Architect Curro Checa Romero has refurbished and extended a 1980s house in east London, more than doubling its interior dimensions and creating a series of light-filled spaces with an improved connection to the rear garden.

The Grim House was named for architect Checa Romero's partner, Deborah Grim, who bought it over three years ago and had planned a loft conversion to add to the original 55 square metres of floor space.
The architect convinced her that further extensions would be needed to accommodate their growing family (the couple has had three daughters since work commenced) and set about extending to the front, side and rear of the building, as well as into the loft and basement.

"From being a small loft conversion, it became a much larger project in terms of scale and timeline," Checa Romero told Dezeen. "By extending in all directions we really managed to make the most of what was a very small house." The architect said the name of the house also references "the grim brick and dark wooden box you see from the outside, which transforms into a white space flooded with light when you enter."

The property located just east of Brick Lane in the Spitalfields area of London is positioned on the end of an bland brick terrace and originally had a side passage connecting the small gardens to the front and rear.
Working within the permitted development rights, the side passage was incorporated into the building and the additional extensions br...