Custom Blinds in Mormugao

The compact port trust quarters and flats of Mormugao have small windows, and a blind sits more neatly in them than any curtain. What matters is what the blind is made of. On this headland, salt, damp and harbour dust arrive together, so the head rail should be aluminium, the chain and brackets stainless or plastic, and the fabric a coated polyester or PVC that wipes down. Real wooden slats warp here and are best avoided, as is untreated bamboo. Rollers and zebra blinds have one flat face to clean; venetians hold grime on every slat. In the old bungalows, frames are seldom true, so a blind is usually fixed on the face of the frame.

• Small windows in staff quarters: a wipe-clean roller with a plastic chain, fitted close so it does not rattle in the monsoon wind.
• Verandas of old bungalows: clear PVC monsoon blinds in guided channels, to keep driven rain off the floor and chairs.
• Bedrooms in flats near the harbour: a blackout roller on aluminium fittings, useful for anyone who works nights and sleeps by day.