The question in an old Assagao house is not which wallpaper but which wall. Thick old walls finished in lime plaster take up moisture and give it back to the air, and under the village's tree cover they stay damp well after the rains. Seal one behind vinyl and the moisture has nowhere to go. So test first, and expect the answer to be a later partition wall or a dressing room, with the lime walls left painted. Where a wall is damp, PVC panels on a frame are the right cover, not paper. The new villas are simpler. Their air-conditioned bedrooms and tall living-room walls hold wallpaper well, and suit murals and large imported patterns.
- Restored Indo-Portuguese houses: paper only on newer partition walls after a moisture test, never on old lime plaster that shows damp.
- Tall walls in double-height villas: large-scale pattern or a mural, with the drop planned from the ceiling so the main motif sits where people look.
- Restaurants and boutiques along the lanes: a textured vinyl on an inside wall that stays dry, kept clear of doorways where it would be scuffed.
Assagao is a village on the wooded slopes between Mapusa and Anjuna. Once known for its flowers and its old family houses, it has become the most fashionable address in North Goa, with restored mansions, designer villas, restaurants and boutiques along its lanes.
Assagao has two kinds of house: large Indo-Portuguese homes that have been carefully restored, and new villas built with pools, double-height living rooms and glass walls. Both are furnished to a high standard, often with an interior designer involved, and many are let as luxury stays.
The village is a few kilometres from the sea, so salt is mild. It is heavily wooded, which keeps houses cool but damp in the monsoon, and old walls hold moisture.
Villas and gated homes
Large walls suit large patterns and murals, which would be lost in a small room. Double-height walls need the pattern planned from the top so the repeat lands well at eye level. Air-conditioned rooms hold wallpaper very well.
Old Goan houses
Old walls are lime-plastered and need to breathe. Sealing them under vinyl can trap moisture, so a wall is tested first, and loose or powdery plaster is made good. Often the answer is to paper a later partition wall and leave the old lime walls painted.
