Late last year, a new coffee table book hit the international literary market, one of three major interiors books published by the prestigious Vendome Press of London, during the year's last quarter. This book may initially have passed some readers by as just another fancy tome on interiors, but for us on island Malta, it stands out for a set of very valid reasons.

Launched contemporarily in Malta, London and New York, The Sunday Times of London described it as one of the best design books of 2019, which says a great deal to start off with. Then again, Francis Sultana - Designs & Interiors is all about the works of the interior stylist to the stars who hails from our islands, more specifically from Gozo. To add to the thrill, the book mentions Malta and Gozo pretty frequently, shedding light on the beauty and uniqueness of our Mediterranean sun-kissing isles.

A team of people were brought together to write about Sultana's work spanning a decade of successful styling of properties around the world. This globetrotting stylist's work is lauded by the likes of author and editor Bronwyn Cosgrave, producer of fashion documentaries and former features editor of British Vogue; Yana Peel, businesswoman, children's author, philanthropist and former CEO of the Serpentine Gallery (who penned the book's Foreword); Brook Mason, prolific author on Architectural Digest and Gianluca Longo, London-based fashion editor and journalist (the latter two being contributors to the publication).

Locally Sultana is known for his 2018 appointment as Cultural Ambassador for Malta, as well as for his role as Board Member at Micas, the Museum of Contemporary Art, scheduled to open in 2021. In the UK he runs his own interiors and furniture design studio in London's exclusive St James, is artistic director at the prestigious David Gill Gallery and has also been involved in leading art establishments such as the Victoria & Albert Museum and the Design Museum London, among others. This, apart from being voted as one of the best in his genre, by the US edition of Architectural Digest.

But, back to the book. The experience of lusciousness starts from the cover. Once you flip off the paper jacket boasting Malta's emblematic cross and insignia (definitely not as an afterthought), the hardbound jacket is a tactile and visual surprise, reminiscent of the sun glistening on water - again Malta's very own. Inside, after the perfunctory introductions are read, "Malta" kicks off the book with the story of how it all began for Sultana. Even as the pages in this chapter carry innumerable photographs of interiors created by Sultana, where luxury and art sit back to back, the interiors are all Maltese, traditional, modern or contemporary.

As the book progresses and the eye candy develops to incorporate interiors from London and on to other international locations, the reader gets to savour a roller-coaster of exciting spaces that exist through Sultana's eclectic style, all reined in by one or several contemporary masterpieces. Because he uses what is generally big art to set the tone in any given space, large canvases and exciting installations that strongly inspire him to transcend the expected and adventure beyond.

One can well imagine the little boy from Gozo, dreaming of something extraordinary even while being in awe of the grandiose interiors of churches and basilicas, baroque facades and stone hewn balustrades. Over time, it has all translated in the love of colour, love of light, love of classical features that are happily revved up by something as surprising as a huge pop art painting or a loudly coloured sculpted chair. The book does not simply highlight Francis Sultana's innate knack at setting the mood for a space with brilliance and flair, it also showcases so many artists whose works are carefully selected and used to perform in a room where their presence becomes sacred.

Which makes this a book about talent - carefully curated talent that comes together thanks to Sultana, his judicious eye for detail, rampant imagination and delicate sense of balance. He dares and this book is all about his daring.

Available from leading book sellers