diff --git a/powerline/colorscheme.py b/powerline/colorscheme.py
index cb345904..62997a91 100644
--- a/powerline/colorscheme.py
+++ b/powerline/colorscheme.py
@@ -1,5 +1,10 @@
 # -*- coding: utf-8 -*-
 
+
+class Colorscheme(object):
+	def __init__(self, colorscheme):
+		pass
+
 cterm_to_hex = {
 	16: 0x000000, 17: 0x00005f, 18: 0x000087, 19: 0x0000af, 20: 0x0000d7, 21: 0x0000ff,
 	22: 0x005f00, 23: 0x005f5f, 24: 0x005f87, 25: 0x005faf, 26: 0x005fd7, 27: 0x005fff,
diff --git a/powerline/core.py b/powerline/core.py
index 6b7c7d04..db39bdb5 100644
--- a/powerline/core.py
+++ b/powerline/core.py
@@ -1,17 +1,50 @@
 # -*- coding: utf-8 -*-
 
+import importlib
+import json
+import os
+import sys
+
+from colorscheme import Colorscheme
+from theme import Theme
+
 
 class Powerline(object):
-	def __init__(self, segments):
-		'''Create a new Powerline.
+	def __init__(self, ext):
+		try:
+			config_home = os.environ['XDG_CONFIG_HOME']
+		except KeyError:
+			config_home = os.path.expanduser('~/.config')
 
-		Segments that aren't filler segments and whose contents aren't None are
-		dropped from the segment array.
-		'''
-		self.renderer = None  # FIXME This should be assigned here based on the current configuration
-		self.segments = [segment for segment in segments if segment['contents'] is not None or segment['filler']]
+		config_path = os.path.join(config_home, 'powerline')
+		plugin_path = os.path.realpath(os.path.dirname(__file__))
+		self.search_paths = [config_path, plugin_path]
 
-	def render(self, renderer, width=None):
-		self.renderer = renderer(self.segments)
+		sys.path[:0] = self.search_paths
 
-		return self.renderer.render(width)
+		# Load main config file, limited to the current extension
+		self.config = self._load_json_config('config')[ext]
+
+		# Load and initialize colorscheme
+		colorscheme_config = self._load_json_config(os.path.join('colorschemes', self.config['colorscheme']))
+		self.colorscheme = Colorscheme(colorscheme_config)
+
+		# Load and initialize extension theme
+		theme_config = self._load_json_config(os.path.join('themes', ext, self.config['theme']))
+		self.theme = Theme(ext, theme_config)
+
+		# Load and initialize extension renderer
+		renderer_module_name = 'powerline.ext.{0}.renderer'.format(ext)
+		renderer_class_name = '{0}Renderer'.format(ext.capitalize())
+		renderer_class = getattr(importlib.import_module(renderer_module_name), renderer_class_name)
+		self.renderer = renderer_class(self.colorscheme, self.theme)
+
+	def _load_json_config(self, config_file):
+		config_file += '.json'
+		for path in self.search_paths:
+			config_file_path = os.path.join(path, config_file)
+			if os.path.isfile(config_file_path):
+				with open(config_file_path, 'rb') as config_file_fp:
+					return json.load(config_file_fp)
+
+		raise IOError('Config file not found in search path: {0}'.format(config_file))
diff --git a/powerline/ext/vim/renderer.py b/powerline/ext/vim/renderer.py
index dc64f2d1..2716d466 100644
--- a/powerline/ext/vim/renderer.py
+++ b/powerline/ext/vim/renderer.py
@@ -6,8 +6,8 @@ from powerline.renderer import Renderer
 class VimRenderer(Renderer):
 	'''Powerline vim segment renderer.
 	'''
-	def __init__(self, segments):
-		super(VimRenderer, self).__init__(segments)
+	def __init__(self, colorscheme, theme):
+		super(VimRenderer, self).__init__(colorscheme, theme)
 		self.hl_groups = {}
 
 	def hl(self, fg=None, bg=None, attr=None):
diff --git a/powerline/renderer.py b/powerline/renderer.py
index eb06e135..ec06a6a0 100644
--- a/powerline/renderer.py
+++ b/powerline/renderer.py
@@ -19,11 +19,11 @@ class Renderer(object):
 		},
 	}
 
-	def __init__(self, segments):
-		self.segments = segments
-		self._hl = {}
 
-	def render(self, width=None):
+	def __init__(self, colorscheme, theme):
+		pass
+
+	def render(self, mode, width=None):
 		'''Render all the segments with the specified renderer.
 
 		This method loops through the segment array and compares the
diff --git a/powerline/theme.py b/powerline/theme.py
index 40a96afc..aad09bdb 100644
--- a/powerline/theme.py
+++ b/powerline/theme.py
@@ -1 +1,6 @@
 # -*- coding: utf-8 -*-
+
+
+class Theme(object):
+	def __init__(self, ext, theme):
+		pass