To Share Their Passion for Weekend Getaways, They Started Building Prefab Cabins for $127K AUD

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Salty Cabins was started by Teagan and Dave Wilkinson in 2021, but the idea was born much earlier. In 2017, the couple began renting out their shoreside Sydney home on weekends so they could strike out to visit every cabin, tiny home, and camping site in Australia they could find. Their travels would inspire them to construct a network of off-grid retreats in Byron Bay that could foster immersive experiences in nature. Here, Dave talks to us about expanding beyond New South Wales with their latest design, The Weekender Cabin: a prefab available for purchase and delivery across Australia.

What’s the most exciting project you’ve realized to date?

The first Weekender Cabin, as or as we call it, "The Cabin," is a compact 22-square-meter studio-style cabin overlooking the ocean in the hinterlands of Byron Bay. The plan incorporates a rain-shield exterior and a timber roof wrapped in Vulcan-Sioo:x shiplap timber from Abodo. The treatment gives the timber a natural gray finish, allowing the cabin to seamlessly blend into the hillside and pay homage to the zincalume sheds scattered along the coast. A notable feature is the concealed gutters that maintain a flawless gable exterior. Inside, the cabin is finished with micro-cement complemented by hardwood features, ensuring that as one moves through the space, the material finishes reveal themselves, adding to the exploration experience.

What does your base model cost and what does that pricing include?

The Weekender starts from $126,717, which includes the following:

• Shadowclad walls and standing seam roof
• Natural gray exterior
• Plastered interior with hardwood highlights
• Plywood kitchen
• Hardwood blackbutt solid floors
• Composting toilet: Clivus Multrum™ Low Profile (CM LP) with porcelain palisade
• Rockcote Sandcote rendered walls

Various itemized options are also available.

What qualities make your prefabs stand apart from the rest?

Our ethos is simple: We deliver beautifully crafted, architect-designed, energy-neutral cabins and tiny homes. All our buildings are produced to the very highest standards and delivered whole and complete directly to your site. Every Salty Cabin has been crafted with the utmost respect for both our environment and the people we work with.

Back to nature: We believe in both the ethos of Scandinavian design and in their way of living. Taking quality time in nature with friends and family is one of life’s great luxuries.

Where do you ship/where is the prefab currently available?

We ship Australia-wide while building out of Byron Bay, NSW.

How long can a client expect the process to take after they put down a deposit?

Our lead time at the moment is three to four months, from when we take a deposit to the cabin being delivered.

Is your design currently pre-permitted in any U.S. municipalities?

At this stage, we are focused on the Australian market but have been playing around with flat-pack cabins to deliver worldwide.

What aspects of an install do you manage?

We work alongside our clients and their town planners to deliver and install their cabin in full.

What aspects of the design can a client customize?

Our cabins are completely customizable. We don't believe in a one-size-fits-all product when it comes to something as personal as a living space.

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