Zuber's "Decor Chinois"...

I recently was asked to repair a room of Zuber wallpaper that had water damage and pet damage...

"Decor Chinois" was the pattern! First made in 1832, Decor Chinois has 57 colors in the design and came in three colorways-cream, pink and the popular green.

I remember my first visit to the Zuber Paris showroom...I had set up an appointment and buzzed the door to be let in...

There were all of the designs on panels to flip through. Each design was hand carved from pear wood and made into wood blocks. They are kept in a controlled climate and allowed to rest for several years between printing again.

The previous owners had a dog that scratched a large area back to the liner.

I repainted the design and moved on to the water damage...

Three walls had moderate to more extensive water damage from upstairs flooding...

Several panels had multiple water stains running top to bottom through the designs. I painstakingly touched up each flower, bird and leaf in the effected area and then blended the background...ahem, did I mention Zuber is know for their gradation in color on their backgrounds? They start with one tone at the top and become lighter in the middle and then another shade at the bottom.

Decor Chinois is no longer in production.  The pear wood blocks begin to crack and warp after a century of use and must be retired. One of the perks of being a decorative artist is a job like this one....to come full circle from viewing the papers as a young artist and then restoring them to their original beauty, to be appreciated by another generation of art lovers!