We’ve all seen it countless times in hotel lobbies, restaurants and office waiting rooms.

Generic furniture.

It sits there in dull anonymity holding up telephones or magazines or equally generic lamps, appreciated by no one – not even by the business owner who probably paid too much for it in the first place.

Quick, describe the furnishings in the last place you hung around waiting for an appointment.

Knowledge of European culture helps Peter and Margaret Komuniecki stock their shop with high-quality antiques.

Exactly.

Well, for one-of-a-kind furniture and art objects that visitors actually do admire and remember, a growing number of people are going to Lakeshore Antiques.

Situated at 5227 Lakeshore Drive, not far from Highway 2 in the charming community of Sylvan Lake, the business was set up last year by Peter and Margaret Komuniecki. It’s an easy drive from Calgary or Edmonton, and for a tempting preview of what you’ll see there, check out www.lakeshoreantiques.com.

Long a favourite of personal collectors for their homes, antiques are increasingly catching the attention of imaginative business owners as a means of bringing instant class to their premises.

Most hardwood antiques are durable, even child-proof – that walnut table or oak display cabinet didn’t last a century by fluke – and they hold their value far better than an off-the-floor coffee table or custom-made bookshelf.

The Komunieckis take a different approach to antiques from virtually all of their competitors. They import only continental European antiques. Nothing from Canada, the United States or Britain.

“A lot of people come through the door and say, ‘Wow, where are you guys getting this stuff from?’ ” says Peter Komuniecki.

“They can tell the pieces are different – very special.”

Every couple of months, Peter hops a plane and travels through such countries as Belgium, Holland, France, Germany, Austria and Denmark and buys from individuals or families.

There are several reasons for this. Being immigrants from Europe themselves, they know the market, the cultures, the history, the values. North American and British antiques tend to be well picked over, highly priced and subject to costly layers of “middle-men,” all taking their slice of the action.

“Because we used to live there and have excellent contacts, we also chose this way of buying because we can control the quality,” Peter says.

“Each and every piece that I bring in, I have in my hands before we decide to put it in the (shipping) container.”

Cabinets, tables and other furniture are frequently made from such classic woods as walnut, oak and mahogany.

But because the European nations once ruled over far-flung colonies, such as Holland’s Indonesian territory, there are a surprising number of exotic woods in their antiques in solid, veneer or artistic marquetry form.

The antiques are then shipped to Lakeshore’s 3,500-square-foot shop or the 9,000-square-foot wholesale warehouse in Wetaskiwin.

Peter and Margaret are looking into the possibility of creating a financing system for easy purchasing, and also a lease or rental plan for businesses needing antiques temporarily for a meeting or grand opening.

“Antiques are a great ice-breaker for businesses and their clients,” he says. “People walk in and immediately start talking about the piece’s age and the kind of antiques they like.”

The Sylvan Lake shop has a reputation for being a charming, uncluttered place to browse, amid the delightful scent of fresh-cut flowers. Lakeshore Antiques has a high-end aura, but in fact the Komunieckis are committed to keeping prices affordable. They believe nothing can equal the satisfaction of seeing a customer matched with their ideal antique.

“That feels very, very good. Our policy, for Margaret and myself, is, we don’t consider ourselves sales people. We’re just consultants. There is never any pressure.”

Recently, one woman browser peeked under a dining-room table and spotted a cross-shaped pedestal base virtually identical to one she knew as a child. She remembered long ago crouching under such a table, tickling guests’ feet as she giggled.

The SOLD sign went straight on it.

One piece at Lakeshore is definitely high-end – a cabinet worth $120,000 US from a Belgian castle. It’s just on display, not for sale just yet. Folks in the region have been showing up by the busload to view “that antique from the castle.”

Interest in antiques in general has soared recently, partly because of such TV series as Antiques Roadshow. But there’s nothing faddish about beautifully crafted, durable and one-of-a-kind pieces of furniture and decorative art.

“You can buy something and use it for 20 years,” Peter says, “and there is a high probability that if you ever want to sell it, you’ll end up getting more than what you paid for it.”

For more information, e-mail sales@lakeshoreantiques.com or phone (403) 887-6658.