The wall behind a Bogmalo bed is often the one that looks out to sea, and it carries more damp than it shows. A headboard pressed flat against that wall in a home shut for the season is likely to have mould behind it when the doors are opened. Leave a finger's gap between board and plaster for air to circulate, and have the backing board sealed on both sides. For the cover, leatherette or a close synthetic weave wipes clean and does not hold damp, which suits lets where many heads rest on it. In the villas, a headboard spanning the whole wall, with lights and sockets, is worth planning with the electrician before it is made.
- Holiday-let bedrooms: a simple leatherette headboard, spaced off the wall, that wipes clean and is easy to re-cover.
- Second homes closed for months: sealed backing boards and synthetic covers, so the bed wall stays free of mould.
- Villa master bedrooms: full-wall panelling behind the bed, with switches, sockets and bedside lights set in, positions fixed before making.
Bogmalo is a small bay with a sandy beach on the seaward side of the Mormugao peninsula, a few kilometres from Dabolim. It has a beach resort, a handful of hotels and guest houses, a fishing community, and apartments and villas on the slope behind the beach.
Homes and hotel rooms here face the sea or sit just behind it. Many are second homes and holiday lets that stand closed for part of the year, so furnishings must cope with being shut up in humid weather and opened again for guests.
Bogmalo is as exposed to salt as anywhere in Goa: the beach is a few steps away and the wind comes straight off the water. Steel rusts quickly, natural fabrics hold damp, and anything outdoors needs marine-grade materials.