Bungalows in Goa

A bungalow is a different project from a flat. There is no building opposite, but there may be a road, a lane or a neighbour's compound wall on one side and an open garden on the others. Light reaches the house from every direction through the day, so the east bedroom wakes at six and the west sitting room is too bright by four. Every room has more than one window, and most ground-floor rooms open onto a verandah or the garden.

That freedom is also a lot of openings to treat. A three-bedroom bungalow can easily have twenty-five windows and doors, and treating them one by one, without a plan, ends up with a house that looks like five different shops furnished it. We prefer to plan the house as a whole: one or two fabric families, consistent hardware, and each room's treatment chosen for its orientation.

Bungalows in Goa range from 1970s family homes in Margao and Mapusa to new builds in the villages of Salcete and Bardez. Older ones often have high ceilings, deep verandahs and timber windows; newer ones have big glass sliders onto lawns and pools. Both reward treatments that respect the garden view rather than shutting it out.