In Part 4 of a current series on managing shared configuration for Drupal distributions we looked at needs and options for altering configuration provided by extensions (modules, themes, or the site's installation profile). We covered common needs such as altering user roles to add permissions. But when it comes to altering configuration, blocks are a special case--hence this bonus installment!

When you create a site based on a distribution, there may be a requirement to customize the look and feel. The usual solution is to create a custom subtheme for the site; see the drupal.org documentation on subtheming. That way you can get everything the distribution provides but give the site a custom presentation.

Using a custom theme will work fine for most configuration. But it won't work for configuration that includes the theme itself as a dependency--like blocks.