I love a good flea market rummage. It’s probably a good thing that there aren’t really any in London or my home would be overflowing with old toot by now. Copenhagen has a few decent flea markets – there aren’t quite as many good ones as in Berlin and the Danes do not seem to respond well to shameless haggling but I did manage to pick up some nice stuff on my way round.

Frederiksberg flea market

Good for: mid-century homewares, lighting, rich peoples’ bric-a-brac

This was the best flea market I visited on this trip: enormous and packed with what seemed to be a mix of private and professional sellers, the range of old toot on offer was varied and generally of high quality. I picked up an enormous Knoll interior design tome, a rather creepy (but excellent in my opinion) statue of a baby’s head, a glass jar to hold my kitchen utensils and a low Aalto-style stool, which I got for about £2.50. Of note were seemingly discarded Poul Hennigson lamps, strewn all over the place as if worthless!

Vanløse flea market

Good for: mid century homewares, antiques

This is billed as a ‘real Danish fleamarket’ on the Visit Copenhagen website. First impressions are that it is a bit sparse and small (there are only about 25 stalls) but upon closer inspection, what is there is generally very good and well laid out. I picked up some unusually shaped salt and pepper shakers and some mid century-looking plant pots. I would have picked up some of the gorgeous Liberty-esque cushions had they not been down-filled. Prices obviously depend on the stall owner but there are bargains to be had.

Norrebro flea market

Good for: nothing

Perhaps I came too late in the day but this was literally crap piled up along the side of a very busy, dusty road. Avoid.

Lyngby flea market

Good for: stumbling upon something decent amongst a load of old toot

The Visit Copehagen website calls this ‘one of the nicest flea markets in Copenhagen’, which having visited the place, seems a bit generous. Again, perhaps all of the best stuff had been sold by the time I’d arrived but the items on sale in this cobbled carpark were mostly rubbish. It reminded me of a car boot sale only without the cars- no professional sellers, just members of the public having a clear out. I did manage to pick up a rather beautiful silver Georg Jensen piece from an old woman for a bargain which made the trip almost worthwhile.

Charlottenlund flea market

Good for: Bargains, rubbish clothes

Another place that reminded me of a car boot sale without the cars. Too many stalls of rubbish clothes and toys but there’s some decent homewares to be found at good prices. I managed to pick up some decent pottery ‘n’ plastic.

Total haul:

As you might expect, Copenhagen has a good range of design stores selling the well-designed wares that the city has become known for. Shopping for overpriced design items is generally a pleasant experience in Copenhagen with most of the best stores clustered around the Strøget area. I managed to pick up a nice range of plane-friendly rugs, posters and homewares from the stores below:

Dora

Good for: genuinely quirky design objects
Price: expensive

Every (expensive) item in this store has been displayed to appear as if it has been thrown together haphazardly. The stock is a mix of carefully selected design classics (Aalto stools etc.) and some genuinely quirky stuff, presumably sourced from independent designers. I liked the range of patterned slates though I was unsure of their function (very expensive, heavy placemats?) and homespun-looking textiles. The only item I could justify purchasing from a price perspective were some rather delightful balloon animals. It has just occurred to me that these cost about £10(!) each.

Stilleben

Good for: high quality homewares with a dusty pastel colour palate
Price: expensive

Everything in this store is undeniably beautiful and is beautifully presented (especially the prints upstairs – very inspiring) but the overall effect was a bit too feminine for my tastes. Perhaps it is the colour palate: it’s all dusty pinks, mint greens, copper and soft greys (admittedly with a bit of black, which does contribute some edge) but with not a primary colour in sight. I left empty handed.

Hay flagship and Hay House

Good for: everything provided you like the Hay look
Price: moderate to expensive

Although Hay is now stocked internationally (there’s a concession in most high end design stores in London and Selfridges), the sight of the complete range of beautiful stock all in one place is a sight to behold. There are items at every price point ranging from stationery and small design objects for the equivalent of less than £10 to big bits of furniture in Hay’s trademark unusual shapes and colours. There are two stores: the original flagship and ‘Hay House’ which occupies the top two floors of a building that overlooks the square. Although Hay House is the larger of the two and has a pleasingly gimmicky ‘mini mart’ section, I found the smaller flagship much more inspiring. I bought a printed canvas shopper bag and a articulated wooden foot.

Maduro

Good for: rugs, prints, assorted homewares
Price: moderate

This store sells a colourful assortment of homewares that appear to be exclusive to this store. About half of the stock seems to be child oriented (including lovely vintage animal prints and design objects by Ingela P Arrhenius) that might look odd in a home without children. I came away with a reasonably priced monochrome rug and a line drawing print of a defiant-looking, very underweight young woman.

Just Spotted

Good for: modern graphic prints
Price: moderate

Small, nicely laid out poster store selling a small range of modern graphic prints and accompanying frames. I particularly liked the landscape/animal hybrids (I opted for the wolf). Perhaps a few too many cartoon prints. Service is genial and helpful.

Illums Bolighus

Good for: those who do not have to consider a budget
Price: offensive

Illums brings together every high-end Danish design object and displays it in a sprawling department store setting. Perhaps I was just bitter that I couldn’t afford anything but I did not find this to be a pleasurable shopping experience: it’s too hot and the sheer number of items and displays serves to cheapen everything somehow. Somewhere like Liberty or Selfridges does this sort of thing better by dividing the stock into zones.

Other:

Superlove

A small store selling a few design items alongside some rather tacky women’s clothing. The stock is colourful but expensive for what it is.

Plint

A centrally located homewares store suffering from an identity crisis. First impressions are that it is a budget retailer that wants to recreate the Stilleben experience/colour palate. Closer inspection reveals some quite high prices and some tacky product selection. It would be more appealing if it were much cheaper.