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Grand.Designs.S27E04.Surrey.Hills.2025
Transcript
00:00the ancients used to compare our thoughts and our memories to a library and all we had to do was to
00:11then reach back into time in our minds to find a particular volume past the dusty shelves in
00:19a corner somewhere which when you opened it would suddenly remind you of a shared experience or a
00:25glimpsed moment so imagine imagine that you could build like this library an edifice specifically
00:34designed to house those shared experiences to honor our autobiographies and our memories memories which
00:45otherwise would just simply fade away in the wind memories of loved ones or even a particular loved
00:53one now that would be worth building wouldn't it
00:57so a nice hearty soup oh just what we need today
01:26when perpetua met melina back in the 90s it wasn't a given that they would fall in love
01:35melina and i are complete opposite ends of the spectrum we are so different personality wise
01:42we are like day and night but we always come together we always align and we always agree
01:48in things so you pounced on me because i was a viking i knew you were good stock yeah melina can
01:56rightly claim viking heritage she's from denmark life together has opened pep's eyes to a whole new
02:04culture my love of scandinavia and the nordic countries on their way of life has grown through
02:10knowing melina on their wedding day they agreed to realize each other's dreams on the lands they
02:18bought together in the surrey hills my dream was to have my own stable yard and 2008 pep she gave me
02:27the keys to the stable yards on our property here which enabled melina an occupational therapist to use
02:35horses as part of her work now it's time for pep a high-flying corporate accountant to realize her great
02:43ambition i've always wanted to build us a home and now to get the chance to do that is incredible
02:51however the impetus to realize that dream came into sharp focus two years ago
03:03when pep was diagnosed with terminal cancer
03:09when you're given the diagnosis that i was given it was all of a sudden things that did
03:16matter to me like work and you know achieving and getting things done um they paled in significance
03:28the diagnosis of cancer that triggered triggered me into saying right if i'm i'm gonna build a house
03:36while i'm alive i better get on with it now and it's given her just a bit more fight you know in in her
03:44like you know she's so determined to do this never want to hold back from getting stuck in
03:53building a house has become pep's raison d'etre the house project's been a great distraction from
04:01the c project
04:04that can be firewood doing a project like this is a massive incentive to stay well
04:10and stay fit and get through the the cancer treatment as best i can we had a very good life
04:18and building the house is just going to be the last chapter of of our life together of the many
04:26reasons that people build a home together i can't think of one that is more poignant than this
04:32well what a beautiful sight to build a house on hello oh oh hi kevin i'm walking across vegetables
04:43here am i oh that's all right hi kevin you yeah perpetua yes yeah melina melina yeah how much of this
04:52land is yours it's about five acres we live in the property at the front of the house and you've got a
04:58building which is i think it started life as a chicken shed that will be demolished so what's
05:04the deal then you're going to build on this site yeah yeah so the grand plan is to build a single
05:10story viking inspired long long house this is a modern version so passive house and inside it's just
05:18going to be very modern nordic design and hygge it has to be hygge which is cozy yeah so there's a word
05:26in swedish called lagom which means just enough and you should only take from the world enough of
05:33what you need to survive as opposed to you know over consuming so hygge and lagom and these kind
05:39of guiding scandinavian ideas so just to find that balance tell me about health and um how can how
05:46because you know you're undergoing treatment so theoretically i should be dead now but that
05:51really spurred us on to now build the house and actually activate those plans amazing given that
06:00many people in your situation would decide to kind of oh i don't know go on a cruise you know what i
06:05mean yeah yeah cancer is not you know our whole life that it's part of our life and yes i will die one
06:13day as we all will but i'm not going to die every day i'm going to be living very good way of putting it
06:18yeah first order of business is to get rid of the old chicken shed and concrete pad
06:25in its place will come a highly insulated polystyrene raft that will be laid out and filled with concrete
06:32from this point on this house designed by pep and melina themselves will be constructed almost entirely
06:38of wood prefabricated sections will form a super energy efficient insulated structural shell
