Houzz Tour: Eclectic DIY Apartment in Denmark
A gold faucet, vertical gardens, updated bargain finds and gorgeous paint effects steal the show in Copenhagen
A 24-karat gold faucet, brass mirrors and dark velour meet raw walls, rustic wooden tables and shaggy fur carpets in this fabulous apartment in Copenhagen, Denmark. Jeppe Bjørnberg Hansen, pictured, renovated this space in 2017, decorating it with handpicked bargains and handmade objects. Breathing new life into flea market finds and adding creative paint effects, this interior designer put his own stamp on this space.
Bjørnberg Hansen did a lot of the work himself, hiring professionals only for the hardest parts. “I am not a craftsman, but I learned a lot along the way. Like Pippi Longstocking, I say to myself, ‘I have not tried this before — so I can probably do it!’”
Among other things, he made the tall panels and frames on the walls. “A carpenter wanted [about $630] per meter for the tall panels. I knew I could do it more cheaply myself,” Bjørnberg Hansen says.
Among other things, he made the tall panels and frames on the walls. “A carpenter wanted [about $630] per meter for the tall panels. I knew I could do it more cheaply myself,” Bjørnberg Hansen says.
The interior furnishings were hand-selected but not necessarily expensive. “A chair like the Egg chair is ridiculously expensive, while my chesterfield armchair was [about $160] on [Danish classifieds website] DBA. The price is not important to me — I love both of them,” Bjørnberg Hansen says.
He made the coffee table from a wooden board and a set of steel legs from DBA.
He made the coffee table from a wooden board and a set of steel legs from DBA.
“The speakers are probably my dearest possession,” he says. His father got these two Ortofon 445 speakers as a teenager, and his mother covered them with soft fabric and plants when the two moved in together. Now the speakers emit the jazzy strains of Miles Davis and Coleman Hawkins in Bjørnberg Hansen’s place.
Bjørnberg Hansen characterizes himself as a super haggler who loves the feeling of making a good deal. His tip for others: “Think about it as a sport or a game and do not take it personally. Ask openly and do not be the first one to make an offer. You might be able to get things more cheaply than you imagine.”
His favorite flea markets are the big ones at Forum, a concert and exhibition venue in Copenhagen’s Frederiksberg area, and Bella Center, in the south of the city.
The vintage ceiling light is a secondhand item from Rue Verte.
Bjørnberg Hansen characterizes himself as a super haggler who loves the feeling of making a good deal. His tip for others: “Think about it as a sport or a game and do not take it personally. Ask openly and do not be the first one to make an offer. You might be able to get things more cheaply than you imagine.”
His favorite flea markets are the big ones at Forum, a concert and exhibition venue in Copenhagen’s Frederiksberg area, and Bella Center, in the south of the city.
The vintage ceiling light is a secondhand item from Rue Verte.
The lamp in the window is another secondhand bargain from Rue Verte. Its base also emits light. Bjørnberg Hansen created its warm glow by using an ordinary LED bulb and a thin layer of orange spray paint.
Bjørnberg Hansen also made the guitar on the brick wall, designing it to resemble a 1962 Fender. He corroded the metal parts with acid, and exposed the body to a mixture of coffee and Coca-Cola to make the paint crack and look worn in just the right way.
The curtains echo the gray velour of the Sofakompagniet couch, giving the living room a decorative through line.
Bjørnberg Hansen also made the guitar on the brick wall, designing it to resemble a 1962 Fender. He corroded the metal parts with acid, and exposed the body to a mixture of coffee and Coca-Cola to make the paint crack and look worn in just the right way.
The curtains echo the gray velour of the Sofakompagniet couch, giving the living room a decorative through line.
The plaster was knocked off one of the walls in the living room to reveal the old brickwork. It is contrasted by a painting by Jan Klein, Bjørnberg Hansen’s artistic mentor. The rest of the artwork in the apartment is Bjørnberg Hansen’s own.
The guitar on the wall to the left is a 1983 Fender Stratocaster, which looks like the highly sought-after 1950s models.
The raw wood chest serves as an electronics cabinet. Bjørnberg Hansen stores his amplifier here, among other things. The old Kähler vase on the floor was another great bargain. The vertical garden over the chesterfield-style chair came from a DIY kit from Greenify.
Bjørnberg Hansen stained the pine flooring to make it darker and to match the style of the rest of the apartment.
The raw wood chest serves as an electronics cabinet. Bjørnberg Hansen stores his amplifier here, among other things. The old Kähler vase on the floor was another great bargain. The vertical garden over the chesterfield-style chair came from a DIY kit from Greenify.
Bjørnberg Hansen stained the pine flooring to make it darker and to match the style of the rest of the apartment.
The light switches in the apartment are painted to match the walls.
The brass PH 3/2 lamp is a 1997 anniversary edition of an original Poul Henningsen model from 1927.
The brass PH 3/2 lamp is a 1997 anniversary edition of an original Poul Henningsen model from 1927.
