#10: Your House Could Be Too Small
Some 1950s developments specified minimum house sizes, ensuring nobody bought a lot and built something dramatically smaller than surrounding homes. Virginia research documents mid-century subdivisions using minimum square-footage requirements. These rules protected property values and visual consistency, but they also quietly set an economic floor for who could build there. Even before modern McMansions, neighborhoods were measuring respectability in square feet. Tiny-house enthusiasts would have had a difficult meeting with the architectural committee back then.
