Custom Curtains in Fatorda, Goa | Bespoke Window Solutions

Fatorda was laid out with wide roads and open plots, so its flats get a great deal of sun. A living room with a sliding balcony door facing east or west has direct light on the glass for hours, and the curtain is what keeps the room usable. The arrangement that works is a double ceiling track: a sheer for daytime privacy from the block opposite, and a blackout or thermal-lined curtain behind it for the hot hours. Both must stack clear of the door so it still slides. Salt is no worry here, which opens up cottons and linens. Where the air conditioner sits over the window, hang the track from the ceiling in front of it.

• West-facing living rooms in the apartment buildings: thermal-lined blackout curtains behind a sheer, drawn after lunch to keep the heat out.
• Independent houses with a car porch: cotton prints or linen on rods in the front rooms, in a darker weave that hides road dust.
• Row-house bedrooms: full blackout on a ceiling track, carried well past each side of the window so early light stays out.