost.d/%s_location" $host)) }}
+                include {{ printf "/etc/nginx/vhost.d/%s_location" $host}};
+                {{ else if (exists "/etc/vhost.d/default_location") }}
+                include /etc/nginx/vhost.d/default_location;
+                {{ end }}
 	}
 }
 {{ else }}
@@ -153,6 +164,8 @@ server {
 
 	{{ if (exists (printf "/etc/nginx/vhost.d/%s" $host)) }}
 	include {{ printf "/etc/nginx/vhost.d/%s" $host }};
+	{{ else if (exists "/etc/vhost.d/default") }}
+	include /etc/nginx/vhost.d/default;
 	{{ end }}
 
 	location / {
@@ -161,6 +174,11 @@ server {
 		auth_basic	"Restricted {{ $host }}";
 		auth_basic_user_file	{{ (printf "/etc/nginx/htpasswd/%s" $host) }};
 		{{ end }}
+                {{ if (exists (printf "/etc/nginx/vhost.d/%s_location" $host)) }}
+                include {{ printf "/etc/nginx/vhost.d/%s_location" $host}};
+                {{ else if (exists "/etc/vhost.d/default_location") }}
+                include /etc/nginx/vhost.d/default_location;
+                {{ end }}
 	}
 }