Tiny treasures: N.S. couple puts tiny rental homes on the Cabot Trail

Big idea: Tiny house rentals A Nova Scotia couple came up with a big idea to put tiny rental homes along the Cabot Trail.

A Nova Scotia couple had the idea to put tiny rental homes on the Cabot Trail after a vacation in the area.

“This idea started in 2018 when I was on vacation with my wife Kate, myself, and our three children. We really recognized the beauty of the land and all that this area had to offer. So we started the process the reality of building tiny houses and bringing them up to this region,” said Dan Page.

The tiny homes range from 200 to 330-square-feet and each have their own design to sleep anywhere from three to six people.

“There are many of the amenities of a home, including a wood stove,” said Kate Page. “The cabinets are hand crafted, along with a farmhouse sink.”

The tiny homes are built in Halifax then driven up to Belle Cote, N.S., along the Cabot Trail.

“We built these tiny houses from the ground up. We initially started by ordering specific custom trailers. Then we build them from the trailer. We did this in Halifax, and then one by one we drove them up to this beautiful region of Cape Breton, right into Belle Cote.”

Dan said when building the tiny homes, they had to design them to withstand Atlantic Canada’s weather.

“The tiny house movement did start in the southern U.S. and so even looking at those plans, there has to be a lot of reengineering for them to handle Atlantic Canada climate in regards to temperature and wind loads.”

“You can live in a tiny house and have a very small carbon footprint,” said Dan. “Just because of the efficiency of them, and the size of them.”

He said they have received great feedback from guests.

“The number one feedback we receive from guest is, ‘I can’t believe how large a tiny house is once I get in,’ and they just love the livability of them. Not only are they really impressed with our tiny houses, they love this region, the Cabot Trail, its world renowned, and the beauty is just outstanding.”

With files from CTV Atlantic's Darryl Reeves.

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