HomeBeautiful
  • Open Homes
  • Bathroom
  • Kitchen
  • Outdoor
  • Decorate
  • Hamptons
  • Podcasts
  • Beach House
  • hacks
HomeBeautiful
  • Open Homes
  • Bathroom
  • Kitchen
  • Outdoor
  • Decorate
  • Hamptons
  • Podcasts
  • Beach House
  • hacks
Subscribe
  1. Home
  2. Open Homes

Artist in residence: Home tour with Gavin and Pippa Wanganeen

Nestled in the Adelaide foothills, the home of AFL star turned artist Gavin Wanganeen and his family is a stylish delight - by Holly Byrne
  • 22 Dec 2017
Artist in residence: Home tour with Gavin and Pippa Wanganeen
Armelle Habib

Gavin Wanganeen’s home could easily have been a sports museum displaying the accolades of the former professional AFL player’s 16-year career. Instead, the walls are adorned with colour and art and tell another story; one of his new calling as an artist.

“Art has helped me to move on from Footy and connect with my culture” 
~ Gavin

Artist in residence: Home tour with Gavin Wagnaneen | Home Beautiful Magazine Australia
Armelle Habib
Artist in residence: Home tour with Gavin and Pippa Wanganeen
Armelle Habib

Gavin Wanganeen has spent much of his life living and breathing Australian rules football, but there’s not a hint of the oval ball or any of its trappings in the elegant home he shares with his family in Adelaide’s east. It appears the one-time Port Adelaide captain and Brownlow Medallist – dad to Mia, 17, Tex, 14, Kitty, four, Lulu, three and Posey, one – had no chance of any of his keepsakes making an appearance when he left the home’s decorating in the capable hands of his wife, Pippa. “If I frame the Brownlow nicely enough, I don’t think she could say no to that!” he says, optimistically. 

Hear Gavin talking about his incredible career in our podcast The Daily Home Edit:

Far from the black and teal of Port Adelaide, or the red and black of the Essendon Bombers where his AFL journey began, Gavin is now surrounded by the vibrant hues of his new passion, his own artwork. “In my last year of footy, I found myself in a debate with all the other Indigenous boys on the team about where the best Aboriginal art in Australia comes from,” he says. “So, I suggested we all do a painting of our own and get the rest of the team to pick.” 

Artist in residence: Home tour with Gavin Wagnaneen | Home Beautiful Magazine Australia
Armelle Habib

Inspired, Gavin picked up a paintbrush for the first time in years, after a childhood of watching his relatives paint. “I went away and got a big canvas, but I only did about one-twentieth of it,” he recalls. “It was taking so long I just rolled it up and put it away.” 

The vote among the players never went ahead, but some years later, his wife discovered the unfinished work. She couldn’t quite believe it belonged to her husband and asked him to finish it, unknowingly sparking a dramatic career change. “If it wasn’t for Pippa, I wouldn’t be painting,” says Gavin, who met his wife when she was working for AFL South Africa, and Gavin was visiting as an ambassador. Today, the white walls of the couple’s renovated 1958 home, bought four years ago, make the perfect backdrop for Gavin’s growing collection.

Artist in residence: Home tour with Gavin and Pippa Wanganeen
Armelle Habib

“It’s been really lovely for the girls to grow up with Gavin painting around them” 
~ PIPPA

Artist in residence: Home tour with Gavin Wagnaneen | Home Beautiful Magazine Australia
Armelle Habib
Artist in residence: Home tour with Gavin and Pippa Wanganeen

The bold black aluminium windows and doors that frame the outside view from the living room are Gavin's favourite design feature

Armelle Habib
Artist in residence: Home tour with Gavin and Pippa Wanganeen

Pippa brought the original kitchen back to life with Haymes Paints' pretty Seabreeze, along with new benchtops and some brass handles

Armelle Habib

“We were lucky there were actually some great storage solutions already in the house when we bought it,” says Pippa

While his art is the focal point in almost every room, there is an undeniable feminine influence, which shows in the swathes of pink – in textiles, accessories and even furniture – that pop up throughout. “I have always been a really girly girl,” says Pippa. “And I’ve acclimatised to the pink!” adds Gavin. When the couple moved in, layers of wallpaper were stripped back, a wall between the kitchen and living space was knocked out to create an open-plan layout, and concrete flooring was laid downstairs. “The floor plan worked really well for us,” explains Pippa. “We just wanted to make it a little more contemporary.” 

Artist in residence: Home tour with Gavin Wagnaneen | Home Beautiful Magazine Australia
Armelle Habib

A souvenir from Pippa’s days in South Africa, the antique sofa (above) was a lucky find. “I have a love of vintage pieces,” she says. The chandelier is an original feature of the home, while the table and chairs at the end of the room are all part of Pippa’s vintage collection. “We have a real mix of contemporary and antique pieces in this house,” she says. A chic copper and marble coffee table from Blu Dot proves her point, while Gavin’s work ‘Star Dreaming’ in Turquoise sits on the mantelpiece. Of course, no room in this home is complete without at least a touch of pink, here courtesy of the piano stool, which Pippa re-covered herself.

“People say they see certain things in the paintings, and that’s what I want” ~ Gavin

Artist in residence: Home tour with Gavin and Pippa Wanganeen

Gavin's painting in the main bedroom is called 'Star Dreaming' in Blush, and it's Gavin's perspective of looking down through the stars from heave or the highest point in the universe, to country.

