built-in bench with cushion by the window

Truro Beach Cottage

North Truro, MA

Custom Millwork for Lilac Cottage: A North Truro Beach House Renovation

Lilac Cottage sits in a row of 22 nearly identical cedar-shingled cottages on Cape Cod Bay in North Truro. It’s a preserved piece of 1930s beach architecture on the outside. Inside, it’s a full beach house renovation with custom cabinetry throughout. The team rebuilt all 420 square feet from the studs out, and designed it to sleep six.

Boxco Studio partnered with Keira Ritter, AIA, of Keira Ritter Design Company on this beach house renovation, custom building all of the cabinetry. The project later won a 2026 Residential Design Award for Residential Special Constraints.

Cabinetry as structure, not decoration

At this scale, storage can’t just fill a room. Instead, it has to help build the room. Keira’s design flipped the original floor plan, opening up a double-height living space beachside. Meanwhile, the sleeping loft moved inland. Our millwork carries that plan forward: built-in drawers beneath the bed platform, a full-height wardrobe wall, and a window-seat banquette. Together, these hide deep storage under the cushions.

Materials

We built the cabinetry in maple veneer baltic birch plywood with a white wood wax finish and simple round finger-pulls. We kept these finishes consistent from the kitchen to the bed nook, so the built-ins read as one material rather than separate pieces. Above the bed, a solid oak floating shelf adds warmth against the pale wood. Similarly, an oversized ladder with oak treads and black steel rails brings in a bit of quiet drama.

We loved working on this project with Keira Ritter and to be part of a dream home renovation for long term renters who can now call this little cottage their home.

Read more about this project in the 2026 RDAA article here.

Photography: Lisa Vollmer Photography

Architecture / Design: Keira Ritter Design Co. — https://krdesignco.com/

Builder: Swain Construction.

Winner, 2026 Residential Design Awards, Residential Special Constraints.

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