7 Vintage Decor Shops in the Midwest Worth Traveling For

When it comes to vintage decor, every item has a tale—made even more personal when it's been procured during your travels—and the Midwest is brimming with curated vintage stores that deserve a look (or a second, or a third). Whether you're searching for midcentury decor à la Mad Men or seeking out quirky conversation pieces to add to your collection, you're covered with these seven destinations.

Urban Mining Vintage Market, Kansas City, Missouri

Some vintage shops are so carefully curated they're only open for a small window of time each month. Urban Mining Vintage Market in the heart of Kansas City is one of those places, open first Friday weekends of each month. If you're looking for hard-to-find vintage pieces, like a velvet channeled sofa or a Danish walnut chair, this 3,000-square-foot paradise is where to go, especially if you're a genuine midcentury devotee.

Woolly Mammoth, Chicago

Medical charts? Death masks? A giant papier-mâché King Kong? Yup, it's all here, located in a deceptively diminutive storefront on Foster Avenue. Woolly Mammoth is a little like Chicago's Field Museum come to life, namely through taxidermy, skeletons and other curiosities. It's vintage shopping that isn't for the faint of heart, geared toward those who desire the-opposite-of-boring spaces.

The Petrichor Market, Grand Rapids, Michigan

The Petrichor Market is a trove of vintage treasures, like 1970s-era beaded necklaces, antique oil paintings and leather purses, plus a few modern conveniences with an old-school twist. Buying vintage is already an eco-friendly practice, but to add to the store's green nature, it's also a "refillery," which means you can bring a container from home to fill with shampoo, body wash, laundry detergent or multi-purpose cleaner and pay by the ounce.

BC Modern, Milwaukee

If you're after big-ticket midcentury items like sofas, coffee tables, sideboards or cabinets, you'll likely find them at BC Modern. Owner Eric Lewis meticulously searches for each piece of furniture and retro artwork sold in the shop, now located in a new, larger space in Bay View. Can't make it to Milwaukee? The website offers online shopping.

Antique Archaeology, LeClaire, Iowa

Mike Wolfe of American Pickers fame has his renowned storefront in LeClaire, right on the Mississippi River by the Iowa border. Antique Archaeology is ideal for those who want to bring home slices of bygone Americana or tough-to-track-down collectibles. It'll be like walking right into an episode of the History Channel show, complete with salvaged motorcycles, refurbished industrial lights and the coolest neon signs you've ever seen.

Hunt & Gather, Minneapolis

Twin Cities locals know all about Hunt & Gather, and die-hards shop here often. With an exterior bedecked in technicolor light-up letters, the store astounds with how much they can pack into two levels. It all errs on the side of quirky—a dizzying array of squee ceramic figurines, paint-by-number works, crystal chandeliers and sizable statues. Calling themselves "a vintage amusement store," it's a veritable playground for anyone who adores vintage.

Tesoro Casegoods and Oddities, Des Moines

Lovingly curated by owner Rudy Rodriguez, Tesoro Casegoods and Oddities in downtown Des Moines is a trove of stunning midcentury furnishings. This is where you go for "the good stuff," the chairs and tables that are in perfect condition and steal the show in any room. Rodriguez "lives and breathes vintage furniture," and it shows in his offerings. Want to make an entire vintage-themed trip of it? The store has its own midcentury Airbnb upstairs. Nicknamed "the Tesoro penthouse," the loft contains exceptional Danish modern furniture along with a freshly remodeled kitchen and a contemporary mural.