06:45this clever piece of engineering creates a huge open space inside ready for viking feasts and supporting
06:54this viking hall entire walls of glazing to connect with the nature that surrounds
07:00on the outside a skin of neatly aligned ash cladding will envelop the building a cladding that'll age to
07:07resemble the surrounding trees the uninterrupted roof line will be covered in sustainable swedish steel
07:16it's a simple understated barn-like shape lagom just enough enter through any of the many openings
07:26and you'll find inside a generous full height kitchen living area which although simple is anything but austere
07:34a place where the hygge happens at the north end will sit the main bedroom and the bathroom
07:41mirrored at the opposite end by two guest rooms all thoughtfully sighted in what is actually a modestly
07:47sized house plus garage pep and melina's ambition is to make a home that honors their life shared together
07:57however time is not on their side so it's vital that they build it as quickly as possible
08:04and that it goes up without a hitch
08:09how long is it you're going to take you to get a house that's habitable well nine months is a good
08:14time you know you can make babies in nine months so we hope to make a building in that time okay good
08:19um and yeah we we need to get through it because basically i need to have as much time to live in
08:26it as possible yes you do and you bring i'm presuming given your vast experience in business i will be
08:32very disappointed if it goes over none of my projects have gone over so far so whatever ever
08:39program management's my background um but i haven't built anything before so i think i've got quite a bit
08:44to learn there and we will be managing a tight budget how much how much have you allocated for it
08:49500 plus 10 contingency so 550. which is quite ambitious we're funding the project through two
08:55thirds of my life insurance and then the other third will come from the sale of our existing house
09:00so the idea is keep me alive keep me alive so i can build the house yeah anything we get after
09:06that is a bonus i asked pep whether she was sure about this build and she said the build is going
09:12to help her sort of thrive over the next yeah it's an interesting point because it can sap energy
09:18and i guess it's going to require quite a lot of careful management on your part to ensure that you
09:23get the best out of it we're going to enjoy the process aren't we yeah so far it's been great
09:31so here's the tall order ordinarily people derive a lot of positive energy and excitement and
09:37they thrive on finished architecture that's what finished buildings can do when they function at
09:44their best but to derive that same energy from the process well that's another matter but that's exactly
09:52what pet wants to do she wants to see this this process as a means of sustaining her wow i mean what
09:58she's got in her favor of course is that she is used to and enjoys the reputation of having delivered
10:05projects which come in on time and on budget
10:13the bonus of being able to do that is that she ends up not just enjoying the process of building this house
10:23but lives long enough to enjoy living in it too for some time
10:28after months of preparation pouring over designs and spreadsheets there's no time to waste
10:38the old shed is demolished and where once was a green idyll there is now chaos
10:45the upheaval is immense it's absolutely bonkers with a small army of ground workers on site
10:53the buck now stops with pep who's getting her first taste of the real world of full-time project
10:59management hard cut's coming tomorrow morning oh my goodness we better get moving then
11:05mama hey hey hey hey hey heal and pep's not the only one feeling the strain melina keeps finding
11:11reasons to go and walk the dog well then i think that's how she's coping she's not very good at chaos
11:18as if getting to grips with her new role as site manager isn't enough
11:24pep has to also stay on top of a novel chemotherapy regime they're hoping might keep her active for
11:31longer a bit of a nuisance sometimes having to go off to actually sit and have the chemo for
11:38whatever it takes an hour and a half it has to be done along with a lot of other things
11:45but it would seem that pep is a master juggler and plate spinner
11:53whoa we don't need that house anymore anyway because within weeks the ground is beautifully
11:59flat and ready to take delivery of the foundation system like no other project i can think of
12:07here time really is of the essence yeah i think they were quite surprised when they all got a hug
12:13when they arrived but i i didn't realize how pleased i was to see them and with good reason because
12:21pep has just returned home from another spell in hospital after reacting badly to the new chemo drug
12:28touch wood we've got it back under control which is satisfying because there's nothing worse than being
12:35you know a whole load of work to be done and you're you can't do it
