The unusual approach that a young Maltese architectural designer adopted to convert a 300-year-old farmhouse has attracted the attention of a popular Polish home interior magazine.

The magazine, Dom & Wnetrza, featured the private home of Mark Pace on its front cover with an exclusive seven-page article, complete with photos of the radical conversion of the farmhouse, located in the heart of Birkirkara.

Blessed with an eye for detail and the ability to sniff potential in a dilapidated building, Mr Pace has a passion for renovation and combining materials and structures to create sleek, contemporary, yet comfortable living areas.

When he first bought his home a few years back, the building was in a bad state and many potential buyers had been disheartened by the amount of work, and money, needed to convert the place.

The same things that discouraged people is exactly what got Mr Pace excited and where his friends saw overgrown weeds and dislodged stone slabs, he saw glass structures and floating concrete planes emerging from the old walls.

"The aim was to retain the original feeling of the typical courtyard and house using a contrast of old and new surfaces," he said.

The home has an old, unassuming entrance, which opens up onto a central courtyard with an Iroko deck that leads into the house.

Every room has been created with custom-made furniture that complements the architecture with simple lines that create a sense of space. Lighting was also of utmost importance.

Mr Pace has also blurred the boundary between indoors and outdoors by making ample use of glass that extends over two storeys. He also used a glass floor division between the dining area and the kitchen.

The Polish magazine clearly illustrates how Mr Pace has made the 100-year-old olive tree the focal point of the courtyard and how the lighting has been made to bring out the beauty of the old rubble walls.

The magazine commends Mr Pace for his unusual approach and his use of different materials with custom-made furniture that defines space and creates functional storage space that hides the clutter in a clever way.