Individuality in interior design, even down to the ways we store our stuff, is a theme that runs through the February issue of Places: Design & Living, out with The Sunday Times of Malta tomorrow.

The personal touch can be injected into everything, so that our surroundings are truly unique to us and suit our individual needs, making all feel totally at home.

The bi-monthly magazine also squeezes into a studio apartment to see how the clever use of space made it more ‘spacious’ than a three-bedroom flat; and it works its way around an awkward central shaft that has been camouflaged by cladding and used to incorporate appliances and conceal eyesores, showing how customised joinery can be the solution.

Heritage and conservation always find their place in Places, with an article on the importance of the rare panel paintings of the Madonna of Grace altarpiece at St Mark’s Priory, in Rabat, and the funding required to restore them, as well as a piece about the meticulous conservation works on a valuable ceramic fruit bowl from the early 20th century.

One of the latest in a series of boutique hotels to blossom in Valletta, 66, St Paul’s Street, with its focus on luxury living, is also featured extensively as an example of the rehabilitation of old buildings and the injection of new life into the capital city.

It traces the transformation of a semi-converted and largely neglected property into a comfortable property, complete with all amenities, while retaining many unique and original features.

Places: Design & Living is produced and published by Allied Newspapers Ltd.