diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index daf913b..8ebe58b 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@
 # Folders
 _obj
 _test
+tmp
 
 # Architecture specific extensions/prefixes
 *.[568vq]
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 91c75f0..6241b59 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@ Zerolog's API is designed to provide both a great developer experience and stunn
 
 Uber's [zap](https://godoc.org/go.uber.org/zap) library pioneered this approach. Zerolog is taking this concept to the next level with a simpler to use API and even better performance.
 
-To keep the code base and the API simple, zerolog focuses on efficient structured logging only. Pretty logging on the console is made possible using the provided (but inefficient) `zerolog.ConsoleWriter`.
+To keep the code base and the API simple, zerolog focuses on efficient structured logging only. Pretty logging on the console is made possible using the provided (but inefficient) [`zerolog.ConsoleWriter`](#pretty-logging).
 
 ![Pretty Logging Image](pretty.png)
 
@@ -60,7 +60,7 @@ func main() {
 
 // Output: {"time":1516134303,"level":"debug","message":"hello world"}
 ```
-> Note: By default log writes to `os.Stderr`  
+> Note: By default log writes to `os.Stderr`
 > Note: The default log level for `log.Print` is *debug*
 
 ### Contextual Logging
@@ -252,14 +252,38 @@ sublogger.Info().Msg("hello world")
 
 ### Pretty logging
 
+To log a human-friendly, colorized output, use `zerolog.ConsoleWriter`:
+
 ```go
-if isConsole {
-    log.Logger = log.Output(zerolog.ConsoleWriter{Out: os.Stderr})
-}
+log.Logger = log.Output(zerolog.ConsoleWriter{Out: os.Stderr})
 
 log.Info().Str("foo", "bar").Msg("Hello world")
 
-// Output: 1494567715 |INFO| Hello world foo=bar
+// Output: 3:04PM INF Hello World foo=bar
+```
+
+To customize the configuration and formatting:
+
+```go
+output := zerolog.ConsoleWriter{Out: os.Stdout, TimeFormat: time.RFC3339}
+output.FormatLevel = func(i interface{}) string {
+    return strings.ToUpper(fmt.Sprintf("| %-6s|", i))
+}
+output.FormatMessage = func(i interface{}) string {
+    return fmt.Sprintf("***%s****", i)
+}
+output.FormatFieldName = func(i interface{}) string {
+    return fmt.Sprintf("%s:", i)
+}
+output.FormatFieldValue = func(i interface{}) string {
+    return strings.ToUpper(fmt.Sprintf("%s", i))
+}
+
+log := zerolog.New(output).With().Timestamp().Logger()
+
+log.Info().Str("foo", "bar").Msg("Hello World")
+
+// Output: 2006-01-02T15:04:05Z07:00 | INFO  | ***Hello World**** foo:BAR
 ```
 
 ### Sub dictionary
diff --git a/console.go b/console.go
index 98de5d7..95bfd27 100644
--- a/console.go
+++ b/console.go
@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@ import (
 	"encoding/json"
 	"fmt"
 	"io"
+	"os"
 	"sort"
 	"strconv"
 	"strings"
@@ -13,133 +14,260 @@ import (
 )
 
 const (
-	cReset    = 0
-	cBold     = 1
-	cRed      = 31
-	cGreen    = 32
-	cYellow   = 33
-	cBlue     = 34
-	cMagenta  = 35
-	cCyan     = 36
-	cGray     = 37
-	cDarkGray = 90
+	colorBold = iota + 1
+	colorFaint
 )
 
-var consoleBufPool = sync.Pool{
-	New: func() interface{} {
-		return bytes.NewBuffer(make([]byte, 0, 100))
-	},
-}
+const (
+	colorBlack = iota + 30
+	colorRed
+	colorGreen
+	colorYellow
+	colorBlue
+	colorMagenta
+	colorCyan
+	colorWhite
+)
 
-// LevelWidth defines the desired character width of the log level column.
