Bedrooms in Caranzalem flats are practical in size, and a headboard has to earn its few centimetres. Fixing it to the wall instead of the bed saves depth, and running it a little wider than the mattress lets it carry a shelf or a reading light. Salt air matters even indoors. If the bed stands against the outer, beach-facing wall, mount the board slightly proud of the plaster so air can pass behind, ask for plywood sealed on both faces, and choose leatherette or a polyester weave that stays dry to the touch. Thick natural fabrics pressed against that wall turn musty by the end of the rains.
- Compact bedrooms: a slim panel fixed to the wall and extended past the mattress on each side, with a ledge for a phone and a lamp.
- Beds on the outer wall: a board fixed with a small air gap behind, covered in leatherette that wipes clean of salt film.
- Children's and guest rooms: a simple padded headboard in a synthetic weave, easy to re-cover when tastes or occupants change.
Caranzalem is the residential stretch between Miramar and Dona Paula, along a long, quiet beach lined with casuarina trees. It has grown from a fishing village into a neighbourhood of apartment complexes and housing colonies.
Most homes are flats in mid-rise complexes, lived in by families all year, unlike the holiday flats further north. Rooms are practical in size, and people look for value: blinds for bedrooms, curtains for the living room, nets on the balcony door.
Caranzalem is near the beach and gets salt air and sea breeze. The casuarina belt gives some shelter, but balconies facing west take sun and monsoon rain.
Sea-facing homes
Fix a headboard a little off a sea-facing wall so air can move behind it, and choose a synthetic or leatherette cover that does not hold damp. Wooden backing boards should be sealed on both sides.
Apartments and town flats
In a small bedroom, a wall-mounted headboard takes less depth than a bed with its own. It can be made the width of the bed or run wider, with bedside shelves built in.