A lot of sitcoms were shot in front of studio audience so they used sets that were much bigger than the dwellings appropriate to the characters level of income

A lot of sitcoms were shot in front of studio audience so they used sets that were much bigger than the dwellings appropriate to the characters level of income and location. It's been noticed as early as 1953 in Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451. With time it became a trope and even the sitcoms w/o audience had these giant sets. Simpsons is heavily based off sitcoms.