diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 7635d32..356f1f0 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -162,10 +162,9 @@ The returned component accepts a `theme` and `composeTheme`  apart from the prop
 
 - `Identifier` *(String)* used to provide a unique identifier to the component that will be used to get a theme from context.
 - `[defaultTheme]` (*Object*) is  classname object resolved from CSS modules. It will be used as the default theme to calculate a new theme that will be passed to the component.
-- `[options]` (*Object*) is an option object that for now only accepts one value: `composeTheme` which accepts:
-  - `deeply` to deeply merge themes.
-  - `softly` to softly merge themes.
-  - `false` to disable theme merging.
+- `[options]` (*Object*) If specified it allows to customize the behavior: 
+  - [`composeTheme = 'deeply'`] *(String)* allows to customize the way themes are merged or to disable merging completely. The accepted values are `deeply` to deeply merge themes, `softly` to softly merge themes and `false` to disable theme merging.
+  - [`withRef = false`] *(Boolean)* if true, stores a ref to the wrapped component instance and makes it available via `getWrappedInstance()` method. Defaults to false.
 
 ## About
 
diff --git a/package.json b/package.json
index e9e6e24..ec4bf03 100644
--- a/package.json
+++ b/package.json
@@ -56,5 +56,8 @@
   "license": "MIT",
   "peerDependencies": {
     "react": "^0.14.0 || ^15.0.0-0"
+  },
+  "dependencies": {
+    "invariant": "^2.2.1"
   }
 }
diff --git a/src/components/themr.js b/src/components/themr.js
index 0673342..1ea0ca7 100644
--- a/src/components/themr.js
+++ b/src/components/themr.js
@@ -1,15 +1,17 @@
 import React, { Component, PropTypes } from 'react'
+import invariant from 'invariant'
 
 const COMPOSE_DEEPLY = 'deeply'
 const COMPOSE_SOFTLY = 'softly'
 const DONT_COMPOSE = false
 
 const DEFAULT_OPTIONS = {
-  composeTheme: COMPOSE_DEEPLY
+  composeTheme: COMPOSE_DEEPLY,
+  withRef: false
 }
 
-export default (componentName, localTheme, options = DEFAULT_OPTIONS) => (ThemedComponent) => {
-  const { composeTheme: optionComposeTheme } = options
+export default (componentName, localTheme, options = {}) => (ThemedComponent) => {
+  const { composeTheme: optionComposeTheme, withRef: optionWithRef } = { ...DEFAULT_OPTIONS, ...options }
   validateComposeOption(optionComposeTheme)
   return class Themed extends Component {
     static displayName = `Themed ${ThemedComponent.name}`;
@@ -27,6 +29,15 @@ export default (componentName, localTheme, options = DEFAULT_OPTIONS) => (Themed
       composeTheme: optionComposeTheme
     }
 
+    getWrappedInstance() {
+      invariant(optionWithRef,
+        'To access the wrapped instance, you need to specify ' +
+        '{ withRef: true } as the third argument of the themr() call.'
+      )
+
+      return this.refs.wrappedInstance
+    }
+
     getThemeNotComposed() {
       if (this.props.theme) return this.props.theme
       if (localTheme) return localTheme
@@ -47,12 +58,26 @@ export default (componentName, localTheme, options = DEFAULT_OPTIONS) => (Themed
 
     render() {
       const { composeTheme, ...rest } = this.props
-      return React.createElement(ThemedComponent, {
-        ...rest,
-        theme: composeTheme
-          ? this.getTheme()
-          : this.getThemeNotComposed()
-      })
+      let renderedElement
+
+      if (optionWithRef) {
+        renderedElement = React.createElement(ThemedComponent, {
+          ...rest,
+          ref: 'wrappedInstance',
+          theme: composeTheme
+            ? this.getTheme()
+            : this.getThemeNotComposed()
+        })
+      } else {
+        renderedElement = React.createElement(ThemedComponent, {
+          ...rest,
+          theme: composeTheme
+            ? this.getTheme()
+            : this.getThemeNotComposed()
+        })
+      }
+
+      return renderedElement
     }
   }
 }
diff --git a/test/components/themr.spec.js b/test/components/themr.spec.js
index 0990fc7..1114292 100644
--- a/test/components/themr.spec.js
+++ b/test/components/themr.spec.js
@@ -273,4 +273,55 @@ describe('Themr decorator function', () => {
     const stub = TestUtils.findRenderedComponentWithType(tree, Passthrough)
     expect(stub.props.theme).toEqual({})
   })
+
+  it('should throw when trying to access the wrapped instance if withRef is not specified', () => {
+    const theme = { Container: { foo: 'foo_1234' } }
+
+    @themr('Container')
+    class Container extends Component {
+      render() {
+        return <Passthrough {...this.props} />
+      }
+    }
+
+    const tree = TestUtils.renderIntoDocument(
+      <ProviderMock theme={theme}>
+        <Container />
+      </ProviderMock>
+    )
+
+    const container = TestUtils.findRenderedComponentWithType(tree, Container)
+    expect(() => container.getWrappedInstance()).toThrow(
+      /To access the wrapped instance, you need to specify \{ withRef: true \} as the third argument of the themr\(\) call\./
+    )
+  })
+
+  it('should return the instance of the wrapped component for use in calling child methods', () => {
+    const someData = {
+      some: 'data'
+    }
+
+    class Container extends Component {
+      someInstanceMethod() {
+        return someData
+      }
+
+      render() {
+        return <Passthrough />
+      }
+    }
+
+    const decorator = themr('Component', null, { withRef: true })
+    const Decorated = decorator(Container)
+
+    const tree = TestUtils.renderIntoDocument(
+      <Decorated />
+    )
+
+    const decorated = TestUtils.findRenderedComponentWithType(tree, Decorated)
+
+    expect(() => decorated.someInstanceMethod()).toThrow()
+    expect(decorated.getWrappedInstance().someInstanceMethod()).toBe(someData)
+    expect(decorated.refs.wrappedInstance.someInstanceMethod()).toBe(someData)
+  })
 })