A warm Copenhagen home, full of 'hygge'

This family home is a former book printer’s in central Copenhagen. Its owners, artist and actor Tomas Cenius and his wife, Hanne Honeypenny, stripped it down and renovated it in just five months. Photograph: Rachael Smith

By choosing warm colours and materials – in particular orange, gold, yellow, red, pink, teak and exposed brick – the pair have infused the house with cosiness. Cenius salvaged the grooved wooden panels at the top of the stairs from Nilfisk, an old vacuum cleaner factory that was closing down, adding the handrail for a slightly nautical look. Photograph: Rachael Smith

The curtains are Bouchardon in Zinnia from Designer’s Guild (£175/m), and the sofa and armchairs are by Zanotta, available from Chaplins: Cenius and Honeypenny took the original white covers to China, when they adopted their daughter, Lily Fu, and had the orange and yellow covers made up out there. They bought the fireplace from Danish specialist, Philip Pejse, built a brick surround, and leafed it in 18 carat gold. Photograph: Rachael Smith

Just off the living area is Lily Fu's bedroom: Cenius and Honeypenny created a Chinese-style bedroom for their adopted daughter, with sliding screens upholstered in fabric they bought in China. The black swing chair, just seen in foreground, is from children’s online store, Legeskab. Photograph: Rachael Smith

Downstairs is the kitchen/dining area. Cenius found the magnificent, 1978 Poggenpohl kitchen for 9,000 Krona (about £1,000) in newspaper ad. Photograph: Rachael Smith

The 60s teak and vinyl bar stools are by Eric Buch – find them at Elliott & Tate. The teak Jens Quistgaard wine bucket on the counter – inspired by the hull of a Viking ship – was a lucky flea market find (buy them from ourshowhome.com). Photograph: Rachael Smith

With its exposed brick, tiled floor and leather bench, this corner, defined by a stripe of plum-coloured paint the height of the window ledge, has the feel of a diner. The floor was salvaged from the staircase of a local apartment block that was being knocked down: find similar at Walls and Floors. Cenius removed the frame of a vintage Ole Gerlov Knudsen leather sofa and fixed the seats onto a wooden box; and altered a 60s rosewood Johannes Andersen dining table by chopping off the legs and fixing a industrial steel central stand, allowing him to twist the table round. The teak chairs are by Eric Buch – browse the dealers on Modern Shows for stockists. Photograph: Rachael Smith

The tiled entrance area – for similar Moroccan-style lamps, try Moroccan Décor. Photograph: Rachael Smith

The wooden drawers were salvaged from another book local printer that closed down, and Cenius built the green shelving to house them. The circular speakers, wired up to his old Bang & Olufsen record player, came from a flea market. Photograph: Rachael Smith

This extraordinary bathroom was once in London’s Regent Palace Hotel in Piccadilly Circus, where Cenius and Honeypenny once stayed. They bought the yellow bath and blue tiles for £100 from its closing down sale, and shipped them back to Denmark. Terrazzo (resin and marble) flooring like this is popular in Denmark – try resinflooringuk.com. Photograph: Rachael Smith

The stainless steel Deco bed cost 100K (£10) at a flea market – try Sunbury Antiques Market at Kempton Racecourse. The photo above the bed shows Honeypenny with Lily Fu at the exact spot where Lily Fu was found the day after she was born. Photograph: Rachael Smith

Cenius with Lily Fu. Photograph: Rachael Smith