Grandad Left With Bill Worth Thousands As Influencers Keep Standing Outside His Home

Instagram and social media influences have risen through the ranks of society. And while they often serve a purpose from time to time, they can also be a nuisance. Recently, a pastel pink home of a grandfather in London went through thousands of pounds worth of damage. Why? Well, it is because the social media stars decided to use this man’s home as their personal photoshoot hotspot. Peter Lee, the 77-year-old fashion designer has had to cater to scores of families, ballerinas, and influencers flocking by his house to take pictures. His house is located in a posh area- the Kensington Palance in West London. But does it give anyone the right to encroach upon his privacy? Absolutely not.

The fashion designer stated that although he felt quite detached from the entire idea in the beginning, the rapidly increasing expenses were definitely not part of the deal. He recently had to repair the cracked tiles that decorate his house worth 2 million pounds. And as it turned out, this was the first time he had to repair it- after staying here for almost 44 years. Mr. Lee is of the opinion that the cracks have been caused by visitors that perform acrobatics in order to attain the perfect shot for their Instagram. He also managed to catch a few of them on the camera attached to his doorbell.[1] 

Influencers Have Been flocking To Mr. Lee’s Outside To Take Pictures

Quite recently, Mr. Lee found an influencer in a neon pink two-piece holding herself up on the rails lining the stairs. After that, she did splits in the air for the camera. She also had her group of friends along with her- who were continuously egging her to take that perfect shot. The entire acrobatic movement would have looked quite impressive- if they didn’t perform it on someone’s staircase. And this Instagrammer isn’t the only one! There are many social media stars that loiter around for hours. In fact, students from a nearby ballet school also stand before the house to take their end-of-year pictures in their ballet uniform. 

Mr. Lee does feel quite flummoxed about the entire situation. He stated, “I don’t know what they’re doing, blogs on their websites? One girl sat out there for half a day on her own. She put her phone in the middle of the street, took photos of herself against the house, and then ran back to grab the phone when a car came. I normally just watch them on the screen, but I had to go down and say ‘Did you get what you wanted? You’ve been out there for half a day.’”

We do agree that the expensive house does look quite photogenic. The two-bed house is all pink and surrounded by black iron railings. There are black tiles that lead up to the porch. He also hung beautiful potted plants from white latticed windows. The entire house is quite picturesque- something the influencers have been taking advantage of. 

While The Old Man Doesn’t Care About The Caterwauling Outside His House

The 77-year-old fashion designer mentions: “There are some outside right now, I wish you could see them, there’s a whole family having their photos taken on my top step. If you had been standing here now you would have seen a whole family, they’ve gone now. I’m just waiting for the next ones. Sometimes I wait until they’ve gone to go outside.” One can simply imagine the troubles this old man is going through. He has to wait for others to leave so he can exit his own home! Sometimes, the grandfather also had to watch as models came up in large crews to shoot outside his house. Some of them even had their tents pitched up where they changed. [2]

A group of models shooting outside his house also left their clothes outside his garage. “They were nice clothes: I gave them to my granddaughter, she was quite happy to receive them, they were too good to give to the charity shop. I left a note on the railings saying I have the clothes inside, so I did the right thing. I think they had been doing so many photoshoots they forgot where they left the clothes which I was surprised at, the clothes weren’t cheap and they were brand new with labels.” While the old fashion designer doesn’t seem to be too troubled with the traveling hordes of models, the damages to his tiles are a whole deal altogether.[3] 

But He Does Have A Grudge For The Broken Tiles

“Girls with high heels are probably cursing damage to the steps- I did see one girl in heels jumping up and down flinging her arms up in the air. I was watching from the living room and thought that stupid girl is going to be damaging my tiles- I went outside afterward and saw two tiles were cracked. They’re strong enough for walking but not jumping.”

Nevertheless, Mr. Lee isn’t blaming the influencers outright. He is simply lamenting the damages done to something he was quite possessive about- and rightfully so! “They could have been cracked from somebody delivering the washing machine, I can’t totally put it down to the girls dancing up and down the steps. Breaking the tiles is a nuisance, but it’s done. These tiles should last a lifetime. As you can see from the photographs I’m very finickity about every detail. It’s going to cost thousands of pounds to replace the steps, and I can’t get the old-fashioned tiles. The modern version of the tiles is so thin, that they look rubbish. And it’s still 2,500 pounds to do ten steps. They just do not look good, when you have a period house it’s the little details that matter. I want to keep it authentic.” Honestly, how much will we disturb and break for the sake of social media?

Keep Reading: Young Influencers Filing Down Their Teeth For The ‘Perfect Smile.’ Dentists Warn They’ll Need Dentures By The Time They’re 40

Sources

1. “Grandad left with bill worth thousands as influencers keep standing outside his home.” LAD Bible. Claire Reid. August 16, 2022.
2. “Influencers cause thousands in damages after flocking to a Grandad’s London home.” Indy100. Greg Evans.
3. “Grandad faces a huge repair bill as influencers keep taking selfies on his doorstep.” Mirror. Liam Buckler. August 12, 2022.