-// Default 0 does not trim or pad (variable width based level text, e.g. "INFO" or "ERROR")
-var LevelWidth = 0
+var (
+	consoleBufPool = sync.Pool{
+		New: func() interface{} {
+			return bytes.NewBuffer(make([]byte, 0, 100))
+		},
+	}
 
-// ConsoleWriter reads a JSON object per write operation and output an
-// optionally colored human readable version on the Out writer.
+	consoleDefaultTimeFormat = time.Kitchen
+	consoleDefaultFormatter  = func(i interface{}) string { return fmt.Sprintf("%s", i) }
+	consoleDefaultPartsOrder = []string{
+		TimestampFieldName,
+		LevelFieldName,
+		CallerFieldName,
+		MessageFieldName,
+	}
+
+	consoleNoColor    = false
+	consoleTimeFormat = consoleDefaultTimeFormat
+)
+
+// Formatter transforms the input into a formatted string.
+type Formatter func(interface{}) string
+
+// ConsoleWriter parses the JSON input and writes it in an
+// (optionally) colorized, human-friendly format to Out.
 type ConsoleWriter struct {
-	Out     io.Writer
+	// Out is the output destination.
+	Out io.Writer
+
+	// NoColor disables the colorized output.
 	NoColor bool
+
+	// TimeFormat specifies the format for timestamp in output.
+	TimeFormat string
+
+	// PartsOrder defines the order of parts in output.
+	PartsOrder []string
+
+	FormatTimestamp     Formatter
+	FormatLevel         Formatter
+	FormatCaller        Formatter
+	FormatMessage       Formatter
+	FormatFieldName     Formatter
+	FormatFieldValue    Formatter
+	FormatErrFieldName  Formatter
+	FormatErrFieldValue Formatter
 }
 
+// NewConsoleWriter creates and initializes a new ConsoleWriter.
+func NewConsoleWriter(options ...func(w *ConsoleWriter)) ConsoleWriter {
+	w := ConsoleWriter{
+		Out:        os.Stdout,
+		TimeFormat: consoleDefaultTimeFormat,
+		PartsOrder: consoleDefaultPartsOrder,
+	}
+
+	for _, opt := range options {
+		opt(&w)
+	}
+
+	return w
+}
+
+// Write transforms the JSON input with formatters and appends to w.Out.
 func (w ConsoleWriter) Write(p []byte) (n int, err error) {
-	var event map[string]interface{}
+	if w.PartsOrder == nil {
+		w.PartsOrder = consoleDefaultPartsOrder
+	}
+	if w.TimeFormat == "" && consoleTimeFormat != consoleDefaultTimeFormat {
+		consoleTimeFormat = consoleDefaultTimeFormat
+	}
+	if w.TimeFormat != "" && consoleTimeFormat != w.TimeFormat {
+		consoleTimeFormat = w.TimeFormat
+	}
+	if w.NoColor == false && consoleNoColor != false {
+		consoleNoColor = false
+	}
+	if w.NoColor == true && consoleNoColor != w.NoColor {
+		consoleNoColor = w.NoColor
+	}
+
+	var buf = consoleBufPool.Get().(*bytes.Buffer)
+	defer consoleBufPool.Put(buf)
+
+	var evt map[string]interface{}
 	p = decodeIfBinaryToBytes(p)
 	d := json.NewDecoder(bytes.NewReader(p))
 	d.UseNumber()
-	err = d.Decode(&event)
+	err = d.Decode(&evt)
 	if err != nil {
-		return
+		return n, fmt.Errorf("cannot decode event: %s", err)
 	}
-	buf := consoleBufPool.Get().(*bytes.Buffer)
-	defer consoleBufPool.Put(buf)
-	lvlColor := cReset
-	level := "????"
-	if l, ok := event[LevelFieldName].(string); ok {
-		if !w.NoColor {
-			lvlColor = levelColor(l)
-		}
-		level = strings.ToUpper(l)
-		if LevelWidth > 0 {
-			if padding := LevelWidth - len(level); padding > 0 {
-				level += strings.Repeat(" ", padding)
-			} else {
-				level = level[0:LevelWidth]
-			}
-		}
+
+	for _, p := range w.PartsOrder {
+		w.writePart(buf, evt, p)
 	}
-	fmt.Fprintf(buf, "%s |%s| %s",
-		colorize(formatTime(event[TimestampFieldName]), cDarkGray, !w.NoColor),
-		colorize(level, lvlColor, !w.NoColor),
-		colorize(event[MessageFieldName], cReset, !w.NoColor))
-	fields := make([]string, 0, len(event))
-	for field := range event {
+
+	w.writeFields(evt, buf)
+
+	buf.WriteByte('\n')
+	buf.WriteTo(w.Out)
+	return len(p), nil
+}
+
+// writeFields appends formatted key-value pairs to buf.
