Custom Curtains for Assagao Homes & Villas

Assagao asks two opposite things of a curtain maker. In the restored Indo-Portuguese houses, windows are tall and closed by wooden shutters, so the pole sits on the masonry over the window and the curtains fall a long way. In the new villas the problem is scale: glass walls and double-height living rooms where the top of the curtain is out of reach, so a motorised wave heading on a recessed ceiling track is the usual answer. Agree that recess with the designer before the ceiling is closed. The trees matter too. Shade keeps rooms cool, but the monsoon air under them is damp, so lined curtains want a detachable lining and a gap for air behind.

• Double-height villa living rooms: full-height sheers and lined curtains on a motorised ceiling track, planned from the designer's drawings.
• Old family houses on the lanes: linen or cotton from a timber or wrought-iron pole set higher than the window head, so the shutters still swing.
• Bedrooms in houses let as stays: washable blackout curtains with a simple pinch-pleat heading, easy to take down and rehang.