12:42now she's back pep spares no time in motivating the troops oh that's the easiest bit of work
12:49you've done all day no gym required tonight nathan always smiling staying true to her guiding principle of
12:58lagom just enough pep has ordered a highly insulated foundation system made of polystyrene blocks
13:06and any weeks later it's back again yeah these form a tray which is loaded up with underfloor heating
13:13loops sewer pipes and rebar and within a week bang on pep's schedule it's ready to be filled with concrete
13:20the rain has stopped so it's perfect they start pouring the concrete via a separately hired pumping
13:28truck from the first of a series of lorries which mix the concrete as it's dispensed that's the sand
13:34falling there then it's mixing in there coming up and coming out as concrete the last two weeks has
13:42been difficult balancing everything when you are so exhausted melina's been an absolute rot you know
13:50feeding me constantly trying to keep me rested people think i'm doing all the work but in fact
13:57she's the one you know pushing the engine from behind and she's just always there and always has been
14:04once she's satisfied that the concrete pour is running smoothly pep goes back to the house to rest wait
14:15pump is blocked now i'll do nothing by pump but a sudden fault with the cement truck means it's now churned
14:25out completely the wrong mix causing the pump to jam up whole thing's full with ballast
14:31and interrupted concrete pour could screw up the whole foundations
14:45we're having a nightmare here
14:46in the surrey hills pep and melina's concrete pour is in crisis whole thing's full with ballast
15:05the faulty concrete truck means there's no concrete flowing
15:09it's blocked all the pump we need to get the machine back to the yard to clear it
15:17pausing the poor midway could have disastrous consequences
15:21it has to go in as one poured one continuous slab you can't stop and you can't start tomorrow again
15:27it has to all has to go off together the jammed up pump vacates the site leaving brendan the foreman one
15:36short hour to find another one before the concrete sets and the incomplete foundations are ruined
15:45pep is unaware of this first real threat to her schedule but it's just as well because she needs
15:51to be at hospital she's having a blood test because she's been a bit uh tired in the last few days so
16:00just checking that everything's okay pep has put the project first at every stage
16:07but right now getting checked out takes priority back on site miraculously brendan has rustled up
16:14another pump truck and it arrives just in time
16:21mercifully the next concrete load flows beautifully
16:24and by the end of the day pep's slab is complete ready to receive her viking home
16:36now i get why pep and melina have chosen to go danish with their project
16:41but why are the rest of us so captivated by scandy design and what exactly is it anyway
16:47this is kaza roo by christopherson and weiling architects a house near the danish city of aarhus
16:55it embodies the ideas that are driving pep and melina's project this looks lovely
17:01and it looks lagom yeah just enough it's based on traditional farms so it's three barns arranged
17:09around a courtyard they're very very simple goodness me i can't even see any gutters they're that agricultural
17:18but don't be fooled by this stripped back farming aesthetic in fact there are gutters they're just
17:24artfully concealed in the roof line yes there are farmer functional cement slab steps but the details
17:31here are crisp even the cladding screws are perfectly aligned lagom may mean just enough but it also
17:39suggests sharing in this case sharing a wing of your home with a pet falcon inside it's easy to see the
17:47resonance this place has with pep and melina's design it's another open plan viking hall with long
17:54low walls of glass quality of what's here in the junctions in the details oh my goodness it's in the
18:02ceiling which is such a simple expanse and yet the little shadow gap and every edge that you see it's
18:09just a blade there's a huge amount of expertise and precision and painstaking care here simple forms
18:18simple shapes exquisite execution and craftsmanship that's where the magic comes from all this meticulous
18:27and modest detailing flows a steadying sense of calm and comfort hugo the catch for pep and melina is
18:34that this project was finished in a year by throwing money at it their budget is far more modest
18:46so they've gone for the quickest construction method they can afford
18:50pep and melina are working with a timber frame company who are prefabricating the entire airtight
18:57structure of the house in their factory
19:03and so three short weeks after finishing the foundations oh yeah wow look pep and melina take
19:10delivery of their house look there we go
19:17so far we're on schedule everybody's stuck to their deadlines thankfully speed is important
