illie Holloman and Susan
Covington have recreated the Murphy
bed, the portable, walled, fold-away bed
invented in 1916 that later became the
object of many a comedian’s slapstick skit.
No joke, Millie Holloman, a busy portrait, wedding and fine
art photographer, tucks herself into her Murphy bed at night.
Each morning after her feet hit the floor, she secures the mattress
on a palette-style contraption behind a custom-crafted cabinet.
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WBM october 2010
On the exterior doors, coated with layers of blackboard paint, she
chalks up a to-do list for her crew.
With so much ample floor space, Holloman’s bedroom doubles
as a packing room, where finished and framed portraits are crated,
boxed and labeled for pick up and delivery.
The room is sparsely furnished for this reason — just a distressed
wooden cabinet custom designed by Covington and
fabricated in her Wrightsville Avenue warehouse shop around
the corner from Holloman’s circa 1911 Nun Street bungalow, a
home of distinction