+func (w ConsoleWriter) writeFields(evt map[string]interface{}, buf *bytes.Buffer) {
+	var fields = make([]string, 0, len(evt))
+	for field := range evt {
 		switch field {
-		case LevelFieldName, TimestampFieldName, MessageFieldName:
+		case LevelFieldName, TimestampFieldName, MessageFieldName, CallerFieldName:
 			continue
 		}
 		fields = append(fields, field)
 	}
 	sort.Strings(fields)
-	for _, field := range fields {
-		fmt.Fprintf(buf, " %s=", colorize(field, cCyan, !w.NoColor))
-		switch value := event[field].(type) {
-		case string:
-			if needsQuote(value) {
-				buf.WriteString(strconv.Quote(value))
-			} else {
-				buf.WriteString(value)
+
+	if len(fields) > 0 {
+		buf.WriteByte(' ')
+	}
+
+	// Move the "error" field to the front
+	ei := sort.Search(len(fields), func(i int) bool { return fields[i] >= ErrorFieldName })
+	if ei < len(fields) && fields[ei] == ErrorFieldName {
+		fields[ei] = ""
+		fields = append([]string{ErrorFieldName}, fields...)
+		var xfields = make([]string, 0, len(fields))
+		for _, field := range fields {
+			if field == "" { // Skip empty fields
+				continue
 			}
-		case json.Number:
-			fmt.Fprint(buf, value)
-		default:
-			b, err := json.Marshal(value)
-			if err != nil {
-				fmt.Fprintf(buf, "[error: %v]", err)
+			xfields = append(xfields, field)
+		}
+		fields = xfields
+	}
+
+	for i, field := range fields {
+		var fn Formatter
+		var fv Formatter
+
+		if field == ErrorFieldName {
+			if w.FormatErrFieldName == nil {
+				fn = consoleDefaultFormatErrFieldName
 			} else {
-				fmt.Fprint(buf, string(b))
+				fn = w.FormatErrFieldName
+			}
+
+			if w.FormatErrFieldValue == nil {
+				fv = consoleDefaultFormatErrFieldValue
+			} else {
+				fv = w.FormatErrFieldValue
+			}
+		} else {
+			if w.FormatFieldName == nil {
+				fn = consoleDefaultFormatFieldName
+			} else {
+				fn = w.FormatFieldName
+			}
+
+			if w.FormatFieldValue == nil {
+				fv = consoleDefaultFormatFieldValue
+			} else {
+				fv = w.FormatFieldValue
 			}
 		}
+
+		buf.WriteString(fn(field))
+
+		switch fValue := evt[field].(type) {
+		case string:
+			if needsQuote(fValue) {
+				buf.WriteString(fv(strconv.Quote(fValue)))
+			} else {
+				buf.WriteString(fv(fValue))
+			}
+		case json.Number:
+			buf.WriteString(fv(fValue))
+		default:
+			b, err := json.Marshal(fValue)
+			if err != nil {
+				fmt.Fprintf(buf, colorize("[error: %v]", colorRed, w.NoColor), err)
+			} else {
+				fmt.Fprint(buf, fv(b))
+			}
+		}
+
+		if i < len(fields)-1 { // Skip space for last field
+			buf.WriteByte(' ')
+		}
 	}
-	buf.WriteByte('\n')
-	buf.WriteTo(w.Out)
-	n = len(p)
-	return
 }
 
-func formatTime(t interface{}) string {
-	switch t := t.(type) {
-	case string:
-		return t
-	case json.Number:
-		u, _ := t.Int64()
-		return time.Unix(u, 0).Format(time.RFC3339)
-	}
-	return "<nil>"
-}
+// writePart appends a formatted part to buf.
