diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 86382c1..f083023 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -81,12 +81,20 @@ Unless changed, after setting each field according to its attributes, the object
 * if the value implements `HasText`, its `setText` method will be called with the text found in the element;
 * if the value is an `Icon`, its server-side `Icon` will be changed to reflect the one specified in the element;
 * if the value is a `Button` and the element has an icon, the icon will be set on the server side;
-* if the value is a `Grid` and it is declared in the file as `Grid<BeanType>`, the field will be configured as if `new Grid<>(BeanType.class)` was called.
+* if the value is a `Grid` and it is declared in the file as `Grid<BeanType>`, the field will be configured as if `new Grid<>(BeanType.class)` was called; in addition columns can be added (see below).
 
 The default configurators can be skipped by:
 * passing a `false` flag to the `SuperTemplate` constructor - for that particular template only;
 * calling `TemplateFieldConfigurators.DEFAULT_CONFIGURATORS.clear()` - for all templates (does not apply retroactively to templates that were created before executing that code).
 
+### Adding columns to `Grid<MyBean>`
+
+Under certain conditions columns can be specified in the design. First of all, the `Grid` must be typed in Java (so `@Id("id-of-grid") private Grid<MyBean> grid`). Then:
+* (**recommended**) columns from `data-columns` attribute on `vaadin-grid`, if that attribute is present; the list should be space-separated list of properties, and for each property server-side object will use `addColumn(propertyName)`
+* (**experimental**) columns from `vaadin-grid-column` are taken if they have an attribute `data-column`; again, server-side object will use `addcolumn(name)`
+
+Feel free to file an issue if there are problems with either of the approaches.
+
 ## Extending default behaviour
 
 ### For all templates
diff --git a/pom.xml b/pom.xml
index a3a4f42..bbc010a 100644
--- a/pom.xml
+++ b/pom.xml
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@
 
     <groupId>org.vaadin.miki</groupId>
     <artifactId>super-template</artifactId>
-    <version>0.2.0</version>
+    <version>0.2.1</version>
 
     <name>Super Template</name>
     <description>An extension of PolymerTemplate that reads properties from the template and makes them available on the server side. Requires Vaadin 14.X.</description>
diff --git a/src/main/java/org/vaadin/miki/supertemplate/GridBeanTypeConfigurator.java b/src/main/java/org/vaadin/miki/supertemplate/GridBeanTypeConfigurator.java
index 3ac32d5..c8f6811 100644
--- a/src/main/java/org/vaadin/miki/supertemplate/GridBeanTypeConfigurator.java
+++ b/src/main/java/org/vaadin/miki/supertemplate/GridBeanTypeConfigurator.java
@@ -4,20 +4,25 @@
 import com.vaadin.flow.component.polymertemplate.PolymerTemplate;
 import com.vaadin.flow.data.binder.BeanPropertySet;
 import org.jsoup.nodes.Element;
+import org.jsoup.select.Elements;
 import org.slf4j.Logger;
 import org.slf4j.LoggerFactory;
 
 import java.lang.reflect.Field;
 import java.lang.reflect.ParameterizedType;
+import java.util.stream.Stream;
 
 /**
- * Configures bean type of a field of type {@link Grid}.
+ * Configures bean type of a field of type {@link Grid} and optionally its property columns, if any are present.
 
  * @author miki
  * @since 2020-05-05
  */
 public class GridBeanTypeConfigurator implements TemplateFieldConfigurator {
 
+    public static final String DATA_COLUMNS_ATTRIBUTE = "data-columns";
+    public static final String DATA_COLUMN_ATTRIBUTE = "data-column";
+
     private static final Logger LOGGER = LoggerFactory.getLogger(GridBeanTypeConfigurator.class);
 
