Window Blinds for Benaulim.

Shell-paned and timber-shuttered windows are part of what makes a Benaulim house, and a blind must work around them. The shutters open inward and the frames are seldom true, so measure each opening at three points and fix the blind to the wall above or to the face of the frame. Roman blinds sit comfortably with old woodwork. Real wood slats warp in salt damp, so on the beach side choose faux-wood venetians or coated roller fabric, with head rails in aluminium and chains in plastic or stainless steel. Modern villas need something else again: rollers in a row across wide glass, lined up on the mullions, and motorised if there are many.

• Old houses in the village centre: roman blinds fixed above the frame, so the oyster-shell shutters open as before.
• Villas with pools: motorised sunscreen rollers across the sliding doors, and blackout rollers in the bedrooms.
• Balcões and verandas facing the weather: clear PVC monsoon blinds with rust-proof fittings, rolled up in the dry months.