19:28pep had a recent scan which confirmed her disease is progressing
19:33i have to encourage her not to overdo things because you know if you overdo anything she gets
19:38very tired and it kind of backfires and i've got a good second in command yeah
19:45despite the exhaustion this project gains ever more importance for the pair of them day by day
19:53i can't even put into words how building the house has actually been
19:56something that has kept us going despite type of prognosis is so poor now
20:02yeah it's a it's a positive thing positive force in our life
20:05without further ado the crane begins its aerial ballet correctly placing the 49 prefabricated
20:17sections of the house all right let's get out of the way yeah you make me nervous
20:25just three months after they struck ground pep and melina watch as the first panels are
20:31swung into place with a satisfying speed and efficiency to you cop the milk okay yeah how do you feel
20:39though i'm feeling happy and okay that's all right looking forward to the next stage and thinking about
20:48all the things i'm supposed to be doing right now just go and give a poster good team aren't we so far
20:55it's getting a bit chilly now isn't it do you want to go in i think you should obviously
21:04before she heads in time the one final pep talk you guys are incredible you're doing a great job
21:11can i get you anything no no we're fine we're okay this is exceptionally fast construction
21:18over the next few days the rest of the internal walls and roof structure fly up
21:28but all this positive momentum is flowing against the inevitable progression of pep's cancer
21:37choices and routes forward have become more limited
21:41you know right from the beginning pep and melina were absolutely clear pep was living with a serious
21:48illness and that the pair of them were managing their way through it with of course pep's treatment
21:56for her cancer and buoyed along all the time by a tremendous energy and optimism for the project
22:05however in the last week pep has had one of those meetings with her doctors that any of us would dread
22:16in which she was told that they would be stopping her treatment and they would be moving her to
22:21palliative care now goodness knows how they are and how they can find the emotional and spiritual energy
22:30to deal with that and i can only begin to imagine how it will affect the energy the enthusiasm the hopes
22:43the dreams they've held for this home
22:50pep stays indoors now so i'm meeting melina first to see the house
22:55hey melina how are you i'm good thank you i hope more importantly has pep you know obviously you
23:04know her health is deteriorating she's less outside because she really feels so cold now
23:09it's because i know how much pain she's in how she can just maintain her drive and you know she gets
23:14up in the middle of the night and starts working on the computer that is just remarkable yeah i did ask
23:19whether she regretted starting the build and but you know absolutely not so there's still the viking
23:25spirit here yeah yeah yeah very much i don't know what we would be like if we didn't have this
23:31in our life i honestly i have i don't dare to think about it it's so invigorating but it's also
23:37partly to do with the the ability they are so supportive and they're so motivated i mean they're just so
23:45kind you know it has been a really positive influence in our life yeah this is no ordinary
23:55work site how heartening that the worst of times can bring out the best in builders her story touched
24:03me very much all of the lads who work with me unfortunately have been touched by this themselves
24:09in the last year or so they're working like trojans to make sure we get it done in good time
24:16so that she can get the benefit of it
24:21despite being confined indoors pep is still determined to keep a close eye on works
24:29you must be pleased with progress on the project they're working over the bank holiday the poor guys
24:34are you enjoying it oh i love it yeah it's great heaven yeah it's a great distraction for my illness
24:41it's it's what i've wanted to do for so many years and um also knowing it's going to be there beyond
24:48my life it's the gundenavians saying that when you chop a tree down in sweden you you don't build a
24:55bigger house you build a longer table and that's metaphorically speaking that's what we're doing
25:03here is um building a place for this table for family and friends to be at the idea that you're
25:10building for the generations you know with the memory of ancestors an amazing gift i'm really delighted
25:18that it will give her something to focus on beyond me being here um and and the home more than anything
25:27in the home more than anything you've been living in the home more than anything you need to be
25:44The frenetic pace on site continues with the arrival of the windows.
25:54But for the first time on this project, Pep is unable to muster the strength to witness
26:01such an important milestone as this with her own eyes.
