Home sweet home for less than $2,000

Springfield's most notable resident is re-locating to Arizona where a friend has been furnishing his new home with items purchased at a thrift shop.

http://www.gvnews.com/lifestyle/talk-of-the-town-home-sweet-home-for-less-than/article_f7058d8a-f8f1-11e0-ae57-001cc4c03286.html

TALK OF THE TOWN: Home sweet home for less than $2,000


Photos by Regina Ford, Green Valley News
Ready, set, relax

Peggy and Gunnar Bonthron will welcome their friend Edgar May to Green Valley after helping to outfit his new home with furniture and other househod items purchased at the Country Fair White Elephant.
test4Ready-made home

Regina Ford photo
Ready-made home

Country Fair White Elephant volunteers Nancy Quinn (left) and Joan Daidone admire the decor in the home furnished by Peggy Bonthron (center) with items purchased almost exclusively from the white Elephant thrift store.

Posted: Monday, October 17, 2011 11:52 am

TALK OF THE TOWN: Home sweet home for less than $2,000 By Regina Ford, Green Valley News Green Valley News & Sun and The Sahuarita Sun | 0 comments

We really do have an extraordinary collection of local residents who sincerely care for one another in our communities of Green Valley and Sahuarita. I received a phone call the other day from Karen Morales, the Country Fair White Elephant general manager, who informed me that one loyal White Elephant customer was furnishing a home for a friend moving to Green Valley from Springfield, Vt.

I checked out her tip, and I’m glad I did.

Green Valley resident and White Elephant thrift store fan Peggy Bonthron has done plenty of shopping recently, but not for herself. She set out to furnish the new home of soon-to-be Green Valley resident Edgar May (with his blessing, of course) and spent less than $2,000, creating a beautiful ready-to-live in residence. Peggy is a thrifty one, indeed. In fact, she only shelled out $1,901 to decorate the entire home and almost everything was purchased at the White Elephant. Pretty impressive, I’d say.

Peggy did splash out on brand new mattresses and bed frames, of course.

Peggy says she visited the thrift store almost every day it was open, stopping by to check the merchandise, sometimes twice-a-day to see if anything new came off the truck.

I got a sneak preview the other day of Edgar’s new home and I have to say, Peggy has quite a talent for interior design. Her husband, Gunnar, was there too, as were several of the White Elephant volunteers who assisted Peggy with her purchases and wanted to view the finished interior.

Peggy showed me a beautiful lamp she paid only $18 for as well as a bedroom dresser and mirror for under $50. The leather sofa cost $75. I wish I’d seen it!

Peggy’s wall hangings and pictures were just the added touch the place needed to feel like home. She added touches of the Southwest, but kept hints of the East Coast to remind Edgar of his Vermont roots.

Edgar, 83, enjoys riding his bike and Peggy even found a miniature decorative bike and a larger two-wheel cousin as accent pieces on an end table.

Well done, Peggy! You’ll have to let me know his reaction when Edgar sees his new home.

Edgar, by the way, has quite a background himself. Not only is he a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, but he served 16 years in the Vermont state House (House and Senate) and is among the state’s most notable residents. In 2009, U.S. Rep. Peter Welch, D-Vt., honored Edgar in a speech on the House floor.

Edgar was also the visionary force behind the Edgar May Health and Recreation Center, a non-profit community organization committed to promoting healthy lifestyles, and he was a top administrator in the Peace Corps.

Welcome to the neighborhood, Edgar!