How to Use Wallpaper to Create Great Vistas

Imagine looking beyond a marble balustrade into a luxuriant garden, or gazing through classical stone arches framing a limitless cerulean sky. One does not have to sit on the terrace of a French country house or an Italian palazzo to savor these views. Using large-scale scenic wallpapers, a variety of romantic vistas can be enjoyed from a Manhattan studio or a traditional suburban home.

As Americans continue to look to Europe for design inspiration, scenics covering entire walls and other trompe l'oeil wallpapers are as successful now in creating an Old World aura as they were when first introduced to this country in the early 1800s. To judge from the myriad of trompe l'oeil papers available on the market today, using fool the eye techniques to add charm and character to otherwise nondescript rooms has not lost it's appeal.

The market for scenics is expanding everywhere says Bernard Gelbert, president of Robert Crowder & Co., a Los Angeles-based firm that produces both hand printed and painted scenics. People are interested in using them in small apartments. Scenics give perspective and open up the whole space. Under the guise of an Italian landscape or a Japanese garden, walls hung with scenic wallpaper panels literally seem to melt into the distance. Unlike the sometimes disconcerting trickery of mirrors often used to expand space, panoramic wallpapers achieve a similar effect with a more relaxed, soothing touch.

The French, who perfected the art of trompe l'oeil are experts at creating high-quality panorama murals and papers that imitate costly materials and often hard edged modern interiors. Zuber & Co, is one of the oldest companies still producing scenics and other trompe l'oeol papers using traditional hand-blocked methods. In an effort to expand its American market, the Zuber Company is currently introducing several new designs for export. Using the original woodblock carved In the 1800s the Zuber Company is able to achieve a degree of detail and depth of color difficult to match with modern methods. The more complex scenics can require up to 2,000 woodblocks to produce the full mural. Each of the Zuber scenics sold through S M Hexter Company in the United States consists, of non repeating panels about 24 to 28 inches wide, which are applied to the wall much like ordinary wallpaper. Scenics do require a careful eye to match the panels so the landscape flows smoothly in sequence from one panel to the next. Since the panels are non-repeating, they can be fitted to most wall lengths.

Zuber papers produced today are chosen from among 130,000 document papers in the factory archives. The choices range from classical scenes, exotic landscapes, to ornamental border, specialty wall papers and a host of architectural designs. There are, for example, seven versions of dado moldings - four simulating marble in various, colors and three imitating different kinds of wood Used with real chair rail and baseboard moldings stained to match the papers, explains Gilles Humbertclaude, Zuber & Co.'s US representative, they create an illusion of expensive wainscoting.

Architectural papers are often used to frame the scenics .They can also be combined with other ornamental designs such as flowers in vases for a small vignette above doors or at the end of a hall. Two of the new specialty papers imitating loosely draped tulle lace and a rich forested tapestry can be used for dramatic effects in small dressing rooms or alcoves.

The more contemporary Zuber designs include a fresh series of atmospheric background papers produced by subtle gradations of color. These washes of color are designed to be used in combination with architectural columns, balustrades, or friezes A clean lined scenic called "La Mer" suggests a succession of waves that diminish to a minimalist horizon.

Sources:

Chambers, Karen S., and Jocasta Innes Trompe L'Oeil At Home: Faux Finishes And Fantasy Settings 1991

Guegan, Yannick Trompe L'Oeil Panels and Panoramas: Decorative Images for Artists and Architects 2003