In a let bedroom people lean on the headboard with sun cream, hair oil and wet hair, and in Sernabatim it then sits in a closed, humid flat until the next arrival. Choose a cover a cloth can clean, leatherette or a close performance weave, in a neutral that suits whoever books. Keep the outline simple, since a plain rectangle is easy to re-cover. Fix it to the wall with a slight gap, and have the backing sealed front and back, so sea damp cannot gather behind it while the windows are shut. Wall mounting also lets the bed be replaced without touching the headboard. Villa bedrooms can take a broader panel with lights and sockets set into it.
- Let flats in the low-rise complexes: a plain wipe-clean headboard in neutral leatherette, wall-fixed with air space behind.
- Owner's bedroom in a part-let flat: a panelled fabric headboard in a tight weave, on the wall furthest from the sea.
- Villa master bedrooms: a panel as wide as the wall, with reading lamps whose positions are settled with the electrician first.
Sernabatim is the stretch of coast between Colva and Benaulim, a small ward with its own quiet beach. It is mostly holiday apartments, guest houses and a few villas, set among fields a short walk from the sand.
Most properties here are holiday flats in low-rise complexes, let to visitors for part of the year and used by their owners for the rest. Furnishing has to be durable, easy to wash, and neutral enough to suit any guest.
Sernabatim is close to the sea throughout, so salt and humidity affect every home. Flats that stand closed between lets need fabrics that do not turn musty.