Former Canberra Grammar art teacher Trevor Dunbar lists his masterpiece for sale

Trevor Dunbar can’t understand why more people don’t use the ceiling of their home as a canvas.

“It’s a huge, blank space that’s perfect for a variety of art forms,” he says.

“Your house doesn’t have to be boring. Monochrome and beige have never been on our radar.

“It’s not common in Australia to use your home as canvas, but across the world it is.”

The Dunbar family home, located at 5 Bidia Place, Waramanga, and listed on Zango this week, is a living example of what happens when you turn your home into a literal work of art. 

Over three decades, Trevor, an artist and the former visual arts teacher at Canberra Grammar School, has transformed the red brick home built in the 1960s into a masterpiece. He’s created murals, mosaics and statues, inside and outside the home.

His love of 19th century impressionism – Pierre Bonnard is a particular favourite – is front and centre at 5 Bidia Place, with water lilies covering the ceilings of the main areas of the home. The kitchen features a Van Gogh-inspired backsplash and a roof inspired by Indigenous lines, colours and shapes.

The artwork is all Trevor’s. He describes his wife Linda as “very patient”.

“Once she went to work and I’d just come back from central Australia, from Arnhem Land, and I was feeling inspired,” he recalls.

“So I sketched out a mosaic mural in the kitchen and by the time Linda got home it was all drawn and couldn’t be undone.

“She arrived home and just shook her head.”

Trevor has worked on creating a “flow” between the indoors and outdoors of the three-bedroom home, mostly through the use of colour. The home is located at the end of a cul-de-sac and backs onto green space, while a studio out the back is completely self-contained: adding a fourth bedroom, a second bathroom and a kitchen.

Trevor knows the home “isn’t for everyone” but his hope is that the new owners will “love it for what it is”.

“One of the biggest compliments we’ve ever had is that living in our house is like living in a painting,” he says.

Sales agent Rachel Anasson from MARQ Property says the response to the home has been positive.

“The gardens are impressive and people love the serenity of being outside,” she says.

“It’s a very quiet street.

“The artistic and unique internal paintings and murals are definitely getting a reaction.”

Number 5 Bidia Place, Waramanga, goes to auction at 12 noon on Saturday 2 December 2023.

View the full listing.