Before papering a wall in Vasco, look at the plaster. The Zuari estuary and the open sea surround the town, and outer walls often show a white salt bloom or flaking paint, most of all towards the harbour. Wallpaper will not stay on such a wall; PVC panels suit it, and wallpaper belongs on a sound inner wall sealed with an anti-fungal primer. Smooth vinyl is the type to choose, because port dust clings to flocked and deeply textured papers and cannot be wiped off them. There is also the matter of tenure. In quarters held for a posting, get consent from whoever owns the building, since wallpaper cannot move with you.
- Inner bedroom walls in flats: vinyl wallpaper in a patterned or darker design, which hides the fine film that settles between cleans.
- Walls facing the sea or the docks: leave unpapered and consider PVC panels, as salt and moisture lift the seams.
- Older houses on the grid: test the plaster for salt and damp first, and paper only walls that have stayed dry through a monsoon.
Vasco da Gama is the port city of Goa, at the tip of the Mormugao peninsula beside the Zuari estuary. It is home to the harbour, the railway terminus and a large community connected with the port, the navy and the airport at Dabolim. The town is laid out on a grid, with apartment blocks, company quarters and older houses.
Much of Vasco lives in flats and in housing provided for port, naval and company staff, where people stay for a posting of a few years. That favours furnishing that can be taken down and moved: blinds, curtains on rods, and rugs, more than fixed work.
Vasco has sea on three sides. Salt air reaches most of the town, and near the harbour there is dust as well. Fixings and fittings should be aluminium or stainless steel, and fabrics should be washable.
Apartments and town flats
In a flat, one papered wall behind the sofa or the bed changes the room for little cost. Shared walls with a neighbour's bathroom or kitchen should be checked for damp. Vinyl wallpaper wipes clean, which suits homes with children.
Sea-facing homes
Sea-facing walls take in salt and moisture, and paper lifts at the seams if the wall is not sealed. Use vinyl-coated wallpaper on an anti-fungal primer, and keep it to inner walls or walls that do not face the weather. Check for salt bloom on the plaster first.
