Downtown Des Moines

Located in downtown Des Moines, West End Architectural Salvage is 4 floors of architectural & design bliss. They carry everything from antique furniture to vintage lights, hardware & building materials, architectural moldings, and stained glass. They also have a coffee shop on the main floor with plenty of seating where they host parties and other special events. I could have spent days looking through everything!

Also located downtown is the new John and Mary Pappajohn sculpture garden, which features 16 sculptures that were previously located in the Pappajohn's yard!

During my visit, my mom surprised my sister and I with tickets to the musical Wicked, which we absolutely loved. Iowa often gets stereotyped as being nothing but farmland, but as you can see, Des Moines is a very culturally diverse city that has an appreciation for the arts and a great sense of community. Design*Sponge recently posted a very comprehensive city guide to Des Moines which I definitely recommend checking out if you're wondering about the best shopping, eating, and entertainment in the city. Des Moines has all of the amenities of a larger city without the traffic and is a great place to raise a family. And although I'm partial, I think people from the midwest are some of the nicest people around.