Copenhagen's coolest apartment
The hybrid gallery meets concept store with a cult following is now the smartest place to stay in the Danish capital’s Christianshavn neighbourhood.
On the fourth floor of a sunshine-yellow, canal-facing townhouse in Copenhagen’s quiet Christianshavn is an apartment so packed with things to admire, it’s hard to know where to begin.
In one bedroom there’s willow-pattern-printed wallpaper, in the other is a wrought-iron four-poster against blue pin-striped walls. Dotted around the space are terracotta pots planted with intricate paper geraniums, while Marin Montagut’s domed paperweights are used to hold down stacks of art books in every room. “It’s just a fraction of my library, but when you’re travelling, I don’t think there’s a greater luxury than sitting with a cup of tea flicking through a book,” says owner Tina Seidenfaden Busck, who also created the paint palette used in The Apartment for ecological paint makers St. Leo. The dining room is painted Bell Green, a reference to Vanessa Bell (there is a coffee-table book dedicated to the Bloomsbury Group artist in the sitting room). Every painting and piece of furniture is curated just as thoughtfully by Busck.
Rewind a few years and Busck, who trained at Sotheby’s, was working at Andersen's, one of Scandinavia’s leading contemporary galleries. But, so used to her friends asking for her interior design help, she decided to change tack. “In helping the odd friend source furniture and art for their homes, I realised a lot of what I was suggesting wasn’t available anywhere in Copenhagen.” Instead of constantly referring friends to galleries in Paris, Stockholm and London, Busck opened her own showroom in 2011 on the second floor of the apartment building she lived in – a five-storey property that her husband grew up in.
In a city dedicated to minimalist design, Busck’s aesthetic verges towards maximalism. “It’s a word that is overused, but I’d say my style is very eclectic. I'm really drawn to colours, textiles, craft and folk art. What is important is the craftsmanship of the pieces, and that each one tells its own story.” In the beginning, she imagined the space as a showroom to bring interior design clients, but things started selling so quickly it transitioned into a shopping space. And in doing so, Busck became an early adopter of the shop-the-home-style gallery. Twice a year the edit would change in its entirety – always a pick-and-mix of vintage, antiques and contemporary design. But a decade later, with a drive to find her way back into the art world, she decided to shut the doors without really knowing what would come next, “I needed to challenge myself.”
By the spring of 2025, the idea of creating a place to rent in the city had started to take shape, and Busck moved various pieces up to the building's newly-empty fourth floor. “We wanted to create a real atmosphere with the same details of the gallery but that was simple to book on Airbnb.” And as of November 2025, though the kitchen is more a kitchenette, and there’s no concierge, this is an Airbnb unicorn – one of those properties that is leagues above the rest of the platform’s offering and will completely transform a Copenhagen city break.
In the main bedroom is a vintage French four-poster bed (which wobbles very slightly when you climb in) rehoused from an antiques store in London – the owner couldn’t think of anyone other than Busck who might take it off their hands. “It was perfect timing,” she explains with glee. When it comes to prints, Busck is inspired by British archives including Nicole Fabre & Company (as seen on the walls of The Apartment’s tiny bathroom), Sibyl Colefax & John Fowler (a strawberry print is used to upholster the sofa) and Soane Britain (dressing the dark floral curtains). What could easily feel chaotic is seamlessly pulled together by Busck’s extraordinary eye – “somehow it just seems to work,” she explains modestly. Unfurling throughout the apartment are intricate paper flowers by New York-based Livia Cette who Busck discovered at treasure trove, John Derian, and sold for many years in her showroom, “they fill the gap of constantly replacing fresh flowers so wonderfully”. There are also dashes of red throughout the apartment space – a red lino vintage coffee table and its matching chair by Finnish architect and designer Alvar Aalto, a crockery cabinet in the kitchen, and accents in an original Calder print in the sitting room.
Christianshavn, which Busck describes as “a small village in the city” is a picturesque snapshot of Scandinavian life. Follow the bicycles along the canal to reach Prolog, which sells its speciality coffee alongside sticky tart-like almond croissants sourced from the city’s famous Juno the Bakery. Four minutes further on foot is Hart Bageri for caramelised cardamom buns. In the evening, it’s worth stopping off at Rosforth & Rosforth under the bridge, which supplies wine to the best restaurants in the city, to grab a glass by the water.
Soon the neighbourhood will also be a destination for Busck’s art shows, too. Her original showroom hosted sporadic exhibitions, and in its new iteration, Busck has the flexibility to block-book the space whenever she plans a show. Next up, in June 2026, is an exhibition displaying the artists she most admires, during the city’s 3 Days of Design – Copenhagen’s answer to Salone di Mobile – when journalists, interior designers and architects flock to the city. Expect to discover the likes of 94-year-old Isabella Ducrot, “she lives in Rome where she has a top floor apartment but still visits her studio on the ground floor every day”. One of her colourful pieces hangs above a green table in the dining room. “I’m obsessed with the way she works with colour and textiles. She’s an incredible lady.” Endlessly curious, Busck has managed to create a bolthole full of its own inspiration where new details continue to reveal themselves over the course of a stay.
Tabitha Joyce
Obsessed with all things foodie, Tabitha is our go-to London restaurant authority. Based in Peckham, South London is her beat, but there isn’t a restaurant she doesn’t have an opinion on – be that market-stall falafel or multiple Michelin courses. Having spent 10 years at Condé Nast Traveller and written travel tombs for Assouline her tips don’t stop there. Her favourite hotel finds are affordable, beautifully designed and ideally a little bit under-the-radar. Of course, what’s on the menu is important too. And there are usually bonus points for pasta.
