Tulare County antique dealers show how to be country (2024)

Sharon and Bobby Cheek stand in a back porch that was converted to a extra room, complete with a quilt-covered twin bed at one end for nap time after a meal. Country decorating is all about down-home comfort, they said.

A late 1800s Universal brand wood-burning cook stove accented with white pitchers anchors one end of a porch converted to an extra room at Sharon and Bobby Cheek's Ivanhoe house. They have been in the antique and refinishing business for 30 years in Ivanhoe, Visalia and most recently on their country property near Ivanhoe.

This is the master bathroom at Sharon and Bobby Cheek's house near Ivanhoe.

Sharon Cheek has a knack for decorating. On a chest at the end of the bed in the master bedroom sits a spinning wheel, at right.

Sharon Cheek said she doesn't like anything that looks new. She takes white cotton dresses and treats them with an instant coffee concoction for an aged, dirty look. Anything made of fabric, such as a teddy bear, she treats this way.

Sharon and Bobby Cheek's guest room has an old-fashioned toy theme. They have been in the antique and refinishing business for 30 years in Ivanhoe, Visalia and most recently on their country property near Ivanhoe. In May, they were featured in Country Sampler magazine.

A bedside table in their master bedroom features old family photos at Sharon and Bobby Cheek's home just west of Ivanhoe.

A large pie safe allows Sharon Cheek to display antiques inside her Ivanhoe home. She and her husband, Bobby, refinished the wood a worn-looking black color. She stenciled spice names on the drawers to make them look old.

Sharon and Bobby Cheek fill their Ivanhoe home with antiques and wooden tables, cabinets and bookshelves finished to look old. "I don't like clutter," she said. She likes organized clutter.

Sharon, 66, and Bobby Cheek, 68, have been married 50 years. They met in high school in Visalia and married one day after she turned 16. They have been in the antique and refinishing business for 30 years in Ivanhoe, Visalia and most recently on their country property near Ivanhoe.

This chair converts to a table. It's for sale at Grandma's Attic in Ivanhoe.

These are just two of the items for sale at Grandma's Attic in Ivanhoe. Sharon and Bobby Cheek have been in the antique and refinishing business for 30 years in Ivanhoe, Visalia and most recently on their country property near Ivanhoe.

Pie safes such as this one at Grandma's Attic in Ivanhoe are popular with customers, said Sharon and Bobby Cheek, owners. They have been in the antique and refinishing business for 30 years in Ivanhoe, Visalia and most recently on their country property near Ivanhoe.

Sharon Cheek talks to her husband, Bobby, as she looks over a want list from their customers at Grandma's Attic in Ivanhoe. They have been in the antique and refinishing business for 30 years.

Bobby, 68, and Sharon Cheek, 66, stand in front of Grandma's Attic, a farmhouse filled with decorating, furniture and antiques, just west of Ivanhoe. They've been in the antique and refinishing business for 30 years.

Sharon, 66, and Bobby Cheek, 68, have been in the antique and refinishing business for 30 years in Ivanhoe, Visalia and most recently on their country property near Ivanhoe. They've been married for 50 years.