diff --git a/lib/representable/xml/namespace.rb b/lib/representable/xml/namespace.rb
index c04ecb1d..d0b5bd2a 100644
--- a/lib/representable/xml/namespace.rb
+++ b/lib/representable/xml/namespace.rb
@@ -92,7 +92,8 @@ def to_node(options={})
 
       # TODO: there should be an easier way to pass a set of options to all nested #to_node decorators.
       representable_attrs.keys.each do |property|
-        options[property.to_sym] = { show_definition: false, namespaces: options[:namespaces] }
+        nested_options = options[property.to_sym] || {}
+        options[property.to_sym] = nested_options.merge(show_definition: false, namespaces: options[:namespaces])
       end
 
       super(options).tap do |node|