Blinds in Vasco da Gama: Custom Solutions for Your Home

Dust from the harbour settles on everything in Vasco, and a blind with one flat face is far quicker to wipe than rows of slats. Roller and zebra blinds are therefore the practical choice across the town's apartment blocks and staff quarters. Salt comes from three directions on this peninsula, so head rails should be aluminium, and chains and brackets stainless or plastic; real wood slats warp and are best left out. For families on a transfer, blinds have another merit: they unscrew from the wall and go into the packing, provided standard brackets were used. People working nights at the port or the airport rest in daylight, and a blackout roller makes that possible.

• Quarters occupied for a few years: rollers on face-fixed brackets, sized to common window widths so they can be reused elsewhere.
• Kitchens and rooms on the harbour side: PVC-coated roller fabric that takes a damp cloth and does not hold soot or salt.
• Living rooms in apartment blocks: zebra blinds for privacy from the building opposite, with a stainless chain and an aluminium bottom rail.