How a Receiving Warehouse Works and Why We Use One
Have you ever wondered what happens between the moment we order your furniture and the day it magically appears in your home?
See our completed installations here
Here’s the truth: the journey from order to installation involves dozens of steps, multiple vendors, different carriers, and hundreds of tiny moving parts. It’s a lot — and it’s definitely not as simple as getting an Amazon package.
At Sentenac House Interiors, one of the behind-the-scenes systems that keeps your project running smoothly is our receiving warehouse. It’s a place where your furnishings are delivered, inspected, stored, prepped, and protected before they ever arrive at your doorstep. This ensures that install day is stress-free, flawless, and beautifully executed.
Let’s take you behind the curtain and show you exactly how a receiving warehouse works and why we use one for every design project.
Why Trade-Only Purchases Require a Receiving Warehouse
Most of the beautiful furnishings, materials, and fixtures we specify for your project come from trade-only vendors. These brands don’t sell directly to the public, which means you get access to better quality, custom pieces, and unique selections you won’t find in retail stores.
But trade vendors ship differently.
Instead of simple doorstep delivery, these items typically arrive via freight carriers, which require:
A loading dock
A forklift or pallet jack
A commercial receiving address
Someone on-site to schedule and sign for delivery
This is one of the biggest reasons we rely on a receiving warehouse — because your new sofa cannot just arrive at your front door.
What You Would Have to Do Without a Receiving Warehouse
Most clients don’t realize it, but without a receiving warehouse, all of the shipping and inspection responsibilities would fall on you. And trust us — it’s not fun.
Here’s what receiving furniture at home actually looks like:
1. Coordinate Freight Deliveries
You would need to:
Answer calls from freight companies
Choose a delivery window
Be home during that window (usually 3–5 hours)
Hope the carrier actually shows up on time
If they’re delayed? You wait.
If they reschedule? You take time off… again.
2. Deal With Late or Missed Carriers
Carriers run behind schedule constantly.
Sometimes they don’t show up at all.
Sometimes they arrive at 7 pm instead of 2 pm.
Without a receiving warehouse, all those headaches land on you.
3. Receive Oversized Curbside Deliveries
Most freight deliveries are curbside only — meaning:
No carrying heavy boxes into your home
No help unwrapping or moving items
No removal of pallets or packing debris
You’ll likely be left with huge crates sitting in your driveway.
4. Open & Inspect Everything Immediately
Freight rules require damage reporting immediately upon delivery. That means you would need to:
Cut open multiple layers of packing
Inspect every inch of every item
Check for missing components
Match items to the purchase order
And sometimes?
You don’t even know what to look for. For example:
“Most clients don’t know that a plumbing trim kit must include a valve… or what the valve looks like.”
We do — and we check it.
5. Handle Damages & Returns Yourself
If something arrived damaged, defective, or incorrect, you would be responsible for:
Taking photos
Contacting the vendor
Filling out claim forms
Coordinating with UPS, FedEx, or freight carriers
Printing return labels
Repackaging the item
Dropping it off or paying for a pickup
It’s hours of work — often over multiple days.
6. Store Everything in Your Home
Without a warehouse, all delivered items sit in your:
Garage
Living room
Hallway
Guest room
For weeks or months until install day. Clutter city.
Basically, without a receiving warehouse, the entire logistics burden falls on the homeowner — and that’s not what you hired a full-service design firm for.
How Sentenac House Interiors Uses a Receiving Warehouse Instead
By using a dedicated receiving warehouse, we remove every single frustration listed above.
Here’s what the process looks like when we manage it for you.
1. All Items Ship Directly to the Warehouse
We coordinate deliveries with every vendor.
No need for you to take calls or manage carriers.
2. Professional Receive-Ins
Every item is:
Signed for
Unboxed
Photographed
Inspected
Matched to the purchase order
Checked for missing parts
Tagged with a unique inventory code
If something arrives damaged?
It’s handled and replaced before it ever reaches you — most of the time, you don’t even know it happened.
3. Secure, Climate-Controlled Storage
Once inspected, items are safely stored until install day:
No clutter in your home
No risk of accidental damage
Everything stays pristine
4. Inventory Tracking
Every item is logged with:
Photos
Condition notes
Storage location
Associated room or project phase
This lets us track thousands of pieces across multiple projects with zero confusion.
5. Prep & Assembly Before Delivery
Large or complex pieces can be:
Preassembled
Repaired
Adjusted
Repacked for install
Everything arrives installation-ready.
6. Smooth, Coordinated Delivery & Install
When installation day arrives:
Items are scanned and pulled
Delivery trucks are loaded
Everything is placed correctly on-site
Packaging is removed
Furniture is assembled
Accessories are styled
All you see is the final reveal — not the chaos it took to get there.
Why We Use a Receiving Warehouse: The Client Benefits
Here’s the bottom line:
Using a receiving warehouse allows us to give you a smooth, elevated, stress-free design experience.
You get:
No surprise deliveries
No being home for freight carriers
No box-cutting, unwrapping, or inspecting
No dealing with damages or returns
No storage clutter in your home
No project delays from missing items
A perfectly coordinated installation
This is what full-service design actually means.
The Experience You Deserve
At Sentenac House Interiors, the receiving warehouse isn’t just a storage space — it’s the backbone of a luxury, worry-free design process. Every sofa, sconce, cabinet pull, fabric bolt, and custom piece is handled with care long before it reaches your home.
By the time install day arrives, every detail is ready for its moment.
You get the magical transformation you’ve been waiting for — without ever having to lift a finger.
Questions?
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