Custom Curtains for Ribandar.

The houses along Ribandar's single road have a problem most Goan homes do not: the front rooms sit right on the roadside, and the back rooms look onto the Mandovi. That calls for two treatments in one house. On the road side, a sheer that stays drawn through the day gives privacy from passers-by without shutting out the light. On the river side, where humidity hangs in the room, keep fabrics light, such as cotton prints or linen-look polyester, and hang any blackout lining on its own hooks so it comes off for washing. Tall old windows need long drops fixed above the frame, clear of the shutters. Velvet is best avoided here, because it holds the damp.

• Front rooms on the road: a sheer on a rod fixed above the frame, left drawn all day so nobody walking past can see in.
• River-side bedrooms in old houses: unlined cotton or linen-look curtains, with a detachable blackout lining that is washed and sunned after the rains.
• Flats on the hill above: a sheer and a blackout on a double track, screwed firmly into the slab because the hill is breezy.