The dining room features a vertical garden in which plants grow in copper gutters. They surround a copper plate engraved with a world map. This flea market bargain was completely corroded when Bjørnberg Hansen first got his hands on it. “I put ketchup on it and left it overnight. The acid from the ketchup removed the corrosion. I have covered it with a layer of car varnish, so the corrosion will never come back,” he says.
The wall behind shows off his past as a graffiti artist; he spray-painted it with leaves in shades of green. The dining table is another of many bargains from DBA. In Bjørnberg Hansen’s words, the chairs are “nothing special” — he chose them for their cognac-colored leather upholstery.
The wall behind shows off his past as a graffiti artist; he spray-painted it with leaves in shades of green. The dining table is another of many bargains from DBA. In Bjørnberg Hansen’s words, the chairs are “nothing special” — he chose them for their cognac-colored leather upholstery.
Bjørnberg Hansen designed the large firewood stand, and his father welded it. The sides are made of thin steel plates with a classic cloverleaf pattern. Bjørnberg Hansen also used the cloverleaf plates for the apartment’s radiator covers. He equipped the wood-burning stove with a brass floor plate for a warm touch.
The bedroom closet has kitchen cabinet doors from Ikea.
The chair is an heirloom from Bjørnberg Hansen’s grandfather. Its current owner refurbished, painted and decorated it with a collage on the seat.
The chair is an heirloom from Bjørnberg Hansen’s grandfather. Its current owner refurbished, painted and decorated it with a collage on the seat.
The velour bed from Nordic Illuminations is, as Bjørnberg Hansen points out, luxurious. The bedspread is from Rue Verte, while the oversize dream catcher is from Peru and bought on DBA.
At the end of the hall is the long kitchen. Like the other living spaces, it is characterized by warm colors, soft lighting, nostalgic features and clever, well-planned design solutions.
The ceramic countertops from Bordpladen.dk are brown with a hint of brass and gold. The gray cabinets are from Ikea and made to fit the dimensions of the kitchen. Bjørnberg Hansen emphasizes that this was a big advantage in an old and slightly crooked apartment.
The ceramic countertops from Bordpladen.dk are brown with a hint of brass and gold. The gray cabinets are from Ikea and made to fit the dimensions of the kitchen. Bjørnberg Hansen emphasizes that this was a big advantage in an old and slightly crooked apartment.
Bjørnberg Hansen had planned to expose the brick wall at the end of the kitchen, but he changed his mind when he found the original paint under the many layers of other colors.
The chimney to the right was originally white. He painted it black and then sprayed gold from above, creating an interesting shadow effect.
The chimney to the right was originally white. He painted it black and then sprayed gold from above, creating an interesting shadow effect.
The kitchen’s biggest surprise is the Quooker faucet in 24-karat gold — a rare sight in Denmark. The faucet is particularly popular in the United Arab Emirates, and Bjørnberg Hansen just had to have one for his Copenhagen apartment. The faucet matches both the brass kitchen sink and the dusty-orange wall.
The copper lamp above the table is from UniqueRoom; its corroded outer surface is a perfect match for the worn look of the wall. A brass tube conceals the lamp’s wire.
The copper lamp above the table is from UniqueRoom; its corroded outer surface is a perfect match for the worn look of the wall. A brass tube conceals the lamp’s wire.
The brass mirror backsplash makes the room seem bigger.
Bjørnberg Hansen replaced the back panels of the cabinets with brass. The mirrored effect makes the champagne bottles and glasses inside seem to multiply.
The steel-framed glass in and above the doors was one of the reasons Bjørnberg Hansen fell in love with this apartment in the first place.
“I based my ideas on the existing style of the apartment and then pushed them to their limits,” he says.
The flooring he chose for the hall and kitchen is dark with a rustic feel.
“I based my ideas on the existing style of the apartment and then pushed them to their limits,” he says.
The flooring he chose for the hall and kitchen is dark with a rustic feel.
In the tiny bathroom, a patch of wooden tiles also contributes to the rustic look of the apartment.
The ceiling in the bathroom was sprayed liberally with gold paint. The large massage shower is from Grohe.
Bjørnberg Hansen was happy to design, refurbish and adapt the apartment, but he is just as eager to take on a new project as soon as this restoration is done.
“I think it is fun to renovate and create an atmosphere in a place. Then when it is finished, I lose my enthusiasm and I’m ready to move on to new projects,” he says.
“I think it is fun to renovate and create an atmosphere in a place. Then when it is finished, I lose my enthusiasm and I’m ready to move on to new projects,” he says.
“Even though the apartment is on a pedestrian street with lots of cafés in the middle of Copenhagen, it is amazingly quiet in this neighborhood, which is home to many creative people,” he says. “It is almost like living in a small village.”
Take a tour of Bjørnberg Hansen’s previous apartment
Take a tour of Bjørnberg Hansen’s previous apartment
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Who lives here: Jeppe Bjørnberg Hansen, 29, a car painter, luthier, graffiti artist and interior designer
Location: The central Stræderne neighborhood of Copenhagen, Denmark
Size: 850 square feet (79 square meters)
Year built: 1780