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A modified version of the shotgun house, the double shotgun, was later developed for larger families and can serve as a duplex for more than one family. These homes bear the same style as the traditional shotgun house, except that the double shotgun is essentially two single shotgun homes fused together side by side. Shotgun homes rely on a cascade-style layout, which places each room directly behind the other with no hallways. For example, a living room is often followed by a bedroom followed by a bathroom followed by the kitchen in the back. Oftentimes, shotgun homes were arranged so that all the interior doors lined up with the front and back doors, maximizing air circulation during hot Southern summers.
Materials in Shotgun Houses
Pine floors, ultra-wide double doors, and classic furnishings create an inviting ambiance that’s pairs perfectly with the old-house architecture. First seen in New Orleans in 1854, this design is basically two shotgun houses connected to each other and sharing a central hall. Double-barrel shotgun houses save even more space than a single shotgun house. They're basically a shotgun-style duplex, with two single shotgun houses located side by side and sharing a central wall and front porch.
Double Door Shotgun in New Orleans, LA
Black, European, and Creole peoples all lived, and continue to live, in shotguns around the city—allowing for a melting pot of cultures that persists in New Orleans’ music, food, dance, and vibrant pulse today. Shotgun homes originated in West Africa and Haiti, eventually making their way to New Orleans through immigrants and enslaved peoples. The homes became especially common following the population boom of the 1800s when housing demand increased.
Cozy Camelback Shotgun in New Orleans, LA
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One story above, there stands another central gathering place—a rooftop deck complete with a hammock, gas fire pit, and must-see views of downtown Nashville. However, preservationists who cherished the shotguns historical significance and architectural impact began restoration projects in major cities. In addition to New Orleans, cities like Houston, St. Louis, Louisville, and Miami have shotgun homes designated as historic structures. And in some neighborhoods with a high proliferation of shotguns, property values have skyrocketed.
Its basic footprint is between 12 and 24 feet wide and two to four rooms deep. The rooms lay in succession, one behind the other, through to the back door of the house. Also called the camelback house, the humpback-style shotgun house has a second floor, or hump, over the rear of the house with one to four rooms. "This style shotgun creates a bit more space but can still be designated as a one-story structure," O'Connor says.
Two-Story Camelback Shotgun in New Orleans, LA
Following the St. Domingue Revolution in 1791, when slaves rose in arms and successfully destroyed the island’s plantation slavery system, the nation of Haiti was created. Single door and window in front of the house – often, a side door leads to the backroom in some types of shotguns. “And you may find yourself living in a shotgun shack.” So go the opening words of "Once in a Lifetime," a 1980 song by the Talking Heads. Maggie Burch is a digital media professional with a decade of experience creating, editing, and managing multimedia content for national brands, including Glamour, Southern Living, House Beautiful, and The Everygirl. A homes enthusiast, Maggie writes about decor and real estate trends, designer-approved tips and tricks, and even her own DIY projects. The Shotgun House in Santa Monica underwent restoration in recent years led by the Santa Monica Conservancy, who now occupies the structure.
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As the shotgun fell in and out of fashion, many of the earlier structures built in the 19th and early 20th centuries fell into disrepair – and were demolished at the height of the urban renewal efforts in the 1960s and 1970s. Crushed by a 60-ton pecan tree, this 1870s double shotgun house was the PRC's first post-storm success and became home to famed trombonist Freddie Lonzo and his wife, Nanci McVille. They called it the "Sunset House" for its clear views of the Mississippi River.
This Quintessential Southern-Style Home Is Breezy and Picturesque
Now the Santa Monica shotgun house will receive a 2017 Preservation Award from the Los Angeles Conservancy on May 3 to recognize its historical significance. The house—which is now the Preservation Resource Center of the Santa Monica Conservancy—is the last structure of its kind locally, representing a way of life that has disappeared. If the shotgun house you’re considering is in a historic district, there may be certain things that you cannot do as far as renovations. Societies may need to grant approval for everything from additions to paint colors.
Maintain a Consistent Air of Openness
Thanks to their streamlined, functional layout and low square footage, shotgun-style houses are a historic and charming alternative to tiny homes, making them a great choice for people who want to reduce their footprint. Historical roots aside, the prevalence of shotgun houses in the South also has to do with the weather. Shotgun homes have excellent cross-ventilation between the front and back doors and windows, which allowed for a nice breeze to waft throughout a house, long before the invention of air conditioning.
A loft looks down on the space, making it the perfect place to hide out while keeping an eye on the activity down below. In the shotgun’s original design, the living room was situated in the front of the house, followed by one or two bedrooms, with the kitchen in the back of the house. The first shotgun homes did not include bathrooms, but in later shotgun layouts, the bathroom with a small hall was built behind the last bedroom of the house, or a side addition was built off the kitchen. The “bare essentials” house style – with its small footprint and challenging layout – originated in New Orleans in the 1800s.
With support from neighbors and community members, as well as other local groups, the Santa Monica Conservancy successfully proposed to rehabilitate the home and adapt it for use as their Preservation Resource Center. Another possible source for the shotgun’s name is derived from the West African name for a small house where men meet to talk. “Togu na” (house of talk), some believe, might have become “shotgun”, as George Washington University professor and author John Vlach asserted in his dissertation on the subject.
The sea-green exterior of this 1900s-era shotgun home in New Orleans’ Bywater North neighborhood is proof of the home’s playful personality. Brand-new tile bathroom floors work with the original refinished hardwood floors to refresh the home while preserving its historical appeal. A narrow rectangular footprint, simplicity of construction, and efficiency are the signature features of the shotgun. Like most homes in New Orleans, shotguns are usually raised two to three feet off the ground in response to the threats of storms, hurricanes, and high winds that affect the coastal areas of Louisiana. Most shotguns are built almost always close to a street and have a short front yard. People wanted larger, more permanent homes on the increasingly valuable beach property.
"So now we have very small apartments being built all over the city. People are living in 250-square-foot apartments, and this is 400 square feet in the basic plan. So this might be luxurious compared to what you could rent today." Residents of housing-strapped Southern California can also see in the shotgun house a glimpse of a possible future, the harbinger of the current tiny house movement and a 19th-century example of how people can live simply but well. By 2000, there was only one preserved shotgun house left near the beach, at 2712 Second Street. There’s a myth that shotgun houses were built to avoid property taxes on road frontage. In reality, there’s no hard evidence that frontage tax was ever really a thing. Over the years, many of Santa Monica’s small shotgun houses were demolished, significantly altered, or moved inland.
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