26:05Never have I been more desperate for a house to get finished.
26:14It's summer at Pep and Melina's building site in the Surrey Hills.
26:34For just short of three long years, Pep faced down her cancer diagnosis
26:40with a courage and determination that was inspiring.
26:47But in the closing weeks of spring,
26:54Pep finally reached the end.
27:00So it's five weeks since Pep passed away.
27:05I can't quite believe she's gone because she was so across this project.
27:08It seems also weird to define her in terms of this project.
27:14But of course, that's in her last days what she did.
27:17She drew such energy from this.
27:21And she would have loved, I think, to see it without the scaffolding on now as it is.
27:31It's quiet.
27:33There are no builders.
27:35There's no one here.
27:39Which is a lovely way to see the building, but I have no idea what happens now.
27:46For Pep, the construction of this shared home was a lifelong dream.
27:51One which arguably provided her with the energy and life force
27:55to propel her beyond the time the doctors had given her to live.
27:59Now, it falls to Melina to decide how that dream is realized.
28:11So I've just been up to the house to see Melina,
28:13who, understandably, is taking some time out.
28:20And events, of course, for her are all very raw and very powerful, and it's a hugely difficult time for her.
28:27And yet, you know what's remarkable?
28:31And she describes how Pep, even in her last hours, was still talking about pipe work and
28:40the first fix and the work on the project.
28:43And, I suppose, absolutely consistent with that, the scaffolders struck the scaffolding here for the funeral.
28:52They brought Pep in and they placed her in her wicker coffin in here.
28:57And it was a sort of Viking goodbye in the Viking longhouse.
29:03Right now, there's a quiet time.
29:08Right now is a pause. Right now is just a time to stop.
29:15After taking some time away from the project, time for herself,
29:20Melina has been able to reflect on what the future might mean without Pep by her side.
29:25And she's reached a significant conclusion.
29:32It's extremely important for me to finish the project for Pep's legacy.
29:37But, excuse me, but, yeah, yeah.
29:42But, yeah, I am, you know, I'm gonna make sure that that build gets finished 100%.
29:48But, stepping in to Pep's project managing shoes will not be easy for Melina, who always left the
29:58admin of even the household finances to the accountant, Pep.
30:02I'm not a spreadsheet person. I would say managing builders and, you know, and managing people in
30:08general is not my strongest point. Pep was the driving force, you know, she was thinking big
30:13and had the overview where I just look at each step. And it's been kind of firefighting, to be honest.
30:19Melina's first test of her people management skills hits when she brings in carpenters to put up the ash cladding.
30:28It's an important part of the character of the house. But, more immediately pressing is the financial situation.
30:35At the moment we don't have the funds. This house has to be sold in order to complete the interior of the house.
30:43She finds moving out to a temporary home in the stable block, so the old house is clear for viewings, bittersweet.
30:49We have so many happy memories here. We have been here for 18 years.
30:55It's a lot of destabilizing change in a short space of time.
30:58A few weeks on, Melina isn't happy with the uneven way the cladding has been put up,
31:07so she has to spend precious extra money getting someone else to correct the work.
31:13The scale of her new responsibilities is weighing heavy.
31:18I realized that I'm not able to drive people the way Pepsi could drive a project, and she was such a pro.
31:24And I come more aware of my strengths and my weaknesses in this process.
31:29And I think it's very important to acknowledge that.
31:31Despite her funds running low while she waits for the old house to sell,
31:36Melina has decided to bring in a full-time project manager, Harry,
31:40to establish the momentum needed to finish the house.
31:43It's a little bit different to a normal job. There's a bit more emotion involved in this.
31:48She's a very good friend of our mum's and has done a lot, a lot for mum's.
31:52So, yeah, we want to return the favour.
31:55With professionals and family friends now in charge...
31:58So when do you think you'll be in there?
32:01The whole pace of the build picks back up to a speed Pep would have loved.
32:06The house is now crawling with plasters, carpenters and plumbers, all of whom need to be paid.
