Photos by David B. Moore Vintage doorknobs are available in a range of materials and styles. Shown here, clockwise from top center: a hollow brass knob revealing several layers of paint; a mixed-metal knob; a white porcelain design; a pair of clear glass knobs with scalloped edges from the 1800s; a flat-face glass knob; two metal knobs, circa late 19th century, from Eastern Europe; a French gilded model from the 1860s; a pair of white milk glass knobs; two sets of glass knobs from the mid- to late 1800s.

If you want to make a subtle but impressive decorating statement, consider vintage doorknobs. Once known as “jewelry for buildings,” these gems are experiencing a comeback, and their history is as fascinating as their diversity.

Allen Joslyn, a spokesman for Antique Doorknob Collectors of America in Chatham, New Jersey, says that because people had more wealth after the Civil War they started investing significantly in their homes, adding such touches as decorative doorknobs. These embellishments can be found in porcelain, onyx, crystal, sculptured metals, wood, minerals or precious stones.

Some crystal knobs have a mercury star inside that causes the glass to turn a brilliant purple if left in the sun, says Kendra Vermeer, owner of Sage, a home-decor shop in Phoenix. This style commonly is referred to as Sun Purple. She adds that figural knobs—metal doorknobs with sculpted faces of animals or women—are extremely rare. These unusual finds can cost $350 a pair, according to Vermeer.

Vintage doorknobs often are incorporated in the restoration of historic homes and can help return them to their original state, comments Jon Douglas, co-owner of Phoenix-based Figs Home & Garden. Interior designer Beth McGehee of Studio B in Scottsdale kept the original vintage doorknobs in a historic residence she restored in Phoenix. “I had all the doors with the original hardware and just refinished them,” she says. If you cannot purchase matching knobs, the designer suggests finding the same pattern in different materials, such as a rosette in milk glass, brass and cut crystal; or achieve an eclectic look by putting a different style of knob on each door.

Manufactured in the 1930s, these knobs are made of black clay, also known as ebony. They are shown with vintage brass Art Deco-style faceplates.

Finding and fitting vintage doorknobs can be challenging as well as time-consuming, and it may be cost-prohibitive to turn them into functioning knobs when refinishing costs are added in, both Douglas and McGehee note. As an alternative, old knobs can be showcased as decorative accents such as hooks. Mount them onto a board to hang in a hall or entry for coats and purses, in a bathroom for towels, or on the backs of doors for robes. Experts even suggest repurposing them as drawer pulls or curtain tiebacks.

Both Douglas and Vermeer like the look of knobs displayed in a bowl, or in a line on a table. “I’ve got a huge wooden bowl full of these great doorknobs, and people just love to pick them up and look at them and feel them,” Vermeer says. She also has transformed doorknobs into hose guides in the garden by welding the knobs onto metal posts.