Hall · Curtains

Curtains for the Hall in Goa

A hall usually has more windows and doors than any other room in the house. The curtains have to tie all of them together, keep the room private from the road, and stand up to a houseful of guests.

Made-to-measure curtains hanging in full-length folds at a window

Window studioChange the treatment, the time and how far it is drawn.

Lined · Midday

Treatment

Time of day

Drawn open30%

Daylight inSome

View outLow

Daytime privacyHigh

Sun and heat cutGood

A lining protects the face fabric from sun and salt, and makes the curtain properly private at night.

In short

Treat the hall as one composition: a single fabric family across every window, a ceiling-fixed track on the main wall of openings, and a lined or dim-out curtain wherever the room faces a road or a neighbour. On doors people walk through all day, use a heading that stacks tightly and a tieback or holdback so the fabric stays out of the way.

What your hall asks of curtains

01Continuity across many openingsWhen a hall has windows on three sides and doors on the fourth, mismatched curtains make it look like several rooms stitched together. One colour, or one fabric in two weights, carried round the room calms it down.
02Privacy from the frontThe hall is usually the room facing the road or the village lane. Passers-by can see straight in once the lights are on, so at least the road-side openings need a curtain that is properly opaque.
03Doors that stay usableDoors to the balcão, the garden or a balcony are opened constantly. Curtains there must clear the opening fully when drawn back, and not drag on the floor where people step.
04Scale for the heightHalls in older houses and villas are often three and a half metres or more to the ceiling. Curtains that stop at the top of the window frame make the room look squat and the windows look small.

What we'd recommend

See it in your hall

We bring samples to your home, hold them to your light and measure every opening — anywhere in North or South Goa.

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Planning a room with six openings

Start by listing every opening and what it is for. A typical Goan hall might have two tall windows facing the road, a pair of doors onto the balcão, a side window towards the neighbour, and internal doorways to the bedrooms and kitchen. Each of these has a different job, and it is fine for the curtains to differ in weight while sharing a colour.

A common solution is a lined linen on the road windows, the same linen as a sheer on the side that faces the garden, and a matching plain cotton on the internal doorways. Seen from the centre of the room, it reads as one scheme; up close, each opening has what it needs.

Curtains for feast days and full rooms

When the hall fills for Christmas, a wedding lunch or a family function, the curtains get pushed, leaned on and brushed past far more than usual. Tiebacks or concealed holdbacks keep fabric clear of chairs and buffet tables, and a heading on gliders rather than rings means the curtains can be drawn quickly when the evening light changes without anyone climbing a chair to free a snag.

Think, too, about where the crowd stands. If a sliding door to the balcony becomes the main route between the hall and an outdoor gathering, give that door a curtain that stacks completely off the glass, or leave it with a blind instead.

Getting the height and fullness right

In a high hall, fix the track as close to the ceiling as the beams or the cornice allow and let the curtains finish a centimetre above the floor. The extra length makes the windows look as tall as they really are. Where the ceiling is timber or has a false ceiling, the fixing method changes, so we check this on the visit.

Wide halls need more fabric than people expect. For a pleated heading, plan roughly twice the track width; on a long run of windows, it is often better to split the track into sections so each pair of curtains stacks between windows rather than piling up at the far corners.

Colour in a room seen by everyone

The hall is the first room visitors see, so it is tempting to pick a strong colour. In Goan light, rich reds, teals and golds fade on the sun-facing side long before the shaded side, and the difference shows when the curtains hang next to each other. Lining the strong colours, or keeping the sun-side curtains in a warm neutral and using colour on cushions and the sofa, avoids that.

If the hall has a home altar or a family shrine, the curtains around it usually look best quiet — ivory, sand or a soft stone — so the altar remains the focus.

In Goa

Laterite walls, wooden shutters and wet months

Many older halls have wooden shutters or window frames set deep into thick laterite walls. Curtains can hang inside the reveal, but on deep walls they usually work better fixed outside it so the shutters can still open fully inward. Laterite and old lime plaster need the right anchors; a track fixed into crumbling plaster will pull loose under the weight of long lined curtains.

Through June to September the front of the house takes the driving rain. Keep road-side curtains drawn back during dry spells so the fabric and the window frames can air, and if the family is away for the monsoon, have the long curtains taken down and stored rather than left hanging in a shut hall.

Mistakes we see in Goan homes

Choosing a different fabric for every window so the hall looks pieced together.
Putting sheers alone on the windows that face the road.
Hanging long curtains across a balcony door that becomes a walkway at every gathering.
Fixing a heavy track into old lime plaster without checking what is behind it.
Running one track across a long wall so all the fabric piles up in the corners.

Before you order

A list of every window and door in the hall, and what each one is for.
Which openings face the road or a neighbour.
Ceiling height and ceiling type — concrete, timber or false ceiling.
Doors that become walkways when the house is full.
Whether the walls are laterite, brick or old lime plaster.
Any altar, shrine or feature the curtains should frame rather than compete with.

More for your hall

Curtains for other spaces

We measure and fit curtains across Goa — Panjim, Porvorim, Dona Paula, Mapusa, Candolim, Calangute, Assagao, Anjuna & Vagator, Siolim, Benaulim, Colva, Varca, Cavelossim, Margao, Majorda, Vasco da Gama, Canacona & Palolem, Ponda.

FAQ

Curtains for the Hall in Goa: questions

How many curtain panels does a big hall need?

Normally a pair for each window or door, though on a long run of windows we sometimes use single panels that draw to the walls between them. We count the panels on the visit once we have seen where they can stack.

Should all the hall curtains be the same fabric?

They should look related, not necessarily identical. One colour in a sheer and a lined weight, chosen per opening, is usually the best balance between unity and function.

Which curtains suit a hall that faces the road?

A lined or dim-out curtain on the road side, layered over a sheer if you want daytime light. Once lamps are on inside, an unlined sheer shows the whole room to the street.

Can curtains go on the internal doors of the hall?

Yes. A simple cotton panel on a rod or a short track across a bedroom or kitchen doorway gives privacy from guests while keeping the door open for air — a common arrangement in Goan houses.

Do you visit to measure?

Yes. We visit homes across North and South Goa, measure every opening in the hall, bring samples to see in your light and give you a written quote.

Drape Haus

Preparing the room

Planning a room with six openings

Curtains for feast days and full rooms

Getting the height and fullness right

Colour in a room seen by everyone

If the hall has a home altar or a family shrine, the curtains around it usually look best quiet — ivory, sand or a soft stone — so the altar remains the focus.

Laterite walls, wooden shutters and wet months

Mistakes we see in Goan homes

Choosing a different fabric for every window so the hall looks pieced together.

Putting sheers alone on the windows that face the road.

Hanging long curtains across a balcony door that becomes a walkway at every gathering.

Fixing a heavy track into old lime plaster without checking what is behind it.

Running one track across a long wall so all the fabric piles up in the corners.

Before you order

A list of every window and door in the hall, and what each one is for.

Which openings face the road or a neighbour.

Ceiling height and ceiling type — concrete, timber or false ceiling.

Doors that become walkways when the house is full.

Whether the walls are laterite, brick or old lime plaster.

Any altar, shrine or feature the curtains should frame rather than compete with.