A flat in Chicalim usually has one long glazed side looking over the Zuari and solid walls everywhere else, and it is those inner walls that should carry wallpaper. The wall that meets the bay weather takes humid, slightly salty air and can hold moisture; paper there risks lifting at the seams. Use vinyl wallpaper with anti-fungal adhesive on a wall that has been checked and primed, and keep paper-backed or fabric papers out of it altogether. Strong reflected light shows every joint, so walls must be smooth before hanging. In the older village houses, ground-floor walls may be damp at the base and suit PVC panels better.
- Living rooms in the new apartment complexes: vinyl wallpaper on the wall opposite the windows, where the light falls evenly.
- Villa bedrooms on the slopes: a large pattern or mural behind the bed, in an air-conditioned room that keeps the paper dry.
- Ground floors of older houses near the church: no paper below any damp line; PVC wall panels there instead.
Chicalim is a village on the southern shore of the Zuari bay, between Dabolim and Vasco. The road along the bay looks across the water, and the slopes above it have seen many new apartment complexes and villa projects, alongside the older village houses near the church.
New Chicalim homes are built for the view: wide windows and balconies facing the bay. Sheer curtains and sunscreen blinds that keep the view while cutting glare are the usual choice, with blackout in bedrooms.
The bay brings humidity and a steady breeze, with some salt though less than on the open coast. Rooms facing the water get reflected glare for much of the day.
Riverside and backwater homes
Walls near water hold damp at the base. Wallpaper should stop above any tide mark of rising damp, and the wall should be treated first. Vinyl papers with anti-fungal adhesive cope with humidity; paper-backed and fabric wallpapers do not.
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.
