Help Your Shelves

Donovan typically starts with an antique seascape, which she often reframes. A jar of crafts store feathers elongates the tableau, while a scrimshaw replica and letter in an antique flower frog create balance.

Antique rope knots and part of an old ring-toss game give weight to ethereal glass bottles; dried Queen Anne’s lace and a knot-tying guide, held with a vintage curtain push pin, add height.

Reimagine a damaged flea market painting by displaying a snippet in an oval frame. An old hand-line fishing reel, a bottle on a vintage-book perch, and an eBay sea fan follow the frame’s curves.

Donovan was thrilled to find this unusual ship-and-dories scene, shown with a wooden buoy, Japanese fishing float, and silver dish. “Put the right knickknacks in a group setting and it works,” she says.