32:13The money seems to be going very, very quickly, and I feel like I'm just
32:18paying out thousands, more or less, every day.
32:20But without Pep's iron grip on the budget, who knows what problems lie ahead?
32:25Pep was very strict with her budget, and I have a slightly different attitude to the budget.
32:32I have sort of upped the interior design on the project, which...
32:38Yeah. Sorry, Pep.
32:40Pep. If Melina's design ambitions run away with her, and the old house doesn't sell soon,
32:46inevitably we'll all be hearing Pep's budgetary wise counsel ringing in our ears.
32:51But for now...
32:52Oh, wow.
32:53Melina is taking pleasure in witnessing the design choices which she and Pep shared become a reality.
33:03Sharp shadow gaps are being painstakingly sculpted into a Hugo-inducing sense of calm perfection.
33:10It's all in the day tower, isn't it? Everything's all in the day tower.
33:14And pleasingly wide Douglas fir floorboards from Denmark, which Pep and Melina fell in love with
33:20for their tip-top environmental credentials, are laid by specialist fitters.
33:27So beautiful and so overwhelming.
33:29Yeah.
33:29Come the end of April, the site is looking like a scene of a Viking raid.
33:37But the return of the diggers is a welcome sign that the landscaping is being tackled.
33:43Melina must now be on the home straight, surely.
33:47Well, there's a Viking longhouse, if ever I saw one.
33:53It looks great.
33:55Everything seems as if it's falling into place, as if Melina is doing Pep proud.
34:01In terms of progress, I'm just amazed. Here you are taking the project.
34:08And have you had, by the way, any project management experience before?
34:12No, I haven't. No, no, not at all.
34:14And the handover from Pep to you, was that...?
34:16I didn't get a handover. So I can't even get into a computer, so...
34:21Oh, do you find it altogether stressful?
34:25There's a lot of emotions going on, but it's mainly good ones.
34:31And also, it's part of healing, is to go through the sad moments as well.
34:36I'm guessing, for all kinds of reasons, it's important for you to finish this.
34:40Oh yeah, 100%.
34:41And that's why the building still feels that it's me and Pep who are still in the building.
34:46It doesn't feel like it's my project. It feels like we're still doing it together.
34:50Which is a really lovely, comforting feeling.
34:53When people build, they so often find the experience corrosive of their own energies.
35:03Whereas here, Marina seems kind of energised by what she's doing.
35:11Goodness me, I didn't expect that. And I just really hope that all those energies and drives
35:18kind of carry her over the finishing line gloriously.
35:21Wouldn't that be great? She so deserves it.
35:26Of course, it does raise my expectations.
35:41It's summer in the forest-clad expanse of the Surrey Hills.
35:51And just over a year since Pep passed away.
35:54Time for me to make one last visit.
35:57Gosh, it's going to be someday, I think. A day of rarer emotions and unusual feelings and reflections of some
36:08poignant memories, I think. But nevertheless wonderful, I hope.
36:12When Pep and Melina embarked on building their house based on principles of simplicity,
36:22the hope was that it would go up as quickly as possible so Pep might see it finished.
36:28That wasn't to be. But now Melina has driven it to completion, is this the home she and Pep dreamed it would be?
36:37It goes to show what happens when you take a really, really simple idea and you craft it to perfection.
36:50This building is devoid of ostentation but replete with elegance.
36:56It shows what happens when you make an art of simplicity through flawless, crafted execution.
37:05Oh, hello. Hi. Melina, how are you?
37:08I'm good. Very, very, very good to see you.
37:12And how have you been? Yeah, I've been busy.
37:14Busy finishing the house? Yeah, exactly. It's taken all my life a bit, yeah.
37:18But congratulations. Thank you.
37:20Because it is a sort of seamless, beautifully tailored, modest, powerful thing.
37:26I love it. I actually love it. How long have you been actually living in it?
37:32Only for like a couple of weeks, so it's still a bit surreal to be living in it.
37:37And I have to say the trees are just amazing.
37:40This tree, however, at the front, that's an altogether more complex thing.
