Jump to content

Duracraft Newberg


Darby

Recommended Posts

My daughter was gifted a beautiful dollhouse. I have no idea what I should do or how to go about remodeling. 

I've just today found out the dollhouse is a Duracraft Newberg and that the company is no longer in business. The door is missing to the dollhouse and I don't know how common it is to find another one for this model. 

I wanted to do a complete remodeling to the dollhouse and change the first floor, staircase location, windows and front door to match. I wanted to liven up the house but finding out it is a vintage home I don't want to ruin its uniqueness. 

What should I do?!! 

image.jpeg

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

while it was a vintage kit....refurbishing will not take away its value and depending on what you plan for it...

as for the door you can make your own or probably replace with something from Miniatures.com or Hobby Lobby...just measure the door and start looking..

there is nothing wrong about wanting to make the house your own! enjoy!  I built this house for my niece many yrs ago....nice to see another getting a new spin on life!!

 

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hello Carmen, I second what Nutti said. The kits are usually sold for less than $100 on ebay (I got one for $48 a few months ago)- so you are not decreasing the value by fixing it up. Those kits were mass-produced, so even being vintage and discontinued did not really increase its value. In actuality, it's more the opposite.

A lot of us are sinking a lot of hours and money into those kits (whether new or refurbish) which will influence the 'monetary' value of a house - however, building/renovating one, giving it your personal touch, putting in your blood,sweat, and tears - is what will make up the value for you.

Read some of the entries here in the forum about building, renovating, and who sells what - that should give you a good start to decide what to do with the house.

Have fun!

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Making your own replacement door isn't all that difficult.  If you go with a replacement component from Houseworks, I believe they come with their own trim, so if you did need to tweak the opening a bit and remove the old trim, it wouldn't be a disaster.

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thank you so much on your thoughts! I have been going on miniatures.com and hobbylobby.com finding replacement parts and parts I would like to add. I'm super excited to start buying and building! 

My husband thinks I'm crazy because he knows how detailed I am. I think this will be a great new hobby for me and possibly continuing! 

 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, Darby said:

Thank you so much on your thoughts! I have been going on miniatures.com and hobbylobby.com finding replacement parts and parts I would like to add. I'm super excited to start buying and building! 

My husband thinks I'm crazy because he knows how detailed I am. I think this will be a great new hobby for me and possibly continuing! 

This is definitely a hobby for the detail-oriented.

  • Like 1
  • Haha 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 9 months later...

I actually have this exact same dollhouse. My dad built it for me for Christmas when I was a child (in early/mid 90s). It wasn't finished out, meaning it didn't have all the plastic in the windows for the glass and did not have a door either. In fact, it wasn't painted nor did it have any inside flooring or decor. I eventually painted it light pink a few years later and applied brick-like printed fabric on the bottom of the house. Over the years, I used whatever dollhouse and miniature items I found at Michael's and the Dollar Tree to furnish it. Now, over 20 years later, I'm interested in decorating it like a real house just for a fun project. As for the door, I'm sure you could find something or even construct something. Most craft dollhouses from the 90s and before are very similar in size. My dad made me a dog house out of the left over wood when he made the house that Christmas. Hope you have fun! 

Edited by laurafrances
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 months later...

The real value of any dollhouse is to you or your 'family', and it comes from the time and love you put into it... Ebay doesn't care but anyone your dollhouse touches will care... so make the house your own and make it a reflection of your dream for it.  Besides, it isn't really yours until you change it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 4 years later...

I built the Newburg and the Ashley Mansions back in the 90's i did 3 Ashley Mansions and 2 Newburg was looking for them for years after only to now find out the ones that made them is gone.  very sad about that, all i have left is the Ashley assembly instructions

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 12/29/2016 at 5:21 PM, Darby said:

Thank you so much on your thoughts! I have been going on miniatures.com and hobbylobby.com finding replacement parts and parts I would like to add. I'm super excited to start buying and building! 

My husband thinks I'm crazy because he knows how detailed I am. I think this will be a great new hobby for me and possibly continuing! 

 

Ha! That’s how it starts! Welcome to the tribe! :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...