+func (w ConsoleWriter) writePart(buf *bytes.Buffer, evt map[string]interface{}, p string) {
+	var f Formatter
 
-func colorize(s interface{}, color int, enabled bool) string {
-	if !enabled {
-		return fmt.Sprintf("%v", s)
-	}
-	return fmt.Sprintf("\x1b[%dm%v\x1b[0m", color, s)
-}
-
-func levelColor(level string) int {
-	switch level {
-	case "debug":
-		return cMagenta
-	case "info":
-		return cGreen
-	case "warn":
-		return cYellow
-	case "error", "fatal", "panic":
-		return cRed
+	switch p {
+	case LevelFieldName:
+		if w.FormatLevel == nil {
+			f = consoleDefaultFormatLevel
+		} else {
+			f = w.FormatLevel
+		}
+	case TimestampFieldName:
+		if w.FormatTimestamp == nil {
+			f = consoleDefaultFormatTimestamp
+		} else {
+			f = w.FormatTimestamp
+		}
+	case MessageFieldName:
+		if w.FormatMessage == nil {
+			f = consoleDefaultFormatMessage
+		} else {
+			f = w.FormatMessage
+		}
+	case CallerFieldName:
+		if w.FormatCaller == nil {
+			f = consoleDefaultFormatCaller
+		} else {
+			f = w.FormatCaller
+		}
 	default:
-		return cReset
+		if w.FormatFieldValue == nil {
+			f = consoleDefaultFormatFieldValue
+		} else {
+			f = w.FormatFieldValue
+		}
+	}
+
+	var s = f(evt[p])
+
+	if len(s) > 0 {
+		buf.WriteString(s)
+		if p != w.PartsOrder[len(w.PartsOrder)-1] { // Skip space for last part
+			buf.WriteByte(' ')
+		}
 	}
 }
 
+// needsQuote returns true when the string s should be quoted in output.
 func needsQuote(s string) bool {
 	for i := range s {
 		if s[i] < 0x20 || s[i] > 0x7e || s[i] == ' ' || s[i] == '\\' || s[i] == '"' {
@@ -148,3 +276,89 @@ func needsQuote(s string) bool {
 	}
 	return false
 }
+
+// colorize returns the string s wrapped in ANSI code c, unless disabled is true.
+func colorize(s interface{}, c int, disabled bool) string {
+	if disabled {
+		return fmt.Sprintf("%s", s)
+	}
+	return fmt.Sprintf("\x1b[%dm%v\x1b[0m", c, s)
+}
+
+// ----- DEFAULT FORMATTERS ---------------------------------------------------
+
+var (
+	consoleDefaultFormatTimestamp = func(i interface{}) string {
+		t := "<nil>"
+		if tt, ok := i.(string); ok {
+			ts, err := time.Parse(time.RFC3339, tt)
+			if err != nil {
+				t = tt
+			} else {
+				t = ts.Format(consoleTimeFormat)
+			}
+		}
+		return colorize(t, colorFaint, consoleNoColor)
+	}
+
+	consoleDefaultFormatLevel = func(i interface{}) string {
+		var l string
+		if ll, ok := i.(string); ok {
+			switch ll {
+			case "debug":
+				l = colorize("DBG", colorYellow, consoleNoColor)
+			case "info":
+				l = colorize("INF", colorGreen, consoleNoColor)
+			case "warn":
+				l = colorize("WRN", colorRed, consoleNoColor)
+			case "error":
+				l = colorize(colorize("ERR", colorRed, consoleNoColor), colorBold, consoleNoColor)
+			case "fatal":
+				l = colorize(colorize("FTL", colorRed, consoleNoColor), colorBold, consoleNoColor)
+			case "panic":
+				l = colorize(colorize("PNC", colorRed, consoleNoColor), colorBold, consoleNoColor)
+			default:
+				l = colorize("???", colorBold, consoleNoColor)
+			}
+		} else {
+			l = strings.ToUpper(fmt.Sprintf("%s", i))[0:3]
+		}
+		return l
+	}
+
+	consoleDefaultFormatCaller = func(i interface{}) string {
+		var c string
+		if cc, ok := i.(string); ok {
+			c = cc
+		}
+		if len(c) > 0 {
+			cwd, err := os.Getwd()
+			if err == nil {