Armelle Habib

With his football medals out of sight for now, Gavin’s new career has the nod of approval from his wife, who promotes his work through gavinwanganeenart.com.au. “I’m really happy with his art being on the walls,” says Pippa. “It’s bringing Gavin’s culture into our home, and is helping our children to learn about it.” And, while his new career couldn’t have come at a better time for her husband – “It’s given me a new outlet, a new focus, because it’s hard to forget about footy after it being such a huge part of my life” – there have also been some beautiful benefits. “Art has helped me learn more about my mum’s people, and I’m still learning as we go along,” explains Gavin. “And we don’t have to buy any art for the house, which is a bonus!” 

Artist in residence: Home tour with Gavin and Pippa Wanganeen

Kitty's bed is from This Little Love

Armelle Habib
Artist in residence: Home tour with Gavin and Pippa Wanganeen
Armelle Habib

"Lulu's bed was actually my bed when I was a little girl"

Pippa
Artist in residence: Home tour with Gavin Wagnaneen | Home Beautiful Magazine Australia
Armelle Habib

The playroom is filled with lovely pieces, including a dream-like canopy from Numero 74. “There is this whole Instagram community of gorgeous children’s homewares,” explains Pippa. “When you are breastfeeding all through the night, scrolling through the feed, it’s quite dangerous. It’s how most of these purchases were made!” 

Artist in residence: Home tour with Gavin and Pippa Wanganeen

Kitty and Yorkshire terrier Louis

Armelle Habib
Artist in residence: Home tour with Gavin and Pippa Wanganeen

Kitty and Lulu take in the view of the garden

Armelle Habib

"Now the pool fence is up this will be our first summer to really enjoy the backyard"

Pippa

Sun-drenched hardieDeck decking continues down the stairs and around the pool to create a cohesive look right throughout the backyard, with is a big drawcard for the children. "When we've got all the kids here, riding their scooters around, swimming and playing in the cubbyhouse, we can sit up on the deck and watch with a cup of coffee - or a glass of champagne if it's late enough in the day," says Pippa.

Artist in residence: Home tour with Gavin and Pippa Wanganeen

(Home Beautiful visited the day before the pool fencing was installed)

Armelle Habib
Holly Byrne
Holly Byrne
A country girl at heart, Holly swapped rural radio and race days for the Sydney city life, exploring her new hometown one cocktail party at a time. When she’s not in the kitchen recreating our HB recipes, Holly is writing up the latest in colour trends and designer profiles – Instagramming it all along the way.

FREE Miranda Kerr Mug-SAVE 31%

by Royal Albert, when you subscribe

Subscribe Now
FREE Miranda Kerr Mug

FREE Miranda Kerr Mug-SAVE 31%

by Royal Albert, when you subscribe

Subscribe Now
FREE Miranda Kerr Mug

Recommended to you

Getting your coastal kitchen floor plan right
Watch 2:03

Getting your coastal kitchen floor plan right

{headline}

{headline}

Bec Judd shares photos of her gorgeous home makeover

Bec Judd shares photos of her gorgeous home makeover

Natalie Bassingthwaighte's house tour is amazing!

Natalie Bassingthwaighte's house tour is amazing!

My kitchen rules

My kitchen rules

Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt’s holiday house is for sale for $72million

Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt’s holiday house is for sale for $72million

{headline}

{headline}

Asher Keddie and husband Vincent Fantauzzo have put their country estate on the market

Asher Keddie and husband Vincent Fantauzzo have put their country estate on the market

A sneak peek inside Jennifer Aniston’s LA mansion

A sneak peek inside Jennifer Aniston’s LA mansion

Justin Timberlake And Jessica Biel Are Set To Buy The Most Glorious Apartment

Justin Timberlake And Jessica Biel Are Set To Buy The Most Glorious Apartment

{headline}

{headline}

Star style: Tara Dennis' beautiful riverside home

Star style: Tara Dennis' beautiful riverside home

First look inside Chris Hemsworth and Elsa Pataky’s Byron Bay home

First look inside Chris Hemsworth and Elsa Pataky’s Byron Bay home

A tour of Jessica Alba’s incredible Los Angeles home

A tour of Jessica Alba’s incredible Los Angeles home

Inside Jennifer Hawkins' multi-million dollar Sydney mansion she built with husband Jake Wall

Inside Jennifer Hawkins' multi-million dollar Sydney mansion she built with husband Jake Wall

Inside Megan Gale and Shaun Hampson’s stunning new Melbourne home

Inside Megan Gale and Shaun Hampson’s stunning new Melbourne home

Sam Wood and Snezana Markoski put their luxury Melbourne love nest on the market

Sam Wood and Snezana Markoski put their luxury Melbourne love nest on the market

At home with Lydia Lassila

At home with Lydia Lassila

HomeBeautiful
  • About Us
  • Subscribe Today
  • Contact Us
  • Terms and Conditions
  • Privacy Policy
HomeBeautiful Magazine Subscribe
  • About Us
  • Subscribe Today
  • Contact Us
  • Terms and Conditions
  • Privacy Policy

Brands

  • Beauty Crew
  • marie claire
  • Who

Our Network

  • Better Homes and Gardens
  • BHG Shop
  • New Idea food
  • New Idea
  • Girlfriend
  • That’s Life
  • All Recipes
  • Practical Parenting
  • 7plus
  • 7News
  • Sunrise
  • The West Australian
  • Perth Now
  • 7mate
  • 7Sport
  • Starts at 60
© 2022 Are Media PTY LTD
All products are independently selected, tested or recommended by our team of experts.If you buy something, we may earn an affiliate commission.
Get more from

Magazine Subscription Offer

FREE Miranda Kerr Mug-SAVE 31%

Shop This Offer
FREE Miranda Kerr Mug