37:44Yes, it reflected on the tree of life, which is a tree that's called in Nordic mythology called Yggdrasil.
37:54It's the sort of tree of the universe. And once the plaque said...
37:57It will miss its pet for me. It basically says, now feasting with the gods at Valhalla.
38:04I want to feel something positive from it, rather than sadness.
38:08Yes, exactly. Yeah, and...
38:10Yeah, well, that tree and that house are doing the same thing.
38:11Yeah. Yeah. Come on, that's going on. OK.
38:15I can't wait. I really can't. OK, let's show you.
38:19Come in, Kevin.
38:22Oh, and that view.
38:24It's just a very pleasant thing to look at when you walk through the entrance and...
38:29Isn't it just? Yeah, it's better than a painting.
38:32At the far end of this compact house are a guest bedroom, a bathroom,
38:37and for Vikings who like to do their admin, a home office.
38:42Oh, so good. I'm aware, of course, that all these rooms are preparation for the big act,
38:48the main chapter of the building, which is here.
38:51This is the Viking Hall.
38:56It is.
38:58It's a Viking Hall like you've never seen one, because it's perfect and crystalline.
39:06The spirit soars in here, doesn't it?
39:08Mm.
39:08The whole thing about Hugo is you'll feel comfortable and cosy.
39:14And it's like a big tent stretched out over a shared space.
39:19It's lovely.
39:20It is a space filled with all the Scandinavian-designed furniture and fittings
39:26which Pep and Melina collected over the years,
39:29alongside a new, neat kitchen area with a lavish marble top.
39:33So when we designed the kitchen, you know, Pep wanted a window seat so that, you know,
39:38she could watch me cooking and, you know, have a glass of wine and just, you know,
39:41as a kind of being together and do the cooking.
39:44So that's why the, you know, the window seat is very important, yeah.
39:48That's why she's sitting on the window seat.
39:49That's her place, yeah.
39:50Yeah, she is.
39:51Bless her.
39:51Yeah.
39:52Let me show you this, Kevin.
39:54So this is Pep's notebook and it's quite special.
39:58Oh, my Lord, it's got all her notes.
39:59Initial ideas, nothing superfluous, nothing pretentious.
40:05Love it.
40:06Yeah, she would sit at night and start writing things in that book.
40:09Her dream started off just by being building a house.
40:12Yeah.
40:12But it became a lot more because she spoke about this dream for 20 odd years.
40:18I'm going to say you did it too.
40:20Yeah, I did my.
40:21Because you really, you picked up the mantle.
40:23Mm.
40:24You picked up everything and you, you're still driving it.
40:29You're still, you're still, you've still got, you've got the energy for two now.
40:35The interior design plan, which Pep and Melina worked on together over so many late night
40:41conversations, has been beautifully executed by Melina, evident not least in the most private
40:48of spaces, the main bedroom, full of fine detail and accompanied by an elegant en suite.
40:55Oh, my God, I'm going to get no pressure, don't I?
40:59Huh?
41:00OK.
41:02The house was conceived with feasting and entertaining in mind, especially as Pep was
41:07one of 11 siblings.
41:10Three of her sisters are also seeing the house for the first time.
41:14Cheers.
41:15Cheers.
41:15Cheers.
41:16Cheers.
41:16I think we're all very proud of what Pep and Melina have achieved.
41:21Oh, I think Petra would be absolutely delighted.
41:25We're extremely proud of Melina.
41:28It's a really testament to a Viking spirit, I suppose.
41:32Yeah.
41:33Yes, didn't it?
41:33Yes.
41:34Yes.
41:35Yes.
41:35Yes.
41:35Yes.
41:36Richly deserved praise.
41:40I can't think of a more fitting testament to a life fully lived than this wonderfully modest
41:46home, originally budgeted to cost 550,000 pounds.
41:52So take me through the big numbers.
41:55Do you know how much the project costs to complete?
41:58Yes.
41:58So the end figure of the project is just under 750,000 pounds.
42:05Does selling the old house, paying off your debts, does that get you to a point
42:09where you can comfortably live here?
