The concept of tiny homes dates back to the early 1860s through the 1920s, when shotgun houses first became popular. 

These single-story dwellings are usually one room (12 feet) wide and up to four rooms deep. The first versions had a living room at the front, two bedrooms with no hallways, and a kitchen. Bathrooms and indoor plumbing weren’t part of the home at first but were eventually added at the back.

Shotgun homes were originally from Haiti and West Africa, but they arrived on American shores via New Orleans through immigrants and enslaved people. They became a top choice for homeowners during the population boom of the 1800s, and housing demands likewise skyrocketed. 

Because many early shotgun houses stood close to each other, it helped form tight-knit communities. People would gather outside at their porches and mingle with one another, a practice believed to have originated the friendly nature in New Orleans culture. 

Many shotgun homes still exist today, although some were destroyed during Hurricane Katrina in 2005. However, they are considered historical landmarks, and cities like Winston-Salem in North Carolina plan to make them official. 

Outside of the shotgun houses, there was the tiny house movement. Its origin varies depending on who you ask. Some credit artist Allan Wexler with first exploring the idea in the 1970s. 

Others may say that Jay Shafer pioneered the movement in the late 90s. He began building his 110-square-foot house in Iowa in 1997, which he completed in 1999. That same year, he founded the Tumbleweed Tiny House Company, which designs and builds small homes.

As Shafer revealed in a 2023 interview with Grist, his idea of building a tiny home was initially an act of rebellion and the desire to prove something that went against mainstream beliefs at the time.  

“Once I learned it was illegal to live in a house that small, I decided I had to, just to show that it was actually a safe and efficient and reasonable thing to do.”

Tiny homes are popular on Airbnb, trending up by 112% in 2019 and 85% in 2020. Listings also jumped from 14,000 to 24,000 between both years. For real estate developer Zach Millburn, the appeal to consumers is threefold: 

“They’re Instagrammable, and the cute-cozy aspect is attractive to people as well,” Millburn told Grist. “And especially after the birth of these shows like Tiny House Nation, I think a lot of people want to try it out and are willing to pay a decent amount for a unique experience.”

But with the boom of tiny vacation homes, other experts believe that the cultural connection with shotgun houses could be fading. 

“It used to be something that was an extreme enough lifestyle that it was more exciting to get a window into how someone did it, why they chose to go that route, and how it was panning out or impacting their daily life,” said Merete Mueller, who directed the 2013 film TINY: A Story About Small Living. 

“But when you could book one for the weekend and stay in it as a vacation house, it just became more and more normal. It became less exciting.”