Picture your normal, everyday, quaint Cape Cod antique store in your mind. Now forget all about it and walk into Seakers, which celebrated its grand opening in East Wareham this weekend.

Part art gallery, part antique store, part workshop, the owners see their venture as more of a creative outlet than a store.

"We want it to be an experience, not just anther stale place," said Diane Annen-Benson, who co-owns Seakers with Dana Ward.

The business specializes in "up-cycled" furniture - refinished pieces that were previously destined for the dump.

"We take stuff that was going to be thrown out, we bring it back here and refinish it," Ward said. "We make it into something people want."

Ward said Benson and he do rehab work on houses an saw a lot of furniture getting thrown out so they decided to take them and turn them into new pieces. Ward, who also owns Seacrest Real Estate, said Benson and he would also buy furniture from estate sales to stage houses and between that furniture and pieces they salvaged from other homes, they accumulated quite a stable of furniture.

Benson's sister Donna is an artist, whose paintings adorn the walls at Seakers, and Ward's son is a carpenter. Together they all kick around ideas for how to transform a piece of furniture until finding the creative spark.

Benson said the building is split up into different areas, with a showroom in the front, a warehouse area, a studio and two workshops as well where people can see the furniture actually get worked on.

There is even a lounge in the back for weary husbands to relax and watch the Red Sox game while the women shop.

Ward said originally they were looking at a shop in Onset Center but decided on the location at 3166 Cranberry Highway because they needed more room. They began work in January on the building that according to Benson used to be a cat shelter.

If you care to "seek" out more information about this "seaside" business, go to the website goseakers.com.

"People were pleasantly surprised when they walked in," Diane said on their busy first day of business. She said one of her close friends cried when he walked into the store because of how excited he was for her.

"It's something we've always wanted to do," Ward said.