Shutter BoysPlantation shutters in West Des Moines
Homes in West Des Moines
West Des Moines's 34,006 homes are a mix: 46% detached houses, 42% apartments or units in buildings of two or more homes and 12% townhouses and other attached houses.
Much of West Des Moines is new: 39% of homes were built 2000 or later, and only 28% before 1980. The median home dates from 1994. 57% of homes are lived in by their owners.
Of the 11 Iowa cities we have census figures for, West Des Moines has some of the newest homes and the third-highest share of apartments. In nearby Des Moines, 9 miles away, 70% of homes were built before 1980, so West Des Moines's windows are on the whole newer. Nationally, West Des Moines's homes are newer than those in 77% of the 881 US cities we have census figures for.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024. Estimates carry margins of error.
Shallow openings
39% of homes were built in 2000 or later. Newer windows are often set close to the room side of the wall, and handles, cranks and alarm sensors stick out into the space a louver swings through. Measure the depth to the glass and to anything that sticks out; the designer checks it against the louver size you pick.
Rounded drywall corners
72% of homes here were built from 1980 on, and many houses of that era have rounded ("bullnose") drywall corners around the windows instead of square returns. A shutter can't sit flat against a curve: choose an outside mount with a frame that clears the corner, or an inside mount if the flat part of the opening is deep enough for your louvers.
Apartments and condos
42% of homes are in buildings of two or more units. Balcony and patio doors suit bypass or bifold panels rather than hinged ones, which need floor space to swing. Check what your HOA or building allows to show from outside before you order: most rules are about the colour seen through the glass.
A whole house in West Des Moines
The most common home in West Des Moines has two bedrooms: 37% of homes. 25% have four bedrooms or more, and 15% have one or none. The median home has 5.2 rooms.
Detached houses are the most common kind of home here. Across the US, the middle home among detached houses has 10 to 15 windows (EIA, 2020). Shuttering that many windows at a typical bedroom-window size comes to roughly $3,200 to $6,000. For scale, that's about 1.5% of the median home value here, $309,000 (owners’ estimates, 2020–2024).
Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 (bedrooms B25041, rooms B25018, value B25077); U.S. Energy Information Administration, Residential Energy Consumption Survey 2020, Table HC2.1 (windows). EIA RECS 2020, Table HC2.1
A typical home10–15 windows
All of them shuttered$3,200 to $6,000
Every window priced as a 36 × 48 in opening in our basic build (flat moulding, paint stage 1, 3½ in louvers), before tax and shipping. Your windows will differ; the designer prices each one.
Price your own windowsWorking from home
19% of workers here worked from home in the 2020–2024 survey years, more than in 71% of the 881 US cities we have figures for. Glare on a screen comes from direct sun and bright sky behind or beside it. Louvers tilted up throw daylight at the ceiling instead, so the room stays bright and the screen stays readable; wider louvers give the clearest view when you open them.
Young children at home
6.2% of people in West Des Moines are under five, more than in 67% of the 881 US cities we have figures for. Shutters have no cords or chains at all: the louvers tilt with a rod or by hand, so there's nothing to hang within a child's reach. US rules for cords on custom blinds and shades are still being rewritten; ours never had any.
One room at a time
Homes here cost less than in 67% of the 881 US cities we have figures for, and many owners do a house in stages. Start with the rooms where light and privacy matter most, usually bedrooms and the street-facing front, and keep the same louver size and colour so later rooms match. Your saved design keeps every size.
Ages (B01001), working from home (B08301) and value (B25077): U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-year estimates, 2020–2024. Rankings compare the US cities we have figures for.
West Des Moines weather and your shutters
At Des Moines Intl AP, IA (7 mi away), July averages a high of 85.6°F and January a low of 13.8°F. Average highs reach 85°F in July and average lows sit at or below freezing from November to March.
About 22 days a year reach 90°F, 128 nights fall to freezing and 37.5 inches of precipitation falls, most of it around June and least in January.
That's more freezing nights than in 83% of the 881 US cities we have climate normals for.
Daylight runs from 15 h 11 min on the longest day to 9 h 10 min on the shortest, and the midday sun stands 72° above the horizon in June and 25° in December.
Source: NOAA U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020, Des Moines Intl AP, IA (temperature) and Clive 1.2 E, IA (precipitation, 4 mi away). Daylight and sun height: calculated from the city’s latitude.
Monthly figures
| Month | Average high | Average low | Precipitation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 30.9°F | 13.8°F | 1 in |
| Feb | 35.7°F | 18°F | 1.3 in |
| Mar | 49.2°F | 29.6°F | 2.1 in |
| Apr | 62°F | 40.6°F | 3.9 in |
| May | 72.4°F | 52.3°F | 5.1 in |
| Jun | 81.9°F | 62.4°F | 5.4 in |
| Jul | 85.6°F | 66.4°F | 4.4 in |
| Aug | 83.6°F | 64.2°F | 4.5 in |
| Sep | 76.9°F | 55.4°F | 3.5 in |
| Oct | 63.4°F | 42.9°F | 2.8 in |
| Nov | 48.3°F | 30.2°F | 2 in |
| Dec | 35.9°F | 19.5°F | 1.5 in |
Cold winters
With 128 freezing nights a year, warm room air meets cold glass for months. Shutters closed tight overnight hold that air against the window, so condensation can collect on the sill: tilt the louvers open in the morning, and wipe the sill on windows that often run wet.
Fitting them in West Des Moines
Shutter Boys shutters are made for you to fit yourself: an inside or outside mount takes a drill, a level and our step-by-step guide. If you'd rather hire someone, a finish carpenter or blinds installer can fit them; ask on your quote and we'll tell you if we know one near you. You arrange and pay the installer directly.
Near West Des Moines
- Des Moines 9 mi
- Ankeny 16 mi
- Ames 34 mi
More about shutters in West Des Moines
Each page takes one question further (fitting your windows, room by room, sizes and colours, louvers, or how shutters compare with other choices), using West Des Moines’s own figures.
For designers, contractors and stores in West Des Moines
Interior designers, contractors, window covering stores, realtors and property managers in West Des Moines can sell or refer Shutter Boys shutters: dealers buy at trade pricing with a protected area; referral partners earn a fee on each client they send. No fee to join.
Price your windows
Pick your look once, add every window, and see each one drawn and priced. Send it to us and we reply with your quote.