East Vancouver bids farewell to its iconic, polka dot property

The polka-dot home once owned by leading Vancouver chef Chuck Currie is up for refurbishment. (Courtesy: Chuck Currie)

An iconic home famous for its polka-dotted exterior will soon be torn down, marking the end of an era for East Vancouver residents.

A quaint historic cottage emblazoned with large, firetruck-red spots, the house that sits nestled on the corner of East 3rd Avenue and Lakewood Drive has attracted visitors in their hordes for over three decades.

“Honestly, I had no idea that the house would leave such a strong, lasting impression,” laughs former owner Chuck Currie, the artist behind the icon.

The notable Vancouver saxophonist and former executive chef of White Spot had bought the house in the fall of 1989, painting it its famed red and white just three years later.

He had been inspired by the act of a mischievous colleague, who had pranked a friend by painting their home in polka dots while they were away on vacation. There had been no real impetus, he says, other than he liked the look and thought the vivid design would bring joy to the neighbourhood.

The reactions from locals had been instantaneous. Currie remembers the very first: A man who had been driving by as the house was being painted and had slammed on his brakes to take a better look. The windows of the man’s car were closed, but the words he formed with his mouth had been unmistakable: ‘holy sh*t.’

“The next few days people walking by had really strong and positive reactions. I remember two little girls walking past and saying ‘oooh look, it's a ladybug,’” Currie laughs.

Hidden easter eggs were created for those in the know, like the small, black spot painted on the east wall that only his neighbours, fans of Treasure Island, could see. There were little white stones that lined the walkway up to the house, painted in red, white and green as a nod to the Italian flag and East Vancouver’s historic Little Italy.

Currie remembers one neighbour, elderly, Italian, and often sporting a furrowed brow, who had knocked on his door with her cane a few days after the paint job was complete.

“I opened the door, and she was beaming. She said, ‘thank you for doing this for the neighbourhood.’ It’s the only time I ever saw her smile.”

Local residents would stand outside the home and point in awe at the hummingbirds that the giant red, polka dots would attract.Photographs of the home began making the rounds on the internet, and a friend of a friend living in Toronto had even heard chatter about the famous polka-dotted place from across the country.

Sometime, in the years after the paint job, a friend of Currie’s had been walking past an esteemed Vancouver art gallery when he noticed a painting in the window, depicting the two-tone home.

It wasn’t long before enamoured members of the community and local creatives began dropping off spotted items as gifts, leaving them on Currie's green painted stairs. Among them: polka dot sugar and salad bowls, framed polka dot pictures, and a polka dot sock monkey.

In 2023, Currie sold the home after 35 years of ownership.

He says its new owners, a family with two young children, had promised the painter that if they were to ever refurbish the home, they would pay tribute to the handiwork of its former owner by stationing a tiny library out its front. The box would be painted in red and white polka dots and would be a nod to Currie’s extensive, 8,000-plus library of books, they had said.

While the owners couldn’t be reached for this story, LaneFab, the design company tasked with repurposing the home, have confirmed the house’s next generation of owners plan to stick true to their word.

Bryn Davidson, lead designer at LaneFab, has assured the owners are intent on retaining as much of the home’s character and history as possible. While it will be deconstructed, it will be taken apart carefully with all the wood panelling repurposed into new flooring and skirting, he said. The new abode will be certified Net Zero, and fully powered by solar panelling.

Currie, admitting he shed tears when he first heard of the new owner’s plans to pay homage, swears he isn’t sad to see the painted house meet its end.

“I still have the memories,” he says.

Plus, he’s too busy with his latest project to have time for melancholy. He promises he’s making some “equally bold and strange” design decisions with his new digs, a home located on Vancouver Island, where he was raised.

On the mood board? Christmas colours of holly and ivy, vivid red features, and polka dots, of course.