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The New Kensington House
This house was built by Pennsylvania artisan Paul Bronder sometime in the early 1980s. I named it The New Kensington in honor of my father and his parents - one of whom, my grandmother, died before I was born. My Dad grew up in New Kensington, which is close to where Paul Bronder built and sold his homes. My father and I drove to the Pittsburg area in August of 2023 to pick up the dollhouse and to visit my aunt and cousin who we had not seen in several years. It was on that drive that I learned my grandparents never owned a home.
It took more than two years to complete the renovations after several stops and starts. While I still have a few more finishes touches to do, I am considering this house complete for now. Please view the photo gallery at the bottom of this page to view the completed rooms.
Before Renovations
Before renovations begin
The first order of business, after vacuuming and wiping the interior down, was to remove the carpeting on the stairs. It was badly worn. After removing the carpet, I decided the stairs had to go to. They were not well made and there was no way to use them as-is. Upon the advice of another Paul Bronder house owner, I intend to place "faux" staircases in the back hallways on the first and second floor so that the family room has more space for furniture.
The electric needed upgrading too. I had originally hoped to keep the wallpaper because it was in good shape, but in order to run new electric I decided I needed to gut the interior.
Bonus! When my hubby took off the back so I could get to the electric, we found some Shopkins. Lol.
All wires, bulbs, and fixtures were removed from the back and the interior. The new electric system will be Cir-Kit foil tape wire. I may also reinstall small LED lights to backlight the windows if I find a way to it all on the same wiring system. Mr. Bronder had used very creative methods of combining the house wiring and the candlelabara lights. I did not feel it was safe.
Interior paper partially removed.
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