+				c = strings.TrimPrefix(c, cwd)
+				c = strings.TrimPrefix(c, "/")
+			}
+			c = colorize(c, colorBold, consoleNoColor) + colorize(" >", colorFaint, consoleNoColor)
+		}
+		return c
+	}
+
+	consoleDefaultFormatMessage = func(i interface{}) string {
+		return fmt.Sprintf("%s", i)
+	}
+
+	consoleDefaultFormatFieldName = func(i interface{}) string {
+		return colorize(fmt.Sprintf("%s=", i), colorFaint, consoleNoColor)
+	}
+
+	consoleDefaultFormatFieldValue = func(i interface{}) string {
+		return fmt.Sprintf("%s", i)
+	}
+
+	consoleDefaultFormatErrFieldName = func(i interface{}) string {
+		return colorize(fmt.Sprintf("%s=", i), colorRed, consoleNoColor)
+	}
+
+	consoleDefaultFormatErrFieldValue = func(i interface{}) string {
+		return colorize(fmt.Sprintf("%s", i), colorRed, consoleNoColor)
+	}
+)
diff --git a/console_test.go b/console_test.go
index a6e7e06..5bdfdaa 100644
--- a/console_test.go
+++ b/console_test.go
@@ -2,29 +2,237 @@ package zerolog_test
 
 import (
 	"bytes"
+	"fmt"
+	"io/ioutil"
 	"os"
 	"strings"
 	"testing"
+	"time"
 
 	"github.com/rs/zerolog"
 )
 
-func ExampleConsoleWriter_Write() {
+func ExampleConsoleWriter() {
 	log := zerolog.New(zerolog.ConsoleWriter{Out: os.Stdout, NoColor: true})
 
-	log.Info().Msg("hello world")
-	// Output: <nil> |INFO| hello world
+	log.Info().Str("foo", "bar").Msg("Hello World")
+	// Output: <nil> INF Hello World foo=bar
 }
 
-func TestConsoleWriterNumbers(t *testing.T) {
-	buf := &bytes.Buffer{}
-	log := zerolog.New(zerolog.ConsoleWriter{Out: buf, NoColor: true})
-	log.Info().
-		Float64("float", 1.23).
-		Uint64("small", 123).
-		Uint64("big", 1152921504606846976).
-		Msg("msg")
-	if got, want := strings.TrimSpace(buf.String()), "<nil> |INFO| msg big=1152921504606846976 float=1.23 small=123"; got != want {
-		t.Errorf("\ngot:\n%s\nwant:\n%s", got, want)
+func ExampleConsoleWriter_customFormatters() {
+	out := zerolog.ConsoleWriter{Out: os.Stdout, NoColor: true}
+	out.FormatLevel = func(i interface{}) string { return strings.ToUpper(fmt.Sprintf("%-6s|", i)) }
+	out.FormatFieldName = func(i interface{}) string { return fmt.Sprintf("%s:", i) }
+	out.FormatFieldValue = func(i interface{}) string { return strings.ToUpper(fmt.Sprintf("%s", i)) }
+	log := zerolog.New(out)
+
+	log.Info().Str("foo", "bar").Msg("Hello World")
+	// Output: <nil> INFO  | Hello World foo:BAR
+}
+
+func ExampleNewConsoleWriter() {
+	out := zerolog.NewConsoleWriter()
+	out.NoColor = true // For testing purposes only
+	log := zerolog.New(out)
+
+	log.Debug().Str("foo", "bar").Msg("Hello World")
+	// Output: <nil> DBG Hello World foo=bar
+}
+
+func ExampleNewConsoleWriter_customFormatters() {
+	out := zerolog.NewConsoleWriter(
+		func(w *zerolog.ConsoleWriter) {
+			// Customize time format
+			w.TimeFormat = time.RFC822
+			// Customize level formatting
+			w.FormatLevel = func(i interface{}) string { return strings.ToUpper(fmt.Sprintf("[%-5s]", i)) }
+		},
+	)
+	out.NoColor = true // For testing purposes only
+
+	log := zerolog.New(out)
+
+	log.Info().Str("foo", "bar").Msg("Hello World")
+	// Output: <nil> [INFO ] Hello World foo=bar
+}
+
+func TestConsoleLogger(t *testing.T) {
+	t.Run("Numbers", func(t *testing.T) {
+		buf := &bytes.Buffer{}
+		log := zerolog.New(zerolog.ConsoleWriter{Out: buf, NoColor: true})
+		log.Info().
