There’s More Deck Than Interior at This Prefab Cabin in Colorado

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!

After working as a data scientist and hospitality entrepreneur, Vlad Dubovskiy dreamed of a slower and more rugged existence in the Colorado Rockies. "I traded coding for building cabins," he says. He built one with his bare hands, and it became an unlikely prototype for his next endeavor: ELMNTL, a Boulder-based prefab company he founded in 2017.

While Dubovskiy hasn’t coded for quite some time, he still uses the lingo to describe his business. "The hardware we build is endlessly customizable cabins and saunas for modular delivery," he says. "The software is a hospitality platform that makes it simple for anyone to start a boutique getaway in nature." By working closely with clients to perfect their off-grid properties, Dubovskiy hopes that he can help others foster the life-changing appreciation he has for the great outdoors. Here’s what ELMNTL has on offer.

What qualities make your prefab stand apart from the rest?

The ELMNTL shelter is a shape-shifting modular cabin that is endlessly configurable, so a client can choose to grow the cabin in size, extend it dimensionally, or add onto it later. Our designs are also flexible, with more than 1,000 customization options to fit the needs of each client. Our team provides support from concept to completion so that a client’s choices come together seamlessly. For hospitality owners, ELMNTL acts as a partner to start getaways, hotels, vacation rentals, and wellness retreats with its zero-to-launch services.

Lastly, ELMNTL prefabs stand out in our commitment to using pure materials. The structure is formed with a biodegradable and decarbonizing wooden frame and optional hemp insulation alongside natural siding and safe interiors—there are no plastics or toxic foams whatsoever. The structure, hemp insulation, and high-performance glazing is optimized for solar gains so that it generates three times fewer carbon emissions than traditional steel frames with conventional insulation. The materials can be reused for generations to come.