How to Decorate a Shotgun House

Shotgun houses are narrow homes, only around 12 feet wide, without hallways. One room leads directly to another. They were first built in Louisiana starting after the Civil War to the early 1920's. Many can still be found in and around New Orleans and even in other parts in the country. While narrow, shotgun houses also feature tall ceilings, which should be taken advantage of when decorating. Read on to get more decorating tips for shotgun houses.

Things You'll Need

• Paint
• Paintbrushes and rollers
• Painter's tape
• Ladder
• Construction adhesive
• Ceiling molding
• Ceiling medallions

Instructions

1. Think skinny and tall. Shotgun houses have tall ceilings but narrow rooms. Choose furniture that is of a smaller scale, but tall, such as a narrow, tall bookshelf rather than a wide entertainment center.

2. Let in the light. Shotgun houses do not have many windows, so maximize the windows you do have by using sheer curtain panels of a light fabric, rather than heavy drapes. Use blinds for privacy that can be rolled all the way up during the day to let in as much light as possible. Add mirrors to the walls to reflect the light.

3. Paint the walls. The rooms in shotgun houses flow directly into each other, so you need to choose complementary colors. In fact, it is best to choose one color scheme of three or four colors for the entire house, and stick to it. For example, the walls could be pale blue and taupe in every room, with green for an accent color in the living room and white accents in the kitchen.

4. Add architectural details that emphasize height. Shotgun houses are simple, rectangular boxes. Fancy them up by adding scroll work to your porch, molding to the walls and ceiling medallions around light fixtures and chandeliers. All are easy to attach with a little construction adhesive.

5. Multitask. Because there are usually very few rooms in a shotgun house (usually only 3-5 total), you will have to make sure they can do double-duty. Purchase a coffee table that can also act as a storage space for your DVDs. Install shelving or a buffet next to your dining room table that can hold a laptop and office materials for when you need to pay the bills.

Tips & Warnings

• Tour some historically renovated shotgun houses to get ideas, especially if you want to stay true to the style of that time period.

Resources

• More about shotgun houses.