Wallpaper and an old Siolim wall are a poor match, and it is better to say so. These houses are lime on laterite, they hold damp from the Chapora and the fields, and a vinyl skin over them traps that moisture until the paper blisters. If a restored house is to have wallpaper, give it to a later partition wall, well above any mark of rising damp, and keep the original walls in breathable paint. The new villas are different. Their walls are modern and dry, their rooms tall and often air-conditioned, and a mural or large repeat planned from the top of a double-height wall suits them. Hang vinyl only, on a paste made to resist fungus.
- Restored houses run as guest stays: paper only a newer partition at the head of the bed, in a quiet pattern that guests will not tire of.
- Double-height villa living rooms: a large-scale mural set out from the ceiling down, so the pattern lands well at eye level.
- Ground-floor rooms near the river: no wallpaper on walls that show damp at the base; PVC panels on a ventilated frame instead.
Siolim is a large village on the south bank of the Chapora river, where the bridge crosses to Pernem. It is known for its church of St Anthony, its Zagor festival and its fine old houses, many now restored as homes and guest houses, with new villas along the river and the fields.
Siolim has some of the best-preserved Indo-Portuguese houses in Bardez, with wide balcões, tall windows and internal courtyards, and a growing number of designer villas. Both kinds are popular as high-end stays.
The river and the fields make Siolim humid, with mist on winter mornings. Old walls hold damp, and mosquitoes are common near the water. Salt is slight.
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.
Old Goan houses
Old walls are lime-plastered and need to breathe. Sealing them under vinyl can trap moisture, so a wall is tested first, and loose or powdery plaster is made good. Often the answer is to paper a later partition wall and leave the old lime walls painted.
