Sold.

Next came the tricky part: turning the 1,500 sq ft, 1963 apartment into a chic, modern home while retaining its character. After 10 years in the city, during which they brought their pared-down, Danish aesthetic to the various apartments they inhabited, the couple were ready to give old-school Hong Kong design a go.

'We knew we wanted to keep that 'old' feeling, with the iron window frames and dark-wood floors,' Pedersen says. 'But there was so much wasted space and funny angles because the building is not square. We knew what we wanted to do but we needed help to do it.'

So they called in interior designer Andrew Bell of

Those grid-like frames are a major feature of the couple's apartment, used for every window and even some of the interior walls, including the master suite and the guest-bedroom-cum-study.

'It means we have to make the bed every day,' jokes Anders of the glass walls, 'but we really like the light and the interaction with the rest of the apartment.'

During the renovation, the apartment was stripped back to four walls and a few structural pillars, then redesigned from scratch. The floor plan gives the couple a large, open-plan living-dining-kitchen area and converted part of the living space into a triangular balcony.

'The balcony looks like it should have always been there,' Pedersen says. 'The railings are original but they used to be set against the windows.'

The balcony features another old-school city favourite: patterned floor tiles. They look like they could have been lifted from any post-war apartment block, but they were sourced from British tile company Fired Earth.

'We thought about installing an old-style kitchen, with wooden countertops and so on, but in the end we went for a minimal, modern white kitchen that 'disappears' into the back of the room,' Pedersen says.

The original teak floor was replaced with engineered walnut wood.

'We wanted to keep the woodblock floor but there were so many holes all over it that it had to go,' Trebbien says. 'This is our chance to have dark floors - we would never do this in Denmark. We have pale floors there because the winters are so dark, plus, pale wood doesn't show the dust.'

There is plenty of evidence of the couple's Danish heritage in the furnishings, which include pieces by Arne Jacobsen, Borge Mogensen and Poul Kjaerholm. The television and entertainment system is by Bang & Olufsen and the cutlery by Georg Jensen.

Ten years of living in Asia have left their mark, but the East-meets-West cliches are few.

'We always buy just one thing when we go on holiday,' Trebbien says.

So they have Little Willy, a Maori statue from New Zealand, a pair of tall carvings from Africa, a Turkish coffee table and a painting by Sichuan-born artist Zhu Yiyong. The large terracotta-coloured crowd painting above the dining table seems to have echoes of Hong Kong but it turns out to be by Spanish artist Juan Genoves and was bought in London.

Like the apartment it hangs in, the painting makes a good first - and lasting - impression.

2 The balcony was a key feature of the renovation and was carved out of the original living room. The retro-patterned tiles cost HK$31,000 from Fired Earth (24/F, Dominion Centre, 43 Queen's Road East, Wan Chai, tel: 2861 3864). The rattan-furniture set (HK$8,900 for two chairs and a table, unseen) came from Wicka Designs (1 Tai Mong Tsai Road, Sai Kung, tel: 2422 0885). The porcelain drum stools cost HK$880 each from Altfield Gallery.

5 The guest bathroom features a basin (HK$2,600), which was crafted by Thai artist Somluk Pantiboon and came from Earth Home. The Toto tap and mixer cost HK$1,390 from Galaxy Bathroom Collection (283 Lockhart Road, Wan Chai, tel: 2802 3008). The vanity unit (HK$3,500) and shower door were made to order by Wing Ki Decorations & Contracting. The Jericho limestone tiles (HK$2,100 a square metre) were from Fired Earth.

7 The white wedding cabinet (HK$7,500; from Inside, 12/F, Horizon Plaza, 2 Lee Wing Street, Ap Lei Chau, tel: 2873 1795) is in a spare room that is soon to become a nursery. The Pinocchio felted wool rug (HK$7,800), by Danish company Hay, came from Aluminium (8 Kingston Street, Causeway Bay, tel: 2577 4766). The Eames Elephant in plywood cost HK$12,000 from Paustian. The Tolomeo lamp (HK$3,600) was from Artemide (1/F, Ruttonjee Centre, 11 Duddell Street, tel: 2523 0333). The walnut blind was from Wai Kee Curtain & Furnishing (1/F, 30 Cochrane Street, Central, tel: 2544 3730).

Tried + tested

All aboard The vanity unit in the master en-suite bathroom has a distinctly nautical feel, with round steel handles, from Honest Hardware (232 Lockhart Road, Wan Chai, tel: 2598 6800). The unit is a replica of the cupboards on the homeowners' boat in Phuket, Thailand. The unit was designed by Andrew Bell and made for HK$3,500 by Wing Ki Decorations & Contracting (13/F, Sui Fai Factory Estate, 5 Shan Mei Street, Fo Tan, Sha Tin, tel: 9013 4137).

Styling David Roden