Soto Journal & Inspiration

In the Garden With...Abigail Ahern

Texture, balance and considered curation were the main themes in the next of our ‘in the garden with’ interview series where we speak to garden lovers, businesspeople and home makers. We chatted to influential tastemaker and fan of the Soto edit, Abigail Ahern for our next edition.

This Soto customer is described as being ahead of the design trail. She loves to share her knowledge and has fantastic energy. Abigail aims to instil everyone with the confidence to be fearless when decorating. Her shop, the Abigail Ahern London Store is one of the UK's top design boutiques, voted as one of the coolest places to shop by Elle Decoration and The Telegraph. We caught up with Abi to hear more about her approach to design and why she is such a fan of the Soto collections.

What makes an outside space feel like an extension of your home?

For an outdoor space to feel like an extension of your home it has to reflect your sense of style. For me that means focusing on texture, scale and movement and echoing materiality throughout both spaces.

Where is your favourite garden?

Any garden by Piet Oudolf I love his sensibility.

What are the key components of good design?

Key components of good design are repetition so very important and often underestimated, balance and contrast, rhythm and variety. I look upon them as my building blocks in creating a beautiful composition inside or out.

Soto Green features in your own garden, what drew you to that collection?

Soto Green does feature in my garden and what drew me to it was the complex, intriguing and beautifully curated collection of plants. From textural plants to plants that have a lot more movement, it literally made me feel I was getting a Chelsea style border.

The collection is visually impactful and also super edited. I had noticed time and time again that gold medals in Chelsea often went to gardens that limited the colours and materials and repeated plant species and that in a nutshell was what drew me to Soto. There is a real sense of unity in the planting which I love.

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