Stefan Lepkowski and his wife Ania six years ago began an ambitious project to restore and develop a derelict mill in rural Northumberland, combining restoration work with design to create their ideal home. A blend of old and new, incorporating mellow sandstone with steel and zinc, the house’s unique architecture saw it featured on the latest TV series on Channel 4, Grand Designs.
Stefan, to be involved with Grand Designs; what was the most positive aspect for you?
Being involved with Grand Designs was great in many ways, but I think the best thing about it was the sense of dedication from everyone involved in the project. Ania and I were always passionate about creating a home for ourselves and our two children from the derelict mill. We were lucky to be involved from the outset with an equally passionate team but knowing we were involved in creating a ‘Grand Design’ created an added excitement which was infectious. This spread to everyone involved in the project, no matter how small their part. It was quite a holistic experience.
You mentioned that the Grand Designs element to your building project made you much more conscious of security. What were your concerns?
Having agreed to appear on Grand Designs, we were immediately aware that our project had metamorphosed overnight from an anonymous – and unglamorous – building site to a ‘showcase’ project which would be subjected to public scrutiny. We suddenly became conscious of the security risks posed by this sort of media exposure. This is something I spent a lot of time thinking about. When your home becomes a ‘Grand Design’, it becomes public in a way which lays it open to a whole new level of risk. I wanted to be sure that we had done everything we could to ensure that our home continued to feel secure following the house being featured on the programme.
When your home is a building site for years on end, you have people constantly coming and going and it’s important to be able to monitor who has access to the building. Being involved with Grand Designs only increased this element. It felt important to us to have security arrangements that would allow us to be relaxed around a never-ending stream of people. We didn’t want to be constantly worrying about who had keys for which door!
Above all I wanted to find a system that wouldn’t make the mill feel like a fortress! I eventually discovered a company called Mul-T-Lock who make patented keys which can’t be copied, which was perfect for us as we could now lend keys to people involved in the building project without worrying that they might be taking copies. Patented systems can often also be adapted to provide a master system so certain areas can be kept private even if you have people working in your home while you are out. Additionally it’s worth bearing in mind that systems like this can be rolled out across several buildings, so if you own additional properties or office space, you only need one key to open them all.