     @Override
@@ -34,6 +39,20 @@ public void configureFieldValue(Field field, Object value, PolymerTemplate<?> te
                 Field propertySetField = Grid.class.getDeclaredField("propertySet");
                 propertySetField.setAccessible(true);
                 propertySetField.set(value, BeanPropertySet.get(dataType));
+
+                // try to get columns from the element
+                if(element.hasAttr(DATA_COLUMNS_ATTRIBUTE))
+                    Stream.of(element.attr(DATA_COLUMNS_ATTRIBUTE).split("\\s+")).forEach(((Grid<?>) value)::addColumn);
+                final Elements columns = element.getElementsByTag("vaadin-grid-column");
+                columns.stream().filter(column -> column.hasAttr(DATA_COLUMN_ATTRIBUTE)).forEach(column -> {
+                    final String id = column.attr(DATA_COLUMN_ATTRIBUTE);
+                    final int whereIsDot = id.indexOf('.');
+                    if(whereIsDot == -1)
+                        ((Grid<?>)value).addColumn(id);
+                    else if(dataType.getSimpleName().equals(id.substring(0, whereIsDot)))
+                        ((Grid<?>)value).addColumn(id.substring(whereIsDot+1));
+                });
+
             }
             catch(ClassCastException cce) {
                 LOGGER.info("Could not discover bean type for field {}. Please make it Grid<YourDataType>.", field.getName());
diff --git a/src/test/java/org/vaadin/miki/supertemplate/Dummy.java b/src/test/java/org/vaadin/miki/supertemplate/Dummy.java
index 8f7331e..af5d896 100644
--- a/src/test/java/org/vaadin/miki/supertemplate/Dummy.java
+++ b/src/test/java/org/vaadin/miki/supertemplate/Dummy.java
@@ -9,6 +9,10 @@ public class Dummy {
 
     private String contents;
 
+    private String description;
+
+    private boolean flagged;
+
     public String getContents() {
         return contents;
     }
@@ -17,16 +21,34 @@ public void setContents(String contents) {
         this.contents = contents;
     }
 
+    public String getDescription() {
+        return description;
+    }
+
+    public void setDescription(String description) {
+        this.description = description;
+    }
+
+    public boolean isFlagged() {
+        return flagged;
+    }
+
+    public void setFlagged(boolean flagged) {
+        this.flagged = flagged;
+    }
+
     @Override
     public boolean equals(Object o) {
         if (this == o) return true;
         if (o == null || getClass() != o.getClass()) return false;
         Dummy dummy = (Dummy) o;
-        return Objects.equals(getContents(), dummy.getContents());
+        return isFlagged() == dummy.isFlagged() &&
+                Objects.equals(getContents(), dummy.getContents()) &&
+                Objects.equals(getDescription(), dummy.getDescription());
     }
 
     @Override
     public int hashCode() {
-        return Objects.hash(getContents());
+        return Objects.hash(getContents(), getDescription(), isFlagged());
     }
 }
diff --git a/src/test/java/org/vaadin/miki/supertemplate/SuperTemplateTest.java b/src/test/java/org/vaadin/miki/supertemplate/SuperTemplateTest.java
index 8fa6223..0dad21c 100644
--- a/src/test/java/org/vaadin/miki/supertemplate/SuperTemplateTest.java
+++ b/src/test/java/org/vaadin/miki/supertemplate/SuperTemplateTest.java
@@ -51,6 +51,10 @@ public void testSuperViewHasPropertiesFromTemplate() {
         Grid<Dummy> grid = superView.getGrid();
         Assert.assertNotNull(grid);
         Assert.assertSame(Dummy.class, grid.getBeanType());
+        // there should be two columns already in the grid: description and flagged, added in that order
+        Assert.assertEquals(2, grid.getColumns().size());
+        Assert.assertEquals("description", grid.getColumns().get(0).getKey());
+        Assert.assertEquals("flagged", grid.getColumns().get(1).getKey());
         Assert.assertNotNull(grid.addColumn("contents")); // adding columns should work
     }
 
diff --git a/src/test/resources/test-view.js b/src/test/resources/test-view.js
index 6720ec9..16bf627 100644
--- a/src/test/resources/test-view.js
+++ b/src/test/resources/test-view.js
@@ -13,7 +13,9 @@ export class TestView extends PolymerElement {
             </style>
 <vaadin-text-field id="a-text-field" placeholder="Hello" style="width: 100%;"></vaadin-text-field>
 <span id="a-span">World</span>
-<vaadin-grid id="a-grid"></vaadin-grid>
+<vaadin-grid id="a-grid" data-columns="description">
+    <vaadin-grid-column data-column="flagged"></vaadin-grid-column>
+</vaadin-grid>
 `;
     }