+			Float64("float", 1.23).
+			Uint64("small", 123).
+			Uint64("big", 1152921504606846976).
+			Msg("msg")
+		if got, want := strings.TrimSpace(buf.String()), "<nil> INF msg big=1152921504606846976 float=1.23 small=123"; got != want {
+			t.Errorf("\ngot:\n%s\nwant:\n%s", got, want)
+		}
+	})
+}
+
+func TestConsoleWriter(t *testing.T) {
+	t.Run("Default field formatter", func(t *testing.T) {
+		buf := &bytes.Buffer{}
+		w := zerolog.ConsoleWriter{Out: buf, NoColor: true, PartsOrder: []string{"foo"}}
+
+		_, err := w.Write([]byte(`{"foo" : "DEFAULT"}`))
+		if err != nil {
+			t.Errorf("Unexpected error when writing output: %s", err)
+		}
+
+		expectedOutput := "DEFAULT foo=DEFAULT\n"
+		actualOutput := buf.String()
+		if actualOutput != expectedOutput {
+			t.Errorf("Unexpected output %q, want: %q", actualOutput, expectedOutput)
+		}
+	})
+
+	t.Run("Write colorized", func(t *testing.T) {
+		buf := &bytes.Buffer{}
+		w := zerolog.ConsoleWriter{Out: buf, NoColor: false}
+
+		_, err := w.Write([]byte(`{"level" : "warn", "message" : "Foobar"}`))
+		if err != nil {
+			t.Errorf("Unexpected error when writing output: %s", err)
+		}
+
+		expectedOutput := "\x1b[2m<nil>\x1b[0m \x1b[31mWRN\x1b[0m Foobar\n"
+		actualOutput := buf.String()
+		if actualOutput != expectedOutput {
+			t.Errorf("Unexpected output %q, want: %q", actualOutput, expectedOutput)
+		}
+	})
+
+	t.Run("Write fields", func(t *testing.T) {
+		buf := &bytes.Buffer{}
+		w := zerolog.ConsoleWriter{Out: buf, NoColor: true}
+
+		d := time.Unix(0, 0).UTC().Format(time.RFC3339)
+		_, err := w.Write([]byte(`{"time" : "` + d + `", "level" : "debug", "message" : "Foobar", "foo" : "bar"}`))
+		if err != nil {
+			t.Errorf("Unexpected error when writing output: %s", err)
+		}
+
+		expectedOutput := "12:00AM DBG Foobar foo=bar\n"
+		actualOutput := buf.String()
+		if actualOutput != expectedOutput {
+			t.Errorf("Unexpected output %q, want: %q", actualOutput, expectedOutput)
+		}
+	})
+
+	t.Run("Write error field", func(t *testing.T) {
+		buf := &bytes.Buffer{}
+		w := zerolog.ConsoleWriter{Out: buf, NoColor: true}
+
+		d := time.Unix(0, 0).UTC().Format(time.RFC3339)
+		evt := `{"time" : "` + d + `", "level" : "error", "message" : "Foobar", "aaa" : "bbb", "error" : "Error"}`
+		// t.Log(evt)
+
+		_, err := w.Write([]byte(evt))
+		if err != nil {
+			t.Errorf("Unexpected error when writing output: %s", err)
+		}
+
+		expectedOutput := "12:00AM ERR Foobar error=Error aaa=bbb\n"
+		actualOutput := buf.String()
+		if actualOutput != expectedOutput {
+			t.Errorf("Unexpected output %q, want: %q", actualOutput, expectedOutput)
+		}
+	})
+
+	t.Run("Write caller field", func(t *testing.T) {
+		buf := &bytes.Buffer{}
+		w := zerolog.ConsoleWriter{Out: buf, NoColor: true}
+
+		cwd, err := os.Getwd()
+		if err != nil {
