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

Welcome to Prefab Profiles, an ongoing series of interviews with people transforming how we build houses. From prefab tiny houses and modular cabin kits to entire homes ready to ship, their projects represent some of the best ideas in the industry. Do you know a prefab brand that should be on our radar? Get in touch!

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.