Curated vintage goods, home décor and handmade items fill CK Design Co. The clean aesthetic of white walls with pops of color is what owner and interior designer Courtney Ghee knew she wanted for the items as well as a photo backdrop. Ghee’s grand opening of her shop was February 25 and 26 and after a few setbacks (like not passing inspection because of a sprinkler too close to the wall) she said she’s ready to add a new niche to the vintage market in Des Moines, already saturated industry.

Photos by Chelsey Kimmel-Kendrick

“I got really into renovating, and I love the Fixer-Upper show and Joanna Gaines. I’ve met her a couple times and she was inspiring. She didn’t have a degree in interior design, and my degree wasn’t either, but I was still going to go for it.”

“I’m an interior designer still, so I still do design jobs. For the last year, I’ve predominately done new construction, so I work with people who are building a new house. We pick everything from their countertops to flooring to doorknobs.”

“I like that when you come to my store you feel like you’re shopping at a house, and you don’t have to dig through things; it’s not just laid out on a table everywhere.”

“I feel like I’m bringing a new type of store to Des Moines. We have a lot of vintage stores, but I want to offer something different.”