I’ve been enjoying drawing more with DoodleCAD and thought I’d share the latest drawing and some photos of the houses that are inspiring the Tiny Simple House. The drawing is the framing plan with some blue boxes added to show how it might be laid out. I’m still working with layouts and this one is only 8′ by 16′ with a presumed loft for a bed.
The photos are of shotgun houses mostly from New Orleans. Shotgun houses are long narrow homes that were very popular in the south from the end of the Civil War (1861–65), through to the 1920s. They began popping up as a simple housing solution for growing neighborhoods and town’s with narrow lots. I like them for their simplicity, flexibility, and character. Now imagine placing a shotgun house on a trailer and you have a house that is semi-portable like a mobile home but built like a real house.It’s simple enough for most people to build and can be built for little money if one remains frugal.
Shotgun houses are the American version of row houses and other narrow homes you might find in the United Kingdom and Europe. But I think if you look anywhere in the world you’ll find that long narrow homes are serving people everywhere and across many cultural lines. Photo credit Wikipedia Commons. Read more about Shotgun Houses at Wikipedia.
Love the collection of photos! Those little homes have so much character.
I have always loved these homes too. I have been considering this very idea for my nephew and his 3 small kids. Ages 13 to 7. Since I need more bedrooms, I thought about 2 sided shotgun house. In this order. Living/office, kitchen/eat-in, bedroom 1/fullbath, bedroom 2/ bedroom 3/ then bedroom 4/ special need bath. THe hall would go straight down the middle. I guess I would put the laudry (very small, closed off on one end of living area, behind office. So living area would be laundry (closed off) small office area then living room all in the first section. This has to be small, affordable and easy access for wheelchair. I realize each room would be small, but they are getting to an age of privacy. I really have the shotgun house in mind because its small and yet has it all. Does it ever have 2 sides?
Normally a shotgun house refers to a long narrow layout with one room after another. A dogtrot has two distinct sides and a breezeway between them which helps keep it cool. I don’t see why you couldn’t have two long shotgun houses side by side or even separate them with a breezeway kind of like a duplex. Might a great way to have a home with extended family.