Your lot has been chosen, you’ve landed on a floorplan and the budget is coming together with the builder. Now my job as the designer begins. During an initial zoom/phone call/meeting, we will discuss overall expectations for the build and to request any inspiration images you’re collecting. You’ll also be provided with an indepth questionnaire to answer to help me get to know you better. Inspiration is important - and open communication is invaluable.

I'll take all the information from your questionnaire, inspiration images, and our conversations to prepare the presentation on what your home is going to look like. Everything from lighting, tile, paint, wallpaper, and more. I'll provide elevations so you'll get a comprehensive view of your lovely new home.

If you've chosen to purchase furniture through Pencil Shavings Studio, this is when we'll also finalize your selections and get everything in the works in time for move-in.

All the moving parts come together to build your lake house and as completion approaches, it's time to schedule your move-in. If you've chosen furniture with Pencil Shavings Studio, the goal is to make it as simple as possible for you to move straight into your home in Carlton Landing with minimal fuss. The delivery team and I will put every item purchased in its place and prepare it for your arrival. 

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process

Answers

At Pencil Shavings Studio, we do not charge our full service design clients retail pricing for goods purchased from us. We pass along some hefty discounts, which means we don’t hide the costs and fees associated with shipping, freight and receiving in those prices (which is what retailers do). In order for us to maintain those discounts, we cannot cover the costs associated with shipping & delivery. We all have to pay to get our furniture from point A to point B; we have just opted to be transparent with those costs.

01

WHY ISN'T MY SHIPPING FREE, LIKE I SEE EVERYWHERE ELSE?

SIDE NOTE: UP UNTIL THIS POINT, YOU MAY HAVE ONLY PURCHASED FROM A “TRADITIONAL” RETAILER AND YOU NEVER SAW THE PROCESS FROM START TO FINISH BECAUSE THAT FREIGHT CHARGE WAS INCLUDED IN THE FULL RETAIL PRICE.

A receiver's job is to be a place that has either a loading dock or a forklift and a team of people to unload the semitrailer freight truck.

- Unload the truck & ‘receive’ all of the items. Any items with visible damage to packaging will be refused, and you’d be surprised how often that occurs.
- All items must be checked against the manifest & logged into inventory
- Then the hard work starts. Every piece must be unwrapped, unboxed or uncrated & thoroughly inspected for damage, imperfections or defects within 48 hours of arrival.
- We are notified of damage or imperfections and then PSS works on the back end to rectify any issues with the manufacturer
- They will assemble anything that requires any kind of assembly
- Approved furniture is then re-wrapped, re-boxed or re-crated until we are ready for your install and stored in the climate-controlled warehouse.

02

WHAT IS A RECEIVER?

 Freight line carriers (big semi trucks) are the only method manufacturers employ to ship furniture. I will repeat: this is the only way your furniture leaves the factory. They cannot FedEx a sofa to your doorstep. Freight may take only a few days or it may take a few weeks, depending on which freight service is utilized and how many stops they have to make prior to reaching us in OKC.

Freight shipping is calculated at a much lower rate, than say UPS or Fed Ex. For example, a standard size sofa might be somewhere around $150ish (not a bad price to drive that sofa all the way across the country).

03

why does it have to ship freight?

All of your beautiful brand new furniture will be removed from storage, loaded and secured into the the box truck. This will take at least 2 guys, the forklift and some serious muscle. (it can take as much as 5 hours to load the truck with a large order). They have a painstaking process to ensure your furniture is not damaged on this last leg of the journey.

At the destination, they start to unload the truck and un-wrap all of the furniture and they patiently place furniture & rugs, sometimes over & over while being directed by a bossy designer who wants everything in just the right place....and yes...there are many times when we ask them to remove all the furniture they just placed, so we can have them move a rug 6 inches...and they never complain ...(well at least not in front of you).

And just when you think their job is done....It’s not! Now they go back outside and load their truck with sometimes hundred of pounds cardboard and packing material -- and get this -- THEY TAKE IT AWAY WITH THEM. Money well spent, am I right? And you’re thinking POOF! just like magic it’s all gone. But no, its not. Now they will take it back to their warehouse, where they will transfer it all to their dump trailer, tie it all down for safety and they generally make about 2 trash runs a week to the local dump with hundreds of pounds of waste and recycling. Each one taking at least 3-4 hours start to finish (more man & payroll hours) they have to pay dump fees to dispose of everything!

04

WHAT IS DELIVERY LIKE?

At this time, I do not offer virtual design services. I want to provide the best possible experience - and result - for my clients. The best way to ensure that is through face-to-face encounters, accurate measurements, and a relationship that is based on trust.

04

Do you offer e-design?

Fun fact: most freight companies aren't charging for shipping until the day the actual item departs the vendor. Thus it's always a moving target. 

Receiving fees vary and are billed to the client. This service includes climate controlled storage until day of installation. 

Installation fees also vary depending on distance needed to travel. Most Carlton Landing installs begin at $1,000. 

05

HOW MUCH DOES IT COST?