42:10Yes, it does.
42:12So, you know, that's a lot riding on it.
42:15Did you ever think, actually, I'm not going to finish this?
42:18Did you ever think, actually, maybe it's a good idea to walk away from it?
42:22I actually have felt that the, you know, the project has kind of, you know, kept me going
42:29and given me a purpose.
42:30A feeling of immense pride of what Pep and I have achieved together.
42:35And also I got a lot of strength from seeing Pep's determination in the last few months of her life.
42:42I mean, you know, you learn new things about each other at the time of adversity.
42:47And to see that sort of inner strength when literally you're coming to the end of your life
42:53and just see that, you know, her ability just to keep going.
42:57Keep going.
42:58Mm, every day, every minute, you know, planning the next thing to the point that the last entry
43:05in her book was four days before she died.
43:06And she'd go, like, stainless steel nails for the cladding.
43:11She wanted to remind me, don't forget, it has to be stainless steel nails.
43:16I mean, I was like, can you, I mean, that, and I think that really shows what she was like.
43:22Stainless steel nails for the cladding kind of also describe her spirit, you know,
43:27as being stainless steel.
43:28Stainless steel.
43:29Absolutely, that's the determination, you know.
43:37From being a dream home, suddenly the building has become a place for healing.
43:44And a sanctuary, there's something, the energy there is very, very special.
43:54And I have to say it's completely changed, you know, me inside as a person in how I feel.
44:05And I think that, you know, that now the house is not going to be a home for me and Pep
44:11as a couple for the rest of our life, I feel very strongly that it will become a place for
44:18healing and sanctuary, not just for me, but for Pep's family and for the people who come into my life.
44:24I think that's really, really special, you know.
44:33It's at this point that I would normally wax lyrical about the building.
44:37But in this instance, I think we should leave the final word to its co-creator, Pep.
44:46I do love this book.
44:48And there is a sort of introduction at the front.
44:52And this was written four years ago, so three months after she'd received her terminal diagnosis.
44:59And she says,
44:59Who would have ever known the passing of events since this bound book was gifted to me?
45:07My sister has suggested I fill it with all my aspirations, dreams and goals.
45:13Well, I will use it to write all my ideas for one of my dreams.
45:19And that is to build a home with a heart for Melina and I.
45:29And were she still here?
45:37I think there's one thing that Pep might have added.
45:41And that is,
45:43and we built it together.
45:44So you are knocking down a fake castle to build a fake castle?
46:05No, it's a 21st century castle.
46:07It's really daunting.
46:09Everything is bigger than I thought it would be.
46:12How does that look?
46:13It's probably going to hit that.
46:15Let's bring it back out.
46:17Give me the figure, total budget.
46:18I think we'll be over seven.
46:20Seven.
46:20That's seven million?
46:21Yeah.
46:22Bloody hellfire.
46:28Support information for the issues raised can be found online at channel4.com slash support.
46:35And Kevin talks more about tonight's home with a heart and the people behind it in Grand Designs Deconstructed.
46:41He's with Greg on 4-7 next tonight.
46:45Next here, Phil Spencer and New Zealand's best homes.
46:48He's with Greg on 4-7 next tonight.
46:49He's with Greg on 4-7 next tonight.
46:51He's with Greg on 4-7 next tonight.
46:52He's with Greg on 4-7 next tonight.
46:53He's with Greg on 4-7 next tonight.
46:54He's with Greg on 4-7 next tonight.
46:54He's with Greg on 4-7 next tonight.
46:55He's with Greg on 4-7 next tonight.
46:55He's with Greg on 4-7 next tonight.
46:56He's with Greg on 4-7 next tonight.
46:57He's with Greg on 4-7 next tonight.
46:58He's with Greg on 4-7 next tonight.
46:59He's with Greg on 4-7 next tonight.
47:00He's with Greg on 4-7 next tonight.
47:01He's with Greg on 4-7 next tonight.
47:02He's with Greg on 4-7 next tonight.
47:03He's with Greg on 4-7 next tonight.
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