Once left abandoned with only a hand-painted sign marking it for sale, this now fully renovated oceanfront home is all about its majestic Cape Split views, moody crashing tides, neighboring five-story waterfall, and inky dark, starlit nights. Rugged and romantic, it’s an indoor/outdoor hideaway that cleverly transforms from nature-focused recreational outpost by day, to intimate coastal nest for two by night.

A compact coastal retreat that lives up to its name, this cabin rental in Nova Scotia was revived from near ruin by its local owners, who have transformed the diminutive space into a base for play by day, and shorefront rest and romance by night. Pandemic construction issues led the owners to tackle the cabin’s reconstruction on their own, and their renovation efforts have been celebrated in publications and on TV.

Glass walls dominate the structure as well as its miniature, sauna house replica, and both contemporary shacks are set on a bluff above a picturesque wild bay, with a small sandy beach and wide ocean views beyond, plus a splashing waterfall crashing into the teal waters. Evergreens soar over the cabin’s clearing and an outdoor kitchen and patio nearly as big as the cabin comes equipped with a woodfired pizza oven.

Clever architecture means that home offers a contemporary studio apartment setting by day, its open-concept floorplan, walls clad in birch, offering a contemporary kitchen with an island, a glass-front living room nook, and a clean-lined, contemporary bathroom. At night, a drop-down queen-sized Murphy bed fills the main room and operable window treatments give the bedroom an all-tucked in privacy shield from the harbor. Décor has been kept ultra minimal, with a penchant for lemon yellow on display to enliven the structures. 

The neighboring sauna, a smaller version of the cabin it serves, is accessible across a thick green lawn, its tile and rock base accenting its glass façade and classic wood seating.

AROUND

Set on an expanse of green lawn on a bluff overlooking the pristine waters of Baxter’s Harbour, this cabin rental in Nova Scotia offers ever-changing vistas over Cape Split, private beach access, and a dramatic 55-foot waterfall that is swimming (or kayaking/SUPing) distance from the front door. Created for indoor/outdoor living, the home’s harbor location makes it an ideal base for kayaking, SUPs, picnics, and hiking the unspoiled shoreline. 

The greater Baxter Harbour area was once known for its lobstering and fishing culture, boating, swimming and sailing, and timeless waterfront and wharf activities remain popular. Set on the shores of the Bay of Fundy in Nova Scotia’s Annapolis Valley, the inland area is home to wineries, tasting rooms and small farms. But Baxter’s Harbor may be best known for its crashing waterfall, a 50+-foot cascade that varies between tides and changes with the seasons. In wintertime, ice climbers favor the falls.

LOCATION

Canning, Nova Scotia, Canada. Nearest airport: Halifax (48 miles, 1¼hrs)

BEST TIME TO VISIT: May to October, with peak season in July and August