According to Country Top 40 with Fitz, the song is about "gratitude and appreciating the people you have around you and not always chasing after what’s next". Dan Smyers, one half of the duo, said that the song's message was inspired by feelings the duo had after winning their first Grammy Award.[1]
Dan Smyers, the other half of the duo, said that the song's central message came from a conversation he and his wife had with songwriter Andy Albert when Albert purchased a new house and told the two about renovations he wanted to make to it. Albert then came up with the title "Bigger Houses" and presented it during a songwriting session with Jordan Minton and Jordan Reynolds at the latter's house. They then wrote the song together, with Smyers playing piano and Reynolds playing guitar. Mooney liked the recording of the demo, and executives of Warner Records Nashville chose the song to be on the duo's album, which did not yet have a title. Dan + Shay then recorded the song. The final recording features the duo's vocals as well as guitar, mandolin, and Dobro parts all played by Bryan Sutton. Smyers did not think the song would be a single due to its minimalist production style.[2]