The journey of discovery continues: In the apartment he decorated for a client, Ben Sander used sparkly vintage Weiser acrylic doorknobs throughout. With just a wee bit of searching, I found they were designed by Ruth Richmond — a interior designer and general contractor whose company Richmond Homes built more than 12,000 homes in Sarasota and environs from the 1950s through the 1970s.
Another story about an impressive midcentury designing woman — and about a product that we must. start. hoarding. collecting. now.
The inside knob rotates and recesses to lock the outer knob. You’ll notice that the outer knob has a small hole drilled in the center of it. That’s how you unlock it in an emergency.
When we were planning the doorknob switch, I considered these knobs from Rejuvenation. They have the same feel, just without the golden nugget.
Where to find vintage Ruth Richmond for Weiser door knobs — both are ebay affiliate links:
Check out completed sales on eBay. You might find some more inspiration to change your knobs…
So jealous my 1940s house in Maryland didn’t come with these!
You’ve made my day. I purchased a set of the drawer pulls years ago from an architectural salvage place to bring some life to my 1959 kitchen cabinets. Since I put them on 7 years ago, I have gotten so many comments about them, both positive and negative. I am two short and have been thinking of having a glass blower replicate them, but thanks to your informative article, I can see that they are available.
Thanks, Retro Renovation, for covering the story and thanks, Ruth Richmond, for designing these awesome knobs.
Yay!
I accidently came across these doorknobs when performing a search for mid-century doorknobs, to replace a few in a 1960’s condo, that didn’t match. I ended up bidding and winning 10 sets of the gold nugget flake knobs and ended up replacing every doorknob in the place. I paid $125.00 on eBay, and after a little cleaning, they looked perfect in this mid-century condo. They installed easy and the tenant loves them too. I recently saw 36 sets of drawer pull knobs in the same gold flake design, but was outbid at the last second. I think I am becoming hooked on Ruth Weiser Richmond, and the various knobs she made . Can’t wait to see some of the houses she designed!
Just closed on a house full of these knobs. We are keeping at least for now. We live in Oregon. No idea how they ended up here.