+			t.Fatalf("Cannot get working directory: %s", err)
+		}
+
+		d := time.Unix(0, 0).UTC().Format(time.RFC3339)
+		evt := `{"time" : "` + d + `", "level" : "debug", "message" : "Foobar", "foo" : "bar", "caller" : "` + cwd + `/foo/bar.go"}`
+		// t.Log(evt)
+
+		_, err = w.Write([]byte(evt))
+		if err != nil {
+			t.Errorf("Unexpected error when writing output: %s", err)
+		}
+
+		expectedOutput := "12:00AM DBG foo/bar.go > Foobar foo=bar\n"
+		actualOutput := buf.String()
+		if actualOutput != expectedOutput {
+			t.Errorf("Unexpected output %q, want: %q", actualOutput, expectedOutput)
+		}
+	})
+
+	t.Run("Write JSON field", func(t *testing.T) {
+		buf := &bytes.Buffer{}
+		w := zerolog.ConsoleWriter{Out: buf, NoColor: true}
+
+		evt := `{"level" : "debug", "message" : "Foobar", "foo" : [1, 2, 3], "bar" : true}`
+		// t.Log(evt)
+
+		_, err := w.Write([]byte(evt))
+		if err != nil {
+			t.Errorf("Unexpected error when writing output: %s", err)
+		}
+
+		expectedOutput := "<nil> DBG Foobar bar=true foo=[1,2,3]\n"
+		actualOutput := buf.String()
+		if actualOutput != expectedOutput {
+			t.Errorf("Unexpected output %q, want: %q", actualOutput, expectedOutput)
+		}
+	})
+}
+
+func TestConsoleWriterConfiguration(t *testing.T) {
+	t.Run("Sets TimeFormat", func(t *testing.T) {
+		buf := &bytes.Buffer{}
+		w := zerolog.ConsoleWriter{Out: buf, NoColor: true, TimeFormat: time.RFC3339}
+
+		d := time.Unix(0, 0).UTC().Format(time.RFC3339)
+		evt := `{"time" : "` + d + `", "level" : "info", "message" : "Foobar"}`
+
+		_, err := w.Write([]byte(evt))
+		if err != nil {
+			t.Errorf("Unexpected error when writing output: %s", err)
+		}
+
+		expectedOutput := "1970-01-01T00:00:00Z INF Foobar\n"
+		actualOutput := buf.String()
+		if actualOutput != expectedOutput {
+			t.Errorf("Unexpected output %q, want: %q", actualOutput, expectedOutput)
+		}
+	})
+
+	t.Run("Sets PartsOrder", func(t *testing.T) {
+		buf := &bytes.Buffer{}
+		w := zerolog.ConsoleWriter{Out: buf, NoColor: true, PartsOrder: []string{"message", "level"}}
+
+		evt := `{"level" : "info", "message" : "Foobar"}`
+		_, err := w.Write([]byte(evt))
+		if err != nil {
+			t.Errorf("Unexpected error when writing output: %s", err)
+		}
+
+		expectedOutput := "Foobar INF\n"
+		actualOutput := buf.String()
+		if actualOutput != expectedOutput {
+			t.Errorf("Unexpected output %q, want: %q", actualOutput, expectedOutput)
+		}
+	})
+}
+
+func BenchmarkConsoleWriter(b *testing.B) {
+	b.ResetTimer()
+	b.ReportAllocs()
+
+	var msg = []byte(`{"level" : "info", "foo" : "bar", "message" : "HELLO", "time" : "1990-01-01"}`)
+
+	w := zerolog.ConsoleWriter{Out: ioutil.Discard, NoColor: false}
+
+	for i := 0; i < b.N; i++ {
+		w.Write(msg)
 	}
 }
diff --git a/pretty.png b/pretty.png
index c181164..34e4308 100644
Binary files a/pretty.png and b/pretty.png differ