Lime plaster is the reason to go slowly with wallpaper in Benaulim. The old houses of the village centre were built to breathe, and their walls show damp every monsoon; vinyl stuck over them traps that moisture and soon lifts. Test the wall first. More often than not the sensible place for paper is a later partition wall, with the original walls left in limewash or paint, and a PVC panel used where a wall stays damp. The newer villas and holiday apartments have cement-plastered walls that take vinyl wallpaper on an anti-fungal primer. Even there, keep it to inner walls, away from the side that faces the sea wind.
- Restored houses near Maria Hall: wallpaper on a newer partition only, after the plaster has been tested for damp.
- Air-conditioned villa bedrooms: a large-pattern vinyl behind the bed, on an inner wall sealed with anti-fungal primer.
- Holiday apartments on the beach lanes: a hard-wearing vinyl on one sheltered wall, checked first for salt bloom.
Benaulim is a large village just south of Colva, with a long, quieter beach and a village centre around Maria Hall. It has many old family houses, the hilltop church of St John the Baptist at Monte, and newer villas and holiday apartments along the lanes that lead to the beach.
Benaulim is known for its old houses: deep balcões, carved wooden furniture and windows with oyster-shell or wooden shutters. Many have been restored by their families or by new owners. Beside them are modern villas with pools, which want a different look altogether.
The beach side is salty and breezy. The village centre, a kilometre or two inland, is more sheltered but humid, and old lime-plastered walls there show damp in the monsoon.
Sea-facing homes
Sea-facing walls take in salt and moisture, and paper lifts at the seams if the wall is not sealed. Use vinyl-coated wallpaper on an anti-fungal primer, and keep it to inner walls or walls that do not face the weather. Check for salt bloom on the plaster first.
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.
