Carpets & Rugs in Siridao: Bespoke Solutions for Goa Homes

Wool and jute are the wrong fibres for Siridao. Both soak up the moisture that hangs over the estuary, and a damp rug on a ground floor beside the water begins to smell. Polypropylene and nylon rugs dry fast, do not mildew and can go out into the sun, which is what a village house needs. Keep them loose and without rubber backing, so the floor under them can dry too. Where an old house still has its original tiled or cement floor, a small rug by the seating shows it off better than covering it. Fitted carpet belongs only in a newer slope house or villa, in a room kept shut with the air conditioning on.

• Ground floors by the shore: small synthetic rugs with no rubber backing, taken out to air in the sun whenever the weather allows.
• Old houses with patterned floors: a flat-woven polypropylene rug in a traditional design, on an underlay that stops it sliding.
• Villa bedrooms with air conditioning: fitted carpet, or else a big nylon rug, so long as the room stays shut and dry.