Homeowner Creates Stunning Lawn After HOA Bans His Mowing Style

There's a special kind of absurd when someone tells you not just to mow your lawn, but exactly which direction your mower needs to travel.

That's what happened to the man behind TikTok account @rootedlawnco. His homeowners association told him he could only mow in straight lines. So he did exactly that, just not how they expected.

In a video captioned "Take that HOA," he mowed his lawn in long, flowing, perfectly symmetrical waves. The result looks like something from a golf course or baseball field. He even varied his cut depth on alternating passes to create a stunning light and dark color shift across the yard.

His face in the video? Completely unbothered.

The video racked up millions of views, with commenters celebrating his creative compliance. "Tell them you have astigmatism and this is straight," wrote one person. Another suggested the waves were technically straight lines, just curved in space.

In follow-up videos, he showed aerial shots of the wavy lawn and even admitted to breaking another HOA rule by using sand to level his yard. "When the HOA says no sand, but you did it anyway," he captioned one clip.

His frustration reflects a wider reality for homeowners. A Rocket Mortgage survey found that 57% of HOA homeowners dislike having one, and more than three in ten feel their HOA has too much power. A separate YouGov poll showed most Americans oppose HOA rules specifically around landscaping.

HOAs were originally created to maintain shared spaces and protect property values. But there's a big gap between that goal and a board with authority to regulate someone's grass cutting pattern.

Why This Inspires

What makes this story so satisfying isn't just the gorgeous lawn. It's the response itself. He didn't fight the rule or file a complaint. He simply made something beautiful out of a constraint and shared it with the world.

His creative solution reminds us that sometimes the best way to handle unreasonable demands is to meet them in unexpectedly delightful ways. He stayed fully compliant while being completely himself